These were the 10 biggest European tech stories this week

These were the 10 biggest European tech stories this week
These were the 10 biggest European tech stories this week

Happy Friday!

This week, our research team tracked about 70 tech funding deals worth over €450 million, as well as some 20 M&A transactions and related news stories across Europe, including Russia, Israel, and Turkey. Meanwhile, here's an overview of the 10 biggest European tech news items for this week:

1) US private equity group Thoma Bravo has agreed to buy Sophos in a deal which values the British cyber security group at £3.1 billion including net debt.

2) Algolia, the rapidly-growing French company that developed a search-as-a-service platform, has announced a $110 million Series C round led by existing investor Accel, with new investor Salesforce Ventures coming on board.

3) European investment firm Idinvest Partners, the private equity and VC firm that’s part of Eurazeo, has announced the final close of its third ‘digital fund’ at €350 million. According to the firm, which has backed the likes of Glovo, Peakon, Meero, Onfido, Heetch and Ÿnsect, that means it has surpassed its initial fundraising target of €300 million.

4) Healx, a Cambridge, UK-based AI-powered biotech company researching treatments for rare diseases, has raised a $56 million Series B led by Atomico, joined by Intel Capital, Global Brain and btov Partners.

5) Three self-professed gamers and veteran entrepreneurs have come together to form a brand new VC firm focused on games, e-sports, and digital sports in Europe and the UK. Hiro Capital is its name, and it has launched a €100 million fund from its bases in London and Luxembourg.

6) Global investment firm KKR has acquired a majority stake in Hyperoptic, the UK’s largest residential gigabit broadband provider, in a deal reportedly worth £500 million.

7) German fintech CrossLend has announced a €35 million Series B round led by Santander InnoVentures with support from existing investors Earlybird, ABN Amro Ventures, and Lakestar.

8) Plans to introduce a UK-wide age verification system for online pornography have been abandoned by the government after years of technical troubles and concerns from privacy campaigners.

9) Lemon Way, a Paris-based payment processor for marketplaces and crowdfunding platforms, has raised €25 million from Toscafund Asset Management. Bootstrapped for twelve years, this is the company’s second investment round to strengthen and expand its presence across Europe.

10) Cambridge-based Mogrify, a medtech company developing proprietary technology that transforms cell research and patient treatments, has announced $16 million in Series A funding.

Podcast: tech.eu Podcast #139: Kahoot goes public, autonomous driving in Europe, Lucy Cheesman and algorave music, marathon tech, fresh reports, and more

Bonus link: Europe, don’t draw the wrong lessons from the fall of the unicorns (Sifted)

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