Today in European Tech: Deliveroo's rough public market debut, Dutch fashion marketplace Otrium closes $120 million round, and more

Today in European Tech: Deliveroo's rough public market debut, Dutch fashion marketplace Otrium closes $120 million round, and more

Hello!

Here's what happened today in European Tech.

Deals

- Shares in UK food delivery firm Deliveroo fell as much as 30% in its highly anticipated London IPO on Wednesday, wiping about £2.3 billion off the company's value, and dealing a blow to the city's renewed efforts to attract tech company listings.

- Amsterdam-based unsold fashion marketplace Otrium has raised $120 million in a fresh round of funding co-led by BOND and Index Ventures, and saw follow-on investment from Eight Roads Ventures. The series C round is expected to propel Otrium’s entry to the US market, ramp up additional unsold fashion capabilities, and recruit new staff.

- Pensions provider PensionBee has filed a confirmation statement with the London Stock Exchange, indicating that its listing is “expected to occur in April 2021”.

- Kaya VC’s new €72 million fund will focus on startups in Prague, Warsaw and the wider CEE region. Previously called Enern, the Central and Eastern European VC has changed its name to better reflect its modern focus.

- British Airways joined a list of investors in ZeroAvia, a company that is looking to develop a fleet of hydrogen-powered aircraft, as part of a $24.3 million round, as it looks to operate a zero-emissions free short-haul fleet by 2050.

- We also tracked a large number of (other) European tech funding rounds and M&A transactions, all of which we are putting in a handy list for you on Friday afternoon in our weekly roundup newsletter (note: the full list is for paying customers only). Also check out our European tech news section for ongoing coverage.

Worth Reading/Knowing

- Britain's financial watchdog has fired the starting gun on plans to overhaul stock market rules in a bid to lure more SPACs to the London market.

- Google will contribute €25 million to the newly set up European Media and Information Fund to combat fake news, amid criticism tech giants are not doing enough to debunk online disinformation.

- Arm, the British technology firm whose chip technology powers most of the world’s smartphones, has released a new generation of technology aimed at taking over data centers and artificial intelligence applications ahead of its planned $40 billion merger with Nvidia.

- A contingent of EU nations has locked horns with the European Commission over plans to exclude third-countries from involvement in quantum and space research projects, in a move that could see the UK’s involvement significantly downgraded due to concerns over intellectual property.

- EIT Digital, a major pan-European digital innovation and entrepreneurial education organisation, has started accepting applications for its 'EIT Digital Challenge 2021' competition, looking for fast-growing deep tech startups from across the continent to help boost their growth.

- Mastercard and four other companies broke UK law by engaging in cartel behaviour in the pre-paid card market, according to the country's Payment Systems Regulator (PSR).

- The European Union’s institutional data protection watchdog has voiced ‘critical concerns’ about the European Parliament’s plans to install a biometric register that will allow EU lawmakers to collect their daily allowance and sign in for hearings on the Brussels premises.

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