This week, our research team tracked tracked more than 80 tech funding deals worth over €1.2 billion, and over 5 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
Stockholm-based startup H2 Green Steel has secured support for the €3.5 billion in debt financing it needs to build a hydrogen-powered steel plant in northern Sweden.
Global money transfer firm Wise has secured £300 million in debt financing to support its future growth plans. The syndicated debt facility was arranged and led by Silicon Valley Bank UK with six other banks also participating.
London-based Immersive Gamebox (IGB - formerly known as Electric Gamebox) has announced it has signed $90 million worth of franchise deals which will see the company expand globally over the next three years.
s' Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands-based Floryn, an online lending market for small and medium-sized enterprises, has raised €65 million from NatWest, a London-based retail banking company.
UK-based expert in global pay solutions, CloudPay, has raised a new $50 million round of capital whilst recording strong growth as demand for cloud-based integrated global payroll and payments services continues.
Shippeo, a French SaaS platform that provides supply chain visibility, has taken aboard $40 million in Series D cargo, now bringing the tonnage of the ship to $107.9 million.
Eindhoven-based “powerful and advanced solutions for AI at the edge” maker Axelera has raised $27 million in a Series A round.
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>> Noteworthy acquisitions, mergers, IPOs and SPAC deals
Google has acquired Alter, a Czech-founded AI avatar startup that helps creators and brands express their virtual identity, for about $100 million, a source told TechCrunch.
eToro has acquired Lisbon-based Bullsheet, a provider of portfolio management tools designed exclusively for eToro users. The purchase price remains undisclosed.
Worldline has moved to acquire a 55% stake in SoftPos.eu, a Warsaw-based fintech that converts Android devices into secure payment terminals.
Visma, European leader in cloud software, has acquired SaaS scale-up OutSmart, provider of field service management software for small and medium-sized businesses. OutSmart is based in the Netherlands and also operates in Belgium, Germany and Portugal.
Swiss dua.com is buying German dating app Spotted.de.
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>> Interesting moves from investors
Poland’s Market One Capital has just raised its second fund, of €80 million, to invest in more early-stage European marketplace and network effect startups.
Female Founders has announced the launch of its F Fund, developed to support pre-seed and seed start-ups with at least one woman on the founding team. The first close of the VC fund oversubscribed at over €12 million.
SEB Greentech Venture Capital, the bank’s unit for investing in green technology, has invested in five companies to date. The unit has now received a doubling of its investment capital and is raising its ambition to find investments across the Nordic region and Europe.
Redstone and EnjoyVenture have combined forces to create Human Impact Capital (HIC), Germany’s first dedicated social impact VC fund sized $50 million.
Station F, the iconic startup campus in Paris, is revamping its Founders Program completely to turn it into an acceleration program.
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>> In other (important) news
Google's Play Store is the target of an EU antitrust investigation, the company said in a regulatory filing, a move that could expose the U.S. tech giant to another billion-euro fine.
Bill Gates has thrown his support behind a new coalition between eight European cleantech companies, who have joined hands to raise all ships when it comes to putting Europe in the driver's seat when it comes to reaching net-zero goals.
The European Union is preparing rules that would require banks in the eurozone to offer instant payments in euros.
Furniture e-commerce company Made.com has temporarily suspended new customer orders following the breakdown in talks with prospective buyers.
Another victim of the downturn: German e-commerce company Windeln.de is dead.
Wise is planning to launch its Assets investing service across Europe after securing a license in Estonia.
Online car marketplace Cazoo has announced a record UK quarter, with its highest-ever revenue and sales coming amid its pullout of European markets.
UK business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg has revealed £211 million in government funding to go towards battery research and development.
The EU Digital Services Act (DSA) will come into force on 16 November following its publication in the Official Journal of the EU (OJEU) on Thursday.
UK-founded cybersecurity unicorn Snyk is reportedly laying off 14% of jobs in its global workforce, becoming the latest victim of the tech downturn.
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>> Recommended reads and listens
Europe’s chips challenge
One of the investment directors at Antler, Sarah Finegan, has written an op-ed about practical ways that investors can attract more diverse founders and create a more inclusive VC ecosystem across Europe.
Spotify says Apple is ‘choking competition’ and ruining its audiobook store.
Looking for a job in the big business of cyber security? Here are three European locations you don't want to overlook.
The UK financial regulator has warned that Big Tech’s growing interest in payments, lending and other finance products might harm competition and leave traditional providers at a disadvantage.
The state of the Turkish startup ecosystem (PDF).
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