Intelligence
Paul Morrissey has left Battery Ventures and is now leading Blackstone’s new growth fund in Europe.
CleverFarm, a Czech agritech start-up, is in talks to raise a €3m to €4m Series A round.
PayEye, a Polish provider of iris biometrics-based payment technology, is in talks for a €3m pre-Series A.
Aktin, a Czech producer of healthy and functional food, could consider an investor to help accelerate its growth.
Qlash, a private esports team franchise, and gaming company, is working with Cross Border to look for a minority investor.
Wetaca, a Spanish online food delivery company, would consider a fundraising to speed up its growth or enter another European country.
dcs plus, a Romania-based provider of enterprise software for the travel industry (Earlybird invested in 2014), is in talks to raise a €15m-€20m Series C. [Could maybe be one for Target Global’s TravelTech fund?]
SettleMint, a Belgium-based blockchain start-up will raise up to €7m in a Series A by the end of the year.
Jeff App, a Latvian fintech company, could use a $2m-$5m injection to support its growth.
Silverfleet Capital, a London-based private equity firm, promoted Robert Knight and Ricardo Sommer to partners.
Start-up of the week
Product
Ziflow is a developer of an online proofing software designed to streamline the review and approval process for creative content to deliver marketing projects faster.
Location
London, UK
Raised
$7.3m in total
Investors
Companyon Ventures, Riverside Acceleration Capital, Sidecar Angels
Revenue model
SaaS
Who are the top non-European investors investing in Europe?
We crunched the numbers for you - here you go:
FJ Labs / VC
General Catalyst / VC
Google Ventures (GV) / VC
Left Lane Capital / VC
Sequoia Capital / VC
Tiger Global / PE & VC
Coatue / Hedge Fund
Luxor Capital / Hedge Fund
Note: We excluded accelerators such as Techstars and Plug and Play from this list.
And here is an overview of the most active investors on a global basis in case you are interested:
Subscribe now!
Become one of the 3,000+ people who subscribe to the Funding Room newsletter. Stay on top of the latest funding rounds in Europe - every Thursday!
Do you want to share some news or stories?
Send an email to fundingroom@protonmail.com to submit an anonymous tip.
Funding rounds (#49 this week)
Dach
Studitemps, the Cologne-based provider of personal services intended to offer jobs to student workers and graduates, as well as recruiting young professionals, raised €9.2m from Siparex XAnge Venture, HV Capital, and Iris Capital. Read more.
tink, the Berlin-based smarthome/IoT comparison and shopping platform, raised a €40m Series D from Cadence Growth Capital, Rocket Internet und SevenVentures. Read more.
Wire, the Berlin-based end-to-end encrypted messaging app and service, raised a $21m Series B led by UVC Partners with participation from existing investors Iconical, Morpheus Ventures, Elysium Venture Capital and One Way Ventures. Read more.
Grid, the Berlin-based operator of a technology-as-a-service data platform designed to unlock the potential of official data assets for leagues, teams and brands, raised a $10m Series A in a deal led by Tar Heel Capital Pathfinder, Alinea Capital and Bumble Ventures. Other undisclosed investors also participated in the round. Read more.
Gitpod, the Kiel-based open-source developer platform, raised $13m from General Catalyst with participation from Speedinvest, Crane Venture Partners and Vertex Ventures. Read more.
Alpian, the Carouge-based (Switzerland) developer of a financial platform designed to modernize Swiss banking, raised a $18m Series B from undisclosed investors. Read more.
Grover, the Berlin-based provider of a subscription based electronics rental platform designed to offer pay-as-you-go consumer electronics, raised €60m from investors. The equity tranche (c. 3/4) was backed by new investors including JMS Capital-Everglen, Viola Fintech and Assurant Growth, while existing investors Coparion, Augmentum Fintech, Circularity Capital, Seedcamp and Samsung Next joined the round. The debt portion of the round was issued by Kreos Capital. Read more.
Berlin Brands Group, the Berlin-based provider of electronic entertainment products which it is distributing via its own platforms and various marketplaces (e.g. Amazon), raised $240m of debt from UniCredit, Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, BBG founder and CEO Peter Chaljawski. Read more.
Alpian, the Geneva-based provider of banking services, personal wealth management, and tailored investment products all in one app, raised an $18m Series B from the Swiss banking group REYL & Cie which incubates the company. Read more.
