Happy Friday!
This week, our research team tracked more than 85 tech funding deals worth more than €1.6 billion, and about 20 exits, M&A transactions, and rumours, and related news stories across Europe, including Russia, Israel, and Turkey.
As always, we are putting all of them together for you in a handy list sent in our round-up newsletter (note: the full list is for paying customers only).
Recently, we also started publishing 'Today in European Tech', a daily round-up of deals and news stories that caught our attention. Keeping you updated on all things EU tech is our priority!
Today, instead of a daily round-up we give you an overview of the 10 biggest European tech news items for the past week (subscribe to our free newsletter to get this round-up in your inbox every Monday morning).
1) Darktrace plans to pursue the next major London IPO
British cyber-security firm Darktrace has said it intends to list its shares on the London Stock Exchange. Darktrace did not indicate how much it is seeking to raise, but media reports suggest it could be as much as £3 billion.
Darktrace revenue hits $200m as it confirms London float
In a filing this morning the Cambridge-based tech firm unveiled its intention to list in London. @j_a_warrington has the details https://t.co/hyIiKwCYtE #Darktrace @Darktrace #IPO #LSE #Float #Tech pic.twitter.com/W1UYgNeBWW— City A.M. (@CityAM) April 12, 2021
2) Major funding for Volvo's electric car brand Polestar
Polestar, the Swedish electric performance car company, has raised $550 million from a group of long-term financial investors.
#Polestar raises USD550m from new investors; further fund raising considered: https://t.co/sp4EQ9Olho pic.twitter.com/ugQTCzSSii
— Polestar (@PolestarCars) April 15, 2021
3) Mo' Money for Berlin Brands Group to roll up e-commerce stores
Germany-based e-commerce company Berlin Brands Group, which creates and acquires online retail brands, announced $240 million in debt financing, its first outside capital, to accelerate global acquisitions.
We raised 240 million US dollar! Staying on top of our position as one of the leading global #ecommerce companies we are therefore happy to announce that we record another milestone with this generous funding.
More news on @TechCrunch! https://t.co/Wsp4DjSvmP— Berlin-Brands-Group (@brands_berlin) April 13, 2021
4) The EU is considering a ban on the use of AI for surveillance
The European Commission wants to ban the use of artificial intelligence to track people and rank their behaviour, with fines up to 4% of a company’s turnover for violations as part of draft AI rules to be announced next week.
The EU is poised to set new #AI rules and companies that don’t comply could face fines of 4% of revenues https://t.co/3fjRwItfkw by @nat_droz
— Bloomberg Technology (@technology) April 14, 2021
5) LocalGlobe and Latitude raise a combined $370 million in new funds
London-based leading seed investors LocalGlobe and its Series B sister fund, Latitude, announced to have raised $370 million ($150 million and $220 million, respectively). The new funds will be used to double down on core markets in the UK and Europe, with a long-term view of generating world-class returns.
We couldn't be more excited to announce our new @localglobevc and @latitudevc funds, which enable us to double down on our core markets and long-term investment approach to innovation https://t.co/xXcMgxU1f0
— LocalGlobe (@localglobevc) April 13, 2021
6) Facebook is facing a 'mass action' lawsuit over 2019 data breach
Facebook is to be sued in Europe over the major leak of user data that dates back to 2019 but which only came to light recently after information on more than 533 million accounts was found posted for free download on a hacker forum. On Friday, Digital Rights Ireland (DRI) announced it’s commencing a “mass action” to sue Facebook, citing the right to monetary compensation for breaches of personal data that’s set out in the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Digital Rights Ireland (@DRIalerts) is commencing a mass action lawsuit against Facebook over the recent 530m+ leak. Inviting Europeans to join the case.https://t.co/RjSgugquxa pic.twitter.com/a0xwCXhuZ8
— Jonathan Keane (@J_K9) April 16, 2021
7) Climate tech investment firm Pale Blue Dot closes €87 million fund
Pale Blue Dot, a young Malmö, Sweden-based investment firm focused on backing climate tech innovations, has closed their fund at €87 million after raising an initial €53 million last year.
Pale Blue Dot closes €87 million fund to become Europe’s top seed investor in climate tech startups
>> https://t.co/iO6KdGPGkv@palebluedotvc @HeidiLindvall @hajak @PrimaMateria_ @shak @eldsjal pic.twitter.com/rg3L4GibSJ— tech.eu (@tech_eu) April 14, 2021
8) Estonia's Veriff scores $69 million round
Veriff, an Estonia-based identity verification technology company, announced today that it has secured $69 million in a series B funding round led by investment firms IVP and Accel.
Estonia’s @Veriff Raises US$69 Million to Grow Its ID Verification Firm https://t.co/foRKHfBW0F #fintech #funding #investment #idverification #technology pic.twitter.com/KGqMORCNQC
— Fintech Baltic (@FintechBaltic) April 15, 2021
9) Online language learning school Lingoda bags €57 million in funding
Berlin’s online language learning school Lingoda has raised €57 million in a round led by Summit Partners and saw participation from existing investor Conny Boersch, founder of Mountain Partners, an early investor in Lingoda.
We are extremely proud to share that Lingoda has raised €57 million ($68 million) in growth equity!
We are so grateful to our new and existing partners and are excited to continue shaping the future of language learning! 🎉#languagelearning #edtech https://t.co/oTPDbkqsCZ— Lingoda (@lingoda) April 15, 2021
10) N26 makes a move into the digital insurance space
Berlin-based mobile bank N26 is moving into the insurance space, offering customers the option to purchase coverage, manage plans and initiate claims in-app for a range of insurance plans from different providers.
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts: Allianz X portfolio companies @n26 and @simplesurance partner to shake things up in the #insurance world! 🚀https://t.co/t86m4nuWeD
— Allianz X (@AllianzX) April 16, 2021
Podcast(s):
- tech.eu Podcast #215: Shamillah Bankiya of Dawn Capital, money for EVs and medtech, Infobip acquires Shift, and more
- Podcast Interview Special: Elise Moutarlier (Lovys) and Zeena Qureshi (Sonantic)
Bonus link:
- Fighting brain drain and creeping authoritarianism in Russia’s techno-utopian village.
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