This week, the Tech.eu research team tracked more than 70 tech funding deals worth over €778 million, and over 20 exits, M&A transactions, and rumours, and related news stories across Europe.
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, and now also comes in the form of a handy downloadable spreadsheet).
We've also announced a whole bunch of confirmed speakers for our upcoming Tech.eu Summit on 17 May in Brussels. Check out more info here and get your early-bird tickets now!
From the likes of European Commissioner Mariya Gabriel to world-record breaking pilot Zara Rutherford, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, unicorn CEOs and builders from Bunq, Veriff, GoStudent, Deliverect, Sorare, Voi, and investors from Index Ventures, Molten, Lakestar, Speedinvest, Localglobe, Blossom Capital, eFounders and many more - we can't wait to meet them and you there in person!
Below, please find an overview of the biggest European tech news items for the past couple of days (subscribe to our free newsletter to get this round-up in your inbox every Monday morning).
What happened this week in European Tech?
>> Notable and big funding rounds
German urban air mobility company Volocopter has announced the “first signing” of a Series E round that’s provided the firm with $170 million.
Payments and expense management firm Payhawk has added $100 million to its Series B round, now standing at $215 million, and in so much, provides the company with a $1 billion valuation and Bulgaria with its first unicorn.
As the delivery industry driven by autonomous robots expands, Tallinn-founded company Starship Technologies has raised $100 million in the last 30 days to expand its offerings in Europe and the U.S.
Cambridge-based graphene startup Paragraf has raised $60 million in funding in a Series B round. The investment was led by US deep tech investor New Science Ventures and saw the participation of Molten Ventures alongside fellow current investors.
UK-based social and investing startup Shares has raised $40 million and unveiled its app. The series A round was led by Peter Thiel’s fund Valar Ventures and saw the participation of Singular, Global Founders Capital, and Red Sea Ventures.
Bordeaux-based Synapse Medicine has raised €25 million in a Series B funding round in order to accelerate the deployment of its “Medication Intelligence” platform.
>> Noteworthy acquisitions, mergers, IPOs and SPAC deals
After posting record financial results, London-headquartered ERP software and services conglomeration Forterro has been acquired by Switzerland's Partners Group for €1 billion.
With Netflix making no bones about its gaming world ambitions, the streaming service is set to acquire Helsinki's Next Games in a share buyout valued at approximately €65 million.
SoftBank-backed, Berlin-based shared micro mobility provider TIER Mobility has acquired Ford-owned shared electric bike and scooter operator Spin to enter North America.
AIM-listed Next 15, a tech-driven global communications network which owns agencies such as Elvis, ODD, Velocity and Mighty Social, is to acquire fellow London company Engine UK in a £77.5 million deal.
As business travel bounces back from the dead in Europe and beyond, it’s never been more vital for companies to have a real-time visibility that only tech-forward solutions can provide. Attempting to solve the puzzle, Palo Alto-based all-in-one travel corporate card and expense management solution TripActions has acquired Sweden’s Resia.
European technology investor Investcorp Technology Partners (ITP) has acquired a majority stake in Italian cybersecurity company HWG.
OneWelcome, the relatively new merger of iWelcome and Onegini, has acquired Belgium-based Scaled Access.
>> Interesting moves from investors
Stockholm’s Creandum has announced its sixth early-stage investment fund, now at $500 million. While the firm expects to continue its focus on fintech and consumer apps, the industry-agnostic approach allows for new areas such as the creator economy, energy, web3, metaverse, and climate tech all to receive their fair share of the spotlight.
Focusing on the video games industry, metaverse technologies, creator platforms, and gamified fitness, London-based Hiro Capital has announced its second fund at €300 million, now more than doubling the firms’ first outing.
London-based investment firm that manages venture capital, growth secondary, and venture debt funds, Flashpoint has extended its Venture Scouting programme, which it had launched last year.
Frankfurt-based fintech investor CommerzVentures has closed its third fund at €300 million. As Commerzbank returned as the sole LP, the combined total fund size has reached €550 million.
Cologne-based VC firm Capnamic has announced the close of its third fund, now at $215 million, or approximately €197 million.
UK-based venture capital firm Sure Valley Ventures has completed an £85 million first close of a £95 million fund.
Leuven-based independent manager of venture capital and equity funds, Capricorn Partners has closed Capricorn Digital Growth Fund at €84.5 million.
>> In other (important) news
Swedish electric scooter startup Voi Technology has picked banks to arrange a planned initial public offering.
Swedish payments company Klarna on Monday reported that losses widened sharply in 2021 as it has "massively accelerated" global expansion with the addition of 10 new markets since the start of 2020.
German banking start-up N26 will be prepared for an initial public offering by the end of 2022, co-CEO Maximilian Tayenthal told CNBC.
Apple still hasn’t complied with a Dutch antitrust order to allow local dating apps to have the option to use third party payment tech to sell digital content to their app users.
>> Recommended reads and listens
European tech companies are forging ahead when it comes to creating new tech unicorns, according to a new report from i5invest, an Austrian tech M&A international advisory and investor firm. Europe witnessed the birth of 85 new tech companies with a valuation of $1 billion or more in 2021, taking the total unicorns in Europe to 132, and registering a unicorn growth rate more than twice that of the US.
The European fintech industry outpaced all other tech sectors when it came to VC funding last year — and it is off to a supercharged start in 2022.
On the anniversary of the UK government review aimed at spurring investment in its fintech industry post-Brexit, the vertical is seeing record amounts of VC capital, but only a fraction is coming from domestic investors.
The EU is entering the homestretch of negotiations on the Digital Services Act, which promises to change how big platforms work in order to better protect the rights of European citizens.
Growing through acquisitions with Ranjan Singh, Co-founder and CEO of HealthHero.
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