Enso Finance, the Zurich-based developer of a trading platform intended to create metastrategies, raised $5 million of venture funding from Dfinity, Multicoin Capital and P2P Capital. The LAO, Polychain Capital, Spartan Group and Zola Global Investors also participated in the round. Read more.
Revo Foods, the Vienna-based developer of 3D printing technology designed to replicate the texture, flavour and eating experience of plant-based seafood, raised a €1.5m Seed round from Hazelpond Capital, Eva Sommer and Jens Schumann. friends2grow, Vienna Business Agency, FFG Austrian Research Promotion Agency and MKO Holdings also participated in the round. Read more.
Ryte, the Munich-based developer of a SaaS-based software suite intended to analyse and optimize digital assets, raised a €8.5m Series A from Pd ventures, Mayflower (Germany) and Bayern Kapital.
France
Vybe, the Paris-based developer of payment technology intended to streamline transactions and payments for teenagers, raised a €2.4m Seed round from The Factory (France), Kick Club and Plug and Play Tech Center. Manoel Amorim, Ronan Le Moal, Thibaud Elziere, Ankur Nagpal, Jonathan Cherki and SCM Advisors (UK) also participated in the round. Read more.
OnePilot, the Paris-based developer of business management software intended to manage complex operational processes, raised a €2.5m Seed round from Global Founders Capital, Kima Ventures, and Thomas Rebaud. Roxanne Varza, Fredrik Hjelm, and Baptiste Corval also participated in the round. Read more.
Les Nouvelles Fermes, the Bordeaux-based plant based meat producer, raised €2m from the regional investment fund IRDI, various business angels, the Banque des Territoires, Crédit Agricole Aquitaine and the CIC. This first round of investment was carried out with the support of the Agence de Développement et d’Innovation de Nouvelle-Aquitaine (ADI N-A). Read more.
Biloba, the Paris-based developer of a telemedicine technology designed to focus on paediatrics, raised a €1.4m Seed round led by Aglaé Ventures. 12 other investors also participated in the round. Read more.
Glimps, the Rennes-based developer of cybersecurity software designed to automate IT security processes, raised €6m of venture funding from ACE Management Equity Partner, Breizh Up and other undisclosed investors.
Sunday, the Paris-based developer of a fast restaurant checkout flow solution, raised €20m of venture funding (at a $140 million post-money valuation) from New Wave, Coatue Management and other undisclosed investors. Read more.
Nestwave, the Paris-based developer of geolocation solution designed to improve location accuracy and reliability, raised €2.4m of venture funding from The Faktory, Sofimac Innovation and European Commission. Read more.
UK & Ireland
Ocean Bottle, the London-based developer of an environment protection community intended to have a direct impact on ocean plastic, raised a £2m Series A led by TD Veen. Other undisclosed investors also participated in the round. Read more.
Tines, the Dublin-based software firm that allows companies to automate processes such as customer service and security issues without needing technical skills, raised $26m from VC investors in a move that values the company at $300m. The funding is led by Addition. Tines has now raised a total of $41.1m in funding from investors including Accel and Blossom Capital. Read more.
Tripledot Studios, the London-based mobile games company, secured a $78m Series A. Backers included Eldridge, Access Industries and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Read more.
TrueLayer, the London-based start-up that offers a developer-friendly platform for companies, including other fintechs, to utilise open banking, raised $70m in new funding led by new investor Addition. Existing investors, including Anthemis Group, Connect Ventures, Mouro Capital, Northzone and Temasek, also participated. New investors include Visionaries Club, Zack Kanter (CEO Stedi), Daniel Graf (ex-Uber, Google, Twitter) and David Avgi (ex-CEO SafeCharge, CEO UniPaaS). Read more.
Pai Skincare, the London-based operator of a skincare company intended to discover and sell skincare products, raised a $9m Series B in a deal led by Famille C. Other undisclosed investors also participated in this round. Read more.
ThirdFort, the London-based developer of a web-hosted security enhancement platform created to help real estate specialists handle real estate transactions effectively, raised £1.5m through its latest investment round. The funds come just a little over six months after Thirdford raised £1m. The latest funding round marks the third investment from Alex Chesterman OBE (founder of Cazoo, Zoopla, and LoveFilm) as well as further backing from law firm Mishcon de Reya, Chris Marks (former CEO of Natwest Markets) and David Rutter (founder of R3). Read more.
