Hello!
Here's what happened today in European Tech.
Deals
- Shares in used-car trading platform AUTO1 raced ahead in their stock exchange debut on Thursday, as Germany’s first big IPO of the year was snapped up by tech-hungry investors. The shares opened in Frankfurt at 55 euros a share, valuing the nine-year-old Berlin startup at €7.9 billion.
- Applovin, the mobile ad platform and games publisher that is rumoured to be going public in 2021, has acquired Adjust, the Berlin-based mobile advertising attribution company. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, although there a number floating around between $1 billion and $1.2 billion in a combination of cash and stock.
- Israeli website navigation company WalkMe has begun preparing to go public on Nasdaq.
- Private equity and venture capital firm Eurazeo has pulled in an additional €340 million from a group of international investors. These investors will form a new continuation fund to acquire a 32 percent stake in Eurazeo Growth assets, which were financed through the firm’s balance sheet.
- BigChange, creators of mobile workforce management software for the service and transport sectors, has raised over £75 million from Great Hill Partners, putting the company’s valuation at £100 million.
- Pellegrini has acquired Milan-based startup Mymenu, which delivers high-end food to Italian households.
- Storyblok, the Austrian startup behind an eponymous content management system (CMS), has raised an $8.5 million Series A round to fund international expansion. The investment was led by Mubadala Capital and joined by previous backers firstminute capital and 3VC.
- We also tracked a large number of (other) European tech funding rounds and M&A transactions, all of which we are putting in a handy list for you on Friday afternoon in our weekly roundup newsletter (note: the full list is for paying customers only). Also check out our European tech news section for ongoing coverage.
Worth Reading/Knowing
- A leaked draft envisages the European Innovation Council handing out €602 million to startups and €507 million for targeted calls addressing specific areas of research in 2021.
- Robotics technologies in the EU could come under the scope of new rules as part of a series of efforts to ensure the safety of next-generation technologies.
- "Thanks to a surge in the last six months of the year, investors put more than €1 trillion to work in Europe's M&A market during 2020 for the fifth year running.” Check out PitchBook’s 2020 Annual European M&A Report.
- In one of the first prominent UK fintechs to announce its future working plans, Revolut says it will allow the vast majority of its employees to have permanent flexible working.
- Glovo, one of Europe’s biggest on-demand delivery players, has announced the appointment of Narek Verdian as Chief Technology Officer to help drive its ambitious tech strategy.
- Chris Bischoff, an experienced investor, has joined General Catalyst as Managing Director of its new London office.
- Swedish fintech scale-up Klarna says it's doing well in the US, including a record 15 million customers overall to kick off 2021.
- How Estonian defence company Milrem became a leading robotics developer in Europe.
- ManoMano, the French e-commerce platform focused on DIY, home improvement and gardening products, reported a stellar 2020 as the company’s gross merchandise volume doubled to €1.2 billion.
- Inside Logic Founders' new fintech startup studio.
- Finnish telecom network equipment maker Nokia warned of challenges to come this year as it tries to catch up with rivals after a strong finish to 2020.
- Space tech startups and investors meet for the IoT Tribe Space Endeavour finale.
- Digital Future Society has released its 'Faster than the future' book - featuring a chapter on supercomputing written by yours truly.
Today's Top Tweets
🔔 We are now public! Today we begin the next phase in the AUTO1 Group journey with a successful IPO on the @boersefrankfurt. Join the virtual celebration! Check out the video featuring our company leadership and many familiar AUTO1 Group faces! 🎉https://t.co/vjAfCGbuly
— AUTO1 Group (@AUTO1_Group) February 4, 2021
Who are the LPs that are supporting emerging female-led GPs/VCs? (Early stage, European focus)
— Jason Ball (@jasonball) February 4, 2021
Can Europe succeed in regulating the internet?
How much will these plans force the likes of Google and Facebook to behave?
Tune in to this week's episode of @EuropeansPod with @adegeler to find out.https://t.co/aUP5E0oei5— Are We Europe (@AreWeEurope) February 4, 2021
Want to know more about @getluko? 🚀
Join our Ask Me Anything session with @phareall, CEO & Co-founder at Luko, hosted by @roxannevarza on February 23rd 🔥
Free registration here 👇https://t.co/FkcqsZZ26r pic.twitter.com/7Vssp1n9Oz— STATION F (@joinstationf) February 4, 2021
🇬🇷 This summer, Greek police forces will be provided with 'Smart policing' tech, allowing for real-time facial recognition of the public. The Greek DPA is nearing an investigation into the tech, to probe whether data protection rights could be at risk. https://t.co/TAmz1oSvfM
— Samuel Stolton (@SamuelStolton) February 4, 2021
Breaking News! @Wayra invierte 4,5 millones de euros en 39 startups en 2020. 💥Desde @WayraES realizamos inversiones por valor de 1,8 M de euros en 15 startups, ¡un 29% más que en 2019!
¡El 2020 no pudo con el #ecosistemaemprendedor! 🚀https://t.co/TU0VjI4LI2#WeAreWayra pic.twitter.com/tXiqtomkq9— Wayra Spain (@WayraES) February 4, 2021
Our latest “Spotify: For the Record” episode goes behind the headlines with #SpotifyStreamOn, Q4 earnings, and our South Korea launch. ⬇️ https://t.co/yxnhcvaNxb
— Spotify News (@SpotifyNews) February 4, 2021
European Startup Show is on 🔥🔥🔥 and here is why: pic.twitter.com/jRMM9IbGDB
— Anita Moorthy (@anitamoorthy) February 4, 2021
The History of Kano — In The Press https://t.co/cKWUuoVutb
— Kano (@TeamKano) February 4, 2021
Vortexa, which builds AI-driven energy analytics tools, raises $19M Series B led by monashees (@robinwauters / https://t.co/5BsBJfpDvd)https://t.co/RbdxhHqFo5https://t.co/ovUC6nHvfV
— Techmeme (@Techmeme) February 4, 2021
Why did Applovin buy Adjust? https://t.co/fMsFaENOhB
— Rob Moffat (@robmoff) February 4, 2021
We’re thrilled to announce our investment in #cofenster! cofenster lets employees produce corporate videos on brand & at scale. Only months after launching they could already win global brands such as Microsoft or Beiersdorf. Read all about their seed round here 👇 https://t.co/YHEOuKlGYH
— Capnamic (@Capnamic) February 4, 2021
@tech_eu & @robinwauters provide amazing insights on European tech scene!
— Alexandra Santos (@AlexandraEnsgtr) February 4, 2021
Super proud to have contributed to the 'Faster than the future' book from Digital Future Society, diving deep into the topic of supercomputing and which role Europe can play.
Download it for free here: https://t.co/QFhiPrV6Vg#digitalfuturesociety #DFSbook #fasterthanthefuture https://t.co/9FHb896sgZ— Robin Wauters @ tech.eu (@robinwauters) February 4, 2021
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