This week, the Tech.eu research team tracked more than 85 tech funding deals worth over €1.3 billion, and over 15 exits, M&A transactions, and rumours 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 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, (Transfer)Wise co-founder and CEO Kristo Käärmann, unicorn CEOs and builders from Bunq, Veriff, Scandit, GoStudent, Deliverect, Solarisbank, 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?
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>> Notable and big funding rounds
ArK Kapital has raised €165 million (€150 million in debt funding and €15 million in equity), now providing Stockholm with an entrant into the game of alternative funding options for startups.
Parisian provider of an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) data intelligence platform for the real estate sector, Deepki has raised a whopping €150 million funding round. The Series C round was co-led by One Peak and Highland Europe.
Germany's H2 Mobility has raised €110 million to roll out more infrastructure for fuel cell vehicles powered by hydrogen.
British AI startup Builder.ai announced a $100 million Series C funding round led by Insight Partners, a New York-based global venture capital and private equity firm.
Zurich-based spend management platform Yokoy has raised $80 million in a Series B round. The tool uses a combination of AI tools and API integrations to automate expense management, supplier invoice management, and corporate credit cards, with the ultimate goal of reducing clients’ overall costs.
Offering low-power transistors the size of human DNA, Terra Quantum has extended its Series A funding round to $75 million. The Zurich-based deeptech company will use the fresh capital for strengthening its offering around data cryptography and cybersecurity.
German fintech company Moonfare has raised a $35 million funding round from London-based private equity firm Vitruvian Partners.
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>> Noteworthy acquisitions, mergers, IPOs and SPAC deals
Celonis, a German company specialised in process mining tools, has announced the acquisition of Process Analytics Factory (PAF), a leader in process analytics for the Microsoft Power Automate and Power BI platforms. The PAF acquisition is valued at approximately $100 million in cash and stock.
Six months after raising $250 million, Papaya Global is making a key acquisition to expand its cloud-based HR and payroll platform globally on the heels of major surge in remote working. The Israeli startup is acquiring Azimo - the London-based money transfer business that Facebook once tried to buy - for up to $200 milion.
Nordic financial challenger Lunar has made a cash offer of €132 million to acquire all shares of Norwegian digital bank Instabank.
After Berlin-based shared micro-mobility provider TIER Mobility acquired Ford-owned shared electric bike and scooter operator Spin to enter the U.S., it has now acquired another tech firm called Fantasmo. This is the fourth acquisition TIER has made in recent months.
London-based private equity firm Bridgepoint has acquired Inspired Thinking Group (Team ITG) from former majority shareholder Equistone Partners Europe.
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>> Interesting moves from investors
Berlin-based AlphaQ Venture Capital (AQVC) has launched a venture capital fund of funds to strengthen the VC ecosystem by backing top-performing venture capital funds worldwide. Dubbed the ‘VC for VCs’, AQVC will invest in top performing venture capital funds globally. The initial target fund volume is €500 million, which will be mainly invested in Europe.
Newly launched UK-based climate change investor, Climate VC, has unveiled a new fund to invest in climate-focused technology startups with the potential to collectively remove or replace 1 billion tonnes of CO2e over a decade. In year one, it intends to deploy £10 million of investments, eventually raising upwards of £35 million by 2025.
A prominent British insurance duo will brave choppy equity markets to launch a £150 million fundraising for a new vehicle that will target a merger with a leading industry name.
Santander has created Santander Green Investment, a platform to invest in renewable energy projects under development and construction.
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>> In other (important) news
The U.K. government will soon reveal plans to regulate the cryptocurrency market, focusing on a fast-growing type of token known as stablecoins.
The Family co-founders Alice Zagury and Nicolas Colin have taken legal action against former co-founder Oussama Ammar, alleging embezzlement of nearly €3 million.
Russian internet giant Yandex is gradually winding down the Paris operations of its e-grocery service Yango Deli, citing poor performance and hinting that an exit from the London market could follow.
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>> Recommended reads and listens
Meet these 7 fintech leaders at the upcoming Tech.eu Summit (17 May, Brussels)
March was a milder month on the deals front compared to February, with the total funding raised by European tech companies coming in at just over €8 billion in 400+ deals. We've got all the stats.
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European tech laws should tempt the next Silicon Valley to cross the Atlantic.
Sapphire Ventures has identified 5 trends they believe will define the European technology scene as the rest of the year unfolds.
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