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Today in European Tech: Money flows into drone delivery-as-a-service, business travel platforms, digital restaurants and more

Robin Wauters 29 April 2021
Today in European Tech: Money flows into drone delivery-as-a-service, business travel platforms, digital restaurants and more
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Hello!

Here's what happened today in European Tech.

Deals

- Pegasus Acquisition Company Europe, a SPAC focused on the European financial services industry set up by LVMH founder Bernard Arnault and others, listed today on Euronext Amsterdam. At opening, the share price was set at €10/share; the SPAC raised approximately €500 million in the IPO.

- Signaling investors’ confidence in the recovery of business travel, Barcelona-based TravelPerk has raised $160 million in equity and debt funding in a Series D round. Led by Greyhound Capital, the round also saw participation from existing investors.

- German fintech scale-up Vivid Money has raised a new $73 million Series B funding round led by Greenoaks with existing investor Ribbit Capital also participating, giving it a valuation of $436 million.

- Taster, the London-based company behind a series of digital restaurant brands, has raised $37 million in a Series B round led by Octopus Ventures. The financing also saw participation from Rakuten as well as existing investors Battery Ventures, LocalGlobe, and Heartcore Capital.

- Dublin’s drone delivery service Manna has raised $25 million in a Series A round and is pushing ahead with trials of its service in Galway, Ireland. The round was led by Draper Esprit.

- Digital asset custody and financial services platform Finoa has closed a $22 million Series A round led by London’s Balderton Capital.

- Swiss mobile payment solution provider Bluecode has received a €20 million investment with the Hopp Family Office leading the round. And that’s Hopp as in Dietmar Hopp, one of the five founders of SAP.

- Equity funding and trading platform Funderbeam has raised $4 million and partnered with B2B accelerator Startup Wise Guys.

- 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

- High-risk Artificial Intelligence applications in use across the EU are set to come under the scope of new rules as part of the European Commission's bid to bolster trust in next-generation technologies, while also safeguarding opportunities for innovation.

- The European Union is considering creating a semiconductor alliance including STMicroelectronics, NXP, Infineon and ASML to cut dependence on foreign chipmakers amid a global supply chain crunch, four EU officials said.

- Beyond VC: The fundraising alternatives for Europe's startups.

- The European Investment Bank has issued a €100 million two-year bond using public blockchain technology.

- Sber, the Russian state-controlled financial and tech giant, could issue its own digital financial asset, ‘Sbercoin,’ as early as this year.

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Today in European Tech: Money flows into drone delivery-as-a-service, business travel platforms, digital restaurants and more
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