Happy Friday!
This week, our research team tracked more than 80 tech funding deals worth more than €2 billion, and about 25 exits, M&A transactions, and rumours, and related news stories across Europe, including Russia, Israel, and Turkey.
As always, we are putting all of them together for you in a handy list sent in our round-up newsletter (note: the full list is for paying customers only).
Recently, we also started publishing 'Today in European Tech', a daily round-up of deals and news stories that caught our attention. Keeping you updated on all things EU tech is our priority!
Today, instead of a daily round-up we give you an overview of the 10 biggest European tech news items for the past week (subscribe to our free newsletter to get this round-up in your inbox every Monday morning).
1) A Clever acquisition: Kahoot buys US edtech firm for up to $500M
Not often that a European tech company buys a US-based company for half a billion dollars, but here we are: Norway’s Kahoot this week announced that it is acquiring California-based Clever, a K-12 EdTech learning platform. The combination of two of the world’s leading digital learning platforms will set Kahoot back up to $500 million, of which up to $65 million will be paid based on performance.
I’m filled with so much gratitude today for all of the tech directors, edtech leaders, teammates, and investors that have believed in our crazy vision for @clever and helped it become reality.
And I couldn’t be more excited to join the @GetKahoot family!https://t.co/KPySmmYQXi— Dan Carroll (@bytingtheapple) May 6, 2021
2) Berlin's Razor Group looks for scale, raises $400 million
Razor Group, a Berlin-based startup buying up promising Amazon sellers and scaling them into bigger, multi-channel businesses, has closed financing of $400 million to scale.
Berlin’s Razor Group raised $400 million today to buy and scale Amazon third-party sellers and brands. That puts the total capital raised (equity+debt) since April last year to over $4 billion. https://t.co/nJ1TARPMhY pic.twitter.com/lAs9SMW0v9
— Juozas Kaziukėnas (@juokaz) May 4, 2021
3) A new European tech unicorn straight outta France
Paris-based AI SaaS provider to the insurance industry Shift Technology has raised $220 million in a Series D round led by Advent International. Avenir, Accel, Bessemer Venture Partners, General Catalyst, and Iris Capital also participated. With this round, Shift’s total investment to date rises to $320 million and gives the company a valuation of over $1 billion.
Huge congrats to the @shiftechnology team for this new round! The company has become a WW standard in the #insurtech industry. We're proud at @Elaia_Partners to be part of this journey - from #seed to #unicorn!https://t.co/xW0O5DTPFI
— Pauline Roux (@RouxPau) May 6, 2021
4) A new European tech unicorn straight outta Ireland
Fintech company Fenergo has become the third Irish tech unicorn after being valued at over $1 billion in a new deal, per Irish Times sources.
What an achievement for @Murphy_Marc's fintech @Fenergo, which has just achieved unicorn status with a $1bn-plus valuation https://t.co/bpyDxZgJcI
— Charlie Taylor (@ChasTaylor) April 30, 2021
5) Acronis valued at $2.5 billion in fresh $250 million round
Schaffhausen, Switzerland-based cybersecurity firm Acronis has raised over $250 million in a new funding round from CVC Capital Partners VII and additional investors including Goldman Sachs. With this round, the company now has a valuation of $2.5 billion.
Switzerland’s cyber protection firm @Acronis raises more than $250 million, now valued at $2.5 billion. Article: @sensorpunk https://t.co/J7AhTsEXS2 pic.twitter.com/Y1GONQZJ71
— Tech.eu (@tech_eu) May 4, 2021
6) Mo' Money, Mo' electric trucks: Einride nabs $110 million
Sweden’s electric and autonomous freight mobility maker Einride has raised $110 million in a Series B round from new investors Temasek, Soros Fund Management, Northzone, Build Capital, and Maersk Growth.
Swedish electric-truck startup Einride raises $110 million to expand its logistics business in Europe and in the U.S. https://t.co/PbXmbuAImB
— Bloomberg (@business) May 6, 2021
7) Atomico co-founder raises new fund for early-stage VC firm Moonfire
Moonfire Ventures founder and former Atomico co-founder Mattias Ljungman has launched a new $60 million fund with the goal of becoming the most data-driven VC firm in Europe.
I'm proud and excited to announce that today we officially launch Moonfire, our $60M data-driven seed fund. Read more about our ambitions, new team and new investments here: https://t.co/bh1QtZ1r5O #MoonfireLaunch pic.twitter.com/6mejsMbiEh
— Mattias Ljungman (@Ljungman) May 6, 2021
8) Hurray Oura! A $100 million Series C round for the Finnish company
Finnish fitness ring maker Oura has raised $100 million Series C funding in a round led by The Chernin Group and Elysian Park.
Oura’s sleep-tracking ring raises $100 million to move further into personalized health https://t.co/ST3yOeBwCC pic.twitter.com/veiAZmMiRa
— Forbes (@Forbes) May 4, 2021
9) Metacore gets €150 million credit line from its neighbour Supercell
Finnish mobile games company Metacore has secured a €150 million credit line from crosstown friend Supercell. This credit line adds on two Supercell’s previous faith in the company, investing €5 million in 2018, and €15 million in 2020, as well as a €10 million credit line.
Big news from @metacoregames (and Supercell)! We’ve been very grateful for this partnership since we got together. This new funding will help the Metacore team to pursue their dreams in even a bigger way! https://t.co/4G0mlXqnk3
— Ilkka Paananen (@ipaananen) May 5, 2021
10) Intel bets heavily on expanding its tech operations in Israel
Intel will invest another $600 million in Israel to expand its research and development (R&D) and confirmed it was spending $10 billion on a new chip plant.
Intel Israel announced on Wednesday that it is planning to hire 1,000 new workers and invest $200 million in a new technology development center in Haifa. https://t.co/vDrqGSSrBS
— Algemeiner (@Algemeiner) April 30, 2021
Podcast(s):
- Tech.eu Podcast #218: Eva-Maria Meijnen of Plusdental, new funds in London and Amsterdam, Bolt goes for a Drive, and more
Bonus link(s):
- From AIRR to Motherbrain: What tools VCs are using to run the operations and make decisions
- Europe's early-stage scene on Fire
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