These were the 10 biggest European tech stories this week

Happy Friday!

This week, our research team tracked more than 50 tech funding deals worth over €600 million, as well as some 15 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) London-based Blockchain, a top European cryptocurrency business backed by Google and Sir Richard Branson, is raising $50 million to invest in startups.

2) Maria 01, the Helsinki, Finland-based startup campus, has kicked off massive expansion plans and announced a new chief executive officer to make good on its plans to become the largest startup campus in Europe (that’s right, in an effort to rob that title away from Paris-based Station F).

3) Madrid-based Soto Solar develops and invests in subsidy-free, large-scale, ground-mounted solar PV projects. It has now raised €100 million from a group of international private wealth investors in exchange for 50% of the company’s shares.

4) India’s Oyo has acquired Copenhagen-based data science firm Danamica as the fast-growing lodging startup works to expand its business in Europe. Neither of the parties disclosed financial terms of the deal, but a source familiar with the matter told TechCrunch that Oyo paid about $10 million to acquire the Danish firm.

5) The Czech-founded, pan-European challenger bank Twisto has raised €14 million as part of its Series B round of funding. William Reeve, a co-founder of LOVEFiLM and Secret Escapes, has participated in the round alongside Finch Capital, Velocity Capital, ING Ventures, UNIQA Ventures and ING Bank Slaski.

6) London, UK-based Railsbank, which operates an open banking and ‘regtech’ platform, has raised $10 million in a Series A funding round led by Moneta Capital and joined by CreditEase, Clocktower Technology Ventures, Singapore Life and prior backers, including Firestartr.

7) Berlin-based Delivery Hero, one of the biggest online food ordering and delivery marketplaces in the world, has made a small acquisition in Cyprus to expand its footprint.

8) Singapore-based Clermont Group has completed the acquisition of a 70% equity stake in Israeli electric aircraft development company Eviation.

9) Digilinx, the French holding company of LesBigBoss, which is in turn the company behind a series of events and dinners bringing together digital decision-makers, has raised €18 million to gun for leadership in the European B2B event space.

10) Manchester-based Arctic Shores has secured a $5.5 million Series A investment to accelerate its international expansion. The investment was led by Beringea with participation from existing shareholders, including Candy Ventures.

Podcast: tech.eu Podcast #133: New developments in France’s digital tax, Acast and EIB loans, VCs’ coverage of Europe, interview with Public’s Daniel Korski, and more

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