This week, our research team tracked more than 105 tech funding deals worth over €994 million, and over 25 exits, M&A transactions, rumours, and related news stories across Europe.
As always, we are putting all of them together for you in a list sent in our round-up newsletter next Monday (note: the full list is for paying customers only, and also comes in the form of a handy downloadable spreadsheet).
We've also got some news for you: we're already gearing up for the second edition of the Tech.eu Summit! Save the date:
24 May in Brussels.
If you haven't seen them yet, we've made all the videos from the Tech.eu Summit last May available as a playlist on our YouTube channel - enjoy!
With that said, let's get down to business with 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).
What happened this week in European Tech?
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>> Notable and big funding rounds
Oslo-based ocean and air freight rate benchmarking platform and container shipping index, Xeneta is making waves with $80 million raised in funding at a $265 million valuation.
Copenhagen-founded open podcast platform that offers a subscription service for creators, Podimo has secured €58.6 million in a Series B extension funding round.
French audio engineering company and producer of some of the world’s most interesting speaker systems, Devialet has secured €50 million via existing investors Crédit Mutuel Equity and Bpifrance via the Large Venture Fund, and a mysterious new Asian investor, from China, specialising in the miniaturisation of audio, optical and touch systems.
Swiss high-frequency trading (HFT) platform for digital assets, Portofino Technologies has raised over $50 million in funding to power digital asset adoption for institutional investors and Web3 companies.
Bulgaria and US-based company for autonomous access control Alcatraz AI has raised $25 million in funding to further develop 3D facial authentication and AI to create safe spaces.
London’s software management platform Cledara has raised $20 million in a Series A round that will see the company accelerate operations in the US market.
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>> Noteworthy acquisitions, mergers, IPOs and SPAC deals
Enverus, an energy SaaS company, has acquired Madrid-based RatedPower, a SaaS company developing solutions that automate and optimise the feasibility study, analysis, design and engineering of solar power plants and electrical infrastructure.
New York-based MakerBot and Dutch-based Ultimaker, two leaders in desktop 3D printing, have successfully completed their merger.
Blackstone-backed risk management software firm Sphera has agreed to acquire Riskmethods. The Munich-based software company specializes in supply chain risk management.
European companies Recruitee, Sympa and Gavel have acquired kiwiHR and will now join forces under a new umbrella group – Tellent.
Focusing on the biggest digital talent pool in the continent in the Central European region, Budapest-based Codecool and Poland-based Software Development Academy (SDA) have joined hands to create a bigger digital skilling and sourcing powerhouse.
Amsterdam’s power skills training provider Lepaya has acquired German digital communications trainer vCoach to further grow in new markets and strengthen its offering.
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>> Interesting moves from investors
Stockholm-based EQT Growth has rolled out a €2.4 billion fund to support 20-25 fast-growing technology companies in Europe. According to the company, it is the largest first-time growth fund based in Europe.
London-headquartered Northzone has announced that its newest fund has raised in excess of €1 billion.
Betting big on the sector, global venture capital firm supporting the transition to a sustainable future, Energy Impact Partners (EIP) has rolled out its first global expansion move with the launch of a €390 million European Fund.
Neva Sgr, the venture capital arm of Italy’s largest bank Intesa Sanpaolo, has closed its first flagship fund of €250 million to back European startups.
European VC firm JUNCTION has unveiled a €100 million fund to support companies set to play a major role in the next stage of Europe’s energy market.
Swiss non-profit that supports the governance and development of the NEAR protocol, NEAR Foundation has announced a strategic partnership with Caerus Ventures to launch a $100 million venture capital fund and venture lab.
Istanbul-based VC firm 500 Emerging Europe has launched a €70 million fund for early-stage startups in Turkey, Central Emerging Europe (CEE) and the Baltics (Emerging Europe). The company’s second fund has already raised more than €50 million for the €70 million fund.
Runa Capital, which launched in 2010, has raised $55 million toward its fourth fund, aiming for a target of $250 million. The company is relocating its HQ to Luxembourg to re-focus its attention on the European market.
French venture capital firm specialising in early-stage companies, Axeleo Capital (AXC) has announced the closing of its new €50 million fund.
UK-based not-for-profit climate accelerator Subak has announced the opening of the fundraise targeting £20 million to back startups to help usher in climate solutions at speed.
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>> In other (important) news
Google has failed to overturn a fine of more than €4 billion, imposed by the EU, for using its Android mobile operating system to thwart rivals. Europe’s second-highest court largely upheld the ruling on Wednesday, but reduced the fine from €4.34 billion to €4.125 billion.
Microsoft's $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard is expected to be investigated extensively by both UK and EU regulators.
The European Central Bank chose five organizations to help develop user interfaces for a potential digital euro, it said Friday. The organizations include Amazon and the European Payments Initiative, a group of 31 banks and credit institutions.
European Union lawmakers have proposed a new set of product rules to apply to smart devices that’s intended to compel makers of Internet-connected hardware — such as ‘smart’ washing machines or connected toys — to pay fulsome attention to device security.
Photo-sharing app BeReal is exploring the addition of in-app payments for extra features to avoid Instagram-style advertising.
Amazon may have to tweak its proposals to end two investigations into its business practices, EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said on Friday following feedback from third parties on the issue.
A new multi-country consortium of European identity experts has firmed up a proposal to deliver a large-scale, cross-border payments pilot.
The European privacy watchdogs have sent a letter, requesting the European Parliament and Council to allocate more financial resources in next year’s budget or face a loss in credibility in the EU’s data protection rules.
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>> Recommended reads and listens
Big Deal: Inside Tesseract Energy's plan to give (cheap) power to the people
Unicorns are emerging at a proportionally faster pace in Europe than in the United States.
Top 3 EU tech hubs post-covid.
European Commission turns its gaze towards the metaverse.
The European online fashion retail market is set to grow 50 percent by 2025. The online turnover of this market will reach 175 billion euros, which equals 33 percent of the retail branch’s total.
UK fintech investment takes a dive.
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