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Today in European Tech: UiPath's IPO, Trendyol nabs $330 million, BlaBlaCar raises $115 million, new EU rules on use of AI, and more

Robin Wauters 21 April 2021
Today in European Tech: UiPath's IPO, Trendyol nabs $330 million, BlaBlaCar raises $115 million, new EU rules on use of AI, and more
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Hello!

Here's what happened today in European Tech.

Deals

- Romania-born robotic process automation software firm UiPath rose 17% in the company’s stock market debut today after the software vendor and its investors reeled in $1.34 billion in the company’s IPO. The shares opened at $65.50, giving it a market value of $34 billion upon debut.

- Outbrain will pursue an initial public offering, with the Israeli company seeking a $2 billion valuation after the abandonment of its earlier attempted merger with rival Taboola.

- Turkish e-commerce platform Trendyol has received an additional $330 million investment from existing partner Alibaba in a capital increase. With this injection of capital, Alibaba now holds an 86.5% stake in the company.

- UK fintech and pensions provider PensionBee arrived on the London Stock Exchange this morning with its shares priced at 165p, giving it a valuation of £365 million on admission.

- French startup BlaBlaCar has raised a new $115 million funding round. While the company is better known for its long distance carpooling marketplace, BlaBlaCar has also added a bus marketplace.

- ATAI Life Sciences, a biopharmaceutical company aiming to make psychedelic drugs to treat mental health disorders, announced that it is planning to raise $100 million in an initial public offering. The Berlin-headquartered company, which counts billionaire investor Peter Thiel as one of its main backers, has submitted an S-1 filing to the SEC.

- Deliverect, a Belgian scale-up that connects Uber Eats, Deliveroo, Doordash, Just Eat Takeaway.com and more delivery companies directly to restaurants' POS system, announced that it raised $65 million in a Series C funding round from DST Global Partners and Redpoint Ventures.

- Israeli API platform RapidAPI announced today that it has completed a $60 million Series C financing round led by Green Bay Ventures with new investor Stripes and existing investors including Andreessen Horowitz, DNS Capital, M12 (Microsoft’s Venture Fund), Viola Growth, and Grove Ventures.

- 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

- The European Commission today announced tough draft rules on the use of artificial intelligence, including a ban on most surveillance, in an attempt to set global standards for a key technology dominated by China and the United States.

- The CEOs of Uber and Just Eat Takeaway today became engaged in a public spat after Uber announced it is planning to launch in Germany — a market that is currently dominated by Just Eat Takeaway.

- The EU’s new sweeping rules for Big Tech could soon be reshaped and look different.

- Danish late-stage fintech startup Pleo, which offers expense management tools and ‘smart’ company credit cards, says it plans to raise a $100 million Series C round of funding this summer.

- Revolut is beginning its expansion into China, kicking off a risky process that will see the challenger bank seek approval from Chinese regulators to operate in the country.

The London-headquartered financial technology business is seeking a “head of operations” for China who will work from either Shanghai or Beijing.

- France’s highest administrative authority on Wednesday avoided a direct clash with the EU’s top court while offering partial support for the country’s data retention practices.

- Bitpanda, the European investment platform that just recently reached unicorn status at a valuation of $1.2 billion, has launched a new product called Bitpanda Stocks, which offers investing in fractional shares, with the unique possibility of 24/7 access to investing.

- EU regulation on artificial intelligence must be designed to increase user trust, while unlocking innovation, writes Guido Lobrano, the vice-president for Europe for the Information Technology Industry Council.

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Today in European Tech: UiPath's IPO, Trendyol nabs $330 million, BlaBlaCar raises $115 million, new EU rules on use of AI, and more
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