Hello!
Here's what happened today in European Tech.
Deals
- The owner of Cinch, the digital used car platform, has secured £1 billion of new equity funding as it vies to capture a big slice of the growing international market for online vehicle sales.
- Berlin’s neobroker Trade Republic has raised $900 million in a Series C investment round led by Sequoia. New investors TCV and Thrive Capital participated and existing investors Accel, Founders Fund, Creandum, and Project A all followed on.
- Fenergo, the Irish fintech startup focused on regulatory compliance, is to be acquired by a pair of private equity firms in a deal worth $600 million.
- An Amazon business-acquiring startup called Factory14 — based in Luxembourg (with offices in Madrid, London, Shanghai and Taipei) — came out of stealth mode in Europe with $200 million in funding and an announcement that it's acquired Pro Bike Tool, a popular D2C seller of its own-brand bike accessories and tools, for an undisclosed sum. The majority of the financing is coming in the form of debt to acquire companies.
- Technology company Checkin.com got off to a flying start in its stock market debut on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market.
- Berlin-based collaborative presentation platform Pitch has raised $85 million in a Series B round led by Lakestar and, yep you guessed it, Tiger Global. The round also saw participation from existing investors Index Ventures and Thrive Capital.
- Uncapped, a London-based startup changing the way online companies fund their growth and inventory costs, has raised $80 million of debt and equity in a new funding round.
- Berlin-based VC Visionaries Club announced the final close of two B2B-focused funds today. Both — one pre-seed and seed stage fund, and another growth-stage fund — have closed at $85 million.
- Paris-based car-on-demand service Virtuo has raised €50 million in a Series C round led by AXA Venture Partners.
- London’s AI-powered climate intelligence platform Cervest has raised $30 million in a Series A round led by Draper Esprit.
- London-based financial crime detection ComplyAdvantage has unofficially raised $20 million from the Growth Equity team in Goldman Sachs.
- Stockholm-based last-mile deliveries for e-commerce company Instabox has acquired Dutch firm Red je Pakketje, and now establishes a strong presence in the market.
- 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
- Facebook faces a potential ban on the transfer of Europeans’ data to the United States. That would be a “massive blow” to the social networking giant, according to experts, and has serious implications for other large American tech firms.
- Virgin Media and O2′s £31.4 billion merger has been approved by UK competition regulators.
- Swedish audiobook streaming group Storytel has partnered with Spotify to allow its subscribers to listen to its library of audiobooks on Spotify from later this year.
- Jeronimo Folgueira has been appointed as France's Deezer’s new CEO. He takes over the position from Hans-Holger Albrecht, who has overseen the company’s transformation and growth since 2015.
- Opera has launched the first gamer-focused mobile browser.
- UK buy now, pay later startup Zilch is looking to recruit 100 new hires on the back of an $80 million fund raise secured in April.
Today's Top Tweets
Congratulations on @oatly going public today at $10bn valuation!
Relentlessly focused on people and the planet, #Oatly is globally defining today's consumers’ aspiration. Congratulations to the Oatly team #OTLYhttps://t.co/JvPPdHIS5y— Felix Capital (@FelixCapital) May 20, 2021
Where are the European tech giants, and why don’t we have more unicorns? @IndexVentures Partner @martinmignot says they’re well on their way. For more of Martin’s insights, tune in for our newest episode ⬇️ https://t.co/aSwBpjDVUd
— Soaked by Slush (@soakedbyslush) May 20, 2021
Big day for us at @Pitch. We've raised an $85M Series B to enable every team's best thinking! We're building the first complete platform for presentations! https://t.co/pF2CfPWijv
— Brian Daly (@dalynewspaper) May 20, 2021
What if we started to seriously deal with our prisoner’s dilemma about #tech in Europe? Like cutting to 30% the national public funding unless the project is spaning 2 countries or more? pic.twitter.com/iBlTOz3Q5i
— Philippe MÉDA (@icopilots) May 20, 2021
This morning we sent out issue #45 of @CapitalCall_ — the weekly European VC digest, straight to your inbox. Want to stay on the pulse of what investors write every week?
A thread with our picks this week— Capital Call (@CapitalCall_) May 20, 2021
My thoughts on the Spanish tech ecosystem from an international perspective
https://t.co/TkqEi6rLd9— Peter Specht (@specht_p) May 20, 2021
Exclusive: A £700bn economic prize awaits Britain by 2030 if the government and private sector can forge a partnership focused on innovation in key industry sectors, a report from the CBI employers' group - called Seize the Moment - will say next week. https://t.co/aPHc5SV6yx
— Mark Kleinman (@MarkKleinmanSky) May 20, 2021
Another Thursday, another Digital Bridge newsletter: https://t.co/KGT68CGPsI
— my take on 3-year anniversary of Europe’s #privacy rules
— Why the gig economy is on its way out
— COVID-19 apps are here to stay
As always, sign up here https://t.co/WDCBMJFBHx— Mark Scott (@markscott82) May 20, 2021
Earlier this week, I FINALLY found a VC to go on the record about SPACs with me at the @sesamers #podcast. We also discussed Pavarotti, Quantum Mechanics, and The Rave Cave! @vhirsch I salute you.https://t.co/XufDutS5Cx pic.twitter.com/CKJmni7HyD
— Dan Taylor (@sensorpunk) May 20, 2021
Today we are opening @EUeic Transition calls!
With a budget of € million, we are funding projects that will turn breakthrough #technologies into disruptive #innovation.
https://t.co/3qpZwDNrGp pic.twitter.com/WRhaJqypZz— Mariya Gabriel (@GabrielMariya) May 20, 2021
The 2021 @VivaTech awards will be held from the 16 - 19 June, in person and online.
Get your tickets now (they're running out) and learn more about this annual event which brings together all that's great in the Paris, French and European tech. https://t.co/m7h7WQMSlw pic.twitter.com/7aeftPFjJ9— Partech Shaker (@PartechShaker) May 20, 2021
We are super happy to share this new investment, our first one in the Netherlands, jointly with Begin Capital Capital and @FjLabs. Go @Naduvi1!!! via @tech_eu https://t.co/acfawnlgzC #marketplaces #VC #startups #fundraising
— All Iron Ventures (@AllIronVentures) May 20, 2021
Estonia’s @SkeletonTechnologies has invented a way to replicate most of #graphene’s properties and is proving that it is possible to produce such material at industrial scale. Learn about how this scale-up is disrupting industry. https://t.co/TEPRt6LRuL
— Jennifer Schenker (@jennschenker) May 20, 2021
Scoop here: Uber rival Ola hires Sir Mike Rake as UK chairman. Big City hitter will spark float hopes... https://t.co/GyrwgP1ih9
— Jim Armitage (@ArmitageJim) May 20, 2021
3/ @CausalyAI founders Artur and Yiannis met at @singularityu.
They developed a model of how machine learning and human intellect can work side-by-side – with algorithms synthesising information to free up humans to think more creatively and critically.https://t.co/ibkvuYAUUK— Index Ventures (@IndexVentures) May 20, 2021
London is recognized as the “fastest” growing global hub for impact tech. Here’s a look at some of the top impact startups with services available in the UK picked by @150sec. https://t.co/fTth5xJU3j
— novobrief (@novobrief) May 20, 2021
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