Geomiq, the London-based developer of an on-demand customized manufacturing platform designed to transform the manufacturing process by assisting engineering teams in building state-of-the-art products, raised a £2.9m Seed round led by Samaipata. Fuel Ventures, Tekton Ventures, Sova Ventures, and Eka Ventures also participated in the round. Read more.
Nory, the Dublin-based developer of a restaurant management platform intended to predict demand forecasts, raised €1.5m of venture funding in a deal led by Playfair Capital and Cavalry Ventures. Enterprise Ireland and other undisclosed investors also participated in the round. Read more.
Doctify, the London-based developer of a healthcare review platform intended to provide the right specialist or doctor who can provide proper guidance and information, raised $7.5m of venture funding led by Keen Venture Partners. Amadeus Capital Partners, Tom Teichman and Guinness Asset Management also participated in the round. Read more.
Genie, the London-based automated talent agent for the creative industry matching industry talent with hiring companies, raised $1.75m of angel funding from undisclosed investors. Read more.
Candidate.ID, the Glasgow-based developer of a recruitment platform created to transform talent acquisition and optimises time-to-quality-hire, raised £1.33m of venture funding from Blackfinch Ventures putting the company's pre-money valuation at £3.63m. Read more.
Hack The Box, the Kent-based developer of a testing platform designed to advance hacking skills in penetration testing and cybersecurity, received $10.6m of development capital from Marathon Venture Capital, Paladin Capital Group, Osage University Partners and Brighteye Ventures. Read more.
Jiffy Grocery, the London-based grocery delivery company, raised a $3m extension of its seed round, led by Baring Vostol Capital Partners. This brings its total seed round to $6.6m after the first close in March.
Ziflow, the London-based of a SaaS solution for commenting, reviewing and approving work within productive teams (from PPT to photoshop or HTML), raised a $6m round from Companyon Ventures and Riverside Acceleration Capital. Read more.
Bloom Procurement, the Newcastle-based provider of management consulting services intended to offer a dynamic supply chain providing the public sector with a marketplace to buy and manage services, received £14m of development capital from BGF. Read more.
Springpod, the London-based developer of a platform designed for students who can experience the world of work & university before they apply, raised a £2.25m Series A led by Cass Entrepreneurship Fund, Alliance Fund Managers and Triple Point. Read more.
Vector Photonics, the Glasgow-based provider of a semiconductor laser technology intended to provide benefits in data communications, additive manufacturing, including metal and plastic printing, raised a €1.6m Seed round from Foresight Group, UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund and Equity Gap. Read more.
SatSense, the Leeds-based provider of a satellite monitoring service intended to offer ground movement data, raised £1.5m of venture funding from Mercia Asset Management. Read more.
SegmentStream, the London-based operator of a data intelligence platform designed for collection and unification of all customer data for advanced marketing and analytics, raised a $1m Seed round from OKS Group, Tiny.VC and Liad Egmon.
Nordics
Attensi, the Oslo-based corporate training start-up, raised $26m from Lugard Road Capital, DX Ventures (a VC fund backed by Delivery Hero) and existing shareholder Viking Venture. Read more.
Klevu, the Helsinki-based developer of an AI-based search platform designed to help eCommerce businesses increase onsite sales and improve the customer online shopping experience, raised a $12m Series A led by Alfvén & Didrikson, with participation from initial investors EVLI Growth Partners, Jerry Pruttz Holding and Jonas Dromberg. Read more.
Cogo, the Copenhagen-based developer of a mobile application designed for sustainable manual and electric-powered vehicles, raised €1m from PreSeed Ventures and high-profile business angels, such as momondo’s former CEO, Pia Vemmelund, the early investor in momondo Jens Willumsen, and the investor Thomas Weikop. The Innovation Fund in Denmark has also awarded Cogo their Innofounder-grant. Read more.
Penni, the Copenhagen-based developer of an online insurance platform designed to help insurance providers to sell any insurance product online through any distribution partner, raised a c. £5m Seed round led by Seed Capital. Other undisclosed investors also participated in the round. Read more.
YouCruit, the Malmö-based provider of an online recruitment portal designed to match job seekers with employers, raised €3m of venture funding from Djäkne Startup Studio. Read more.
Area9 Lyceum, the Copenhagen-based developer of a cloud-based AI-based educational platform intended to provide personalized, adaptive online learning modules for students and professionals, raised c. €20m of development capital from LEGO Ventures, European Investment Bank and VF Venture. Read more.
Others
Shypple, the Rotterdam-based developer of a digital freight forwarding platform built to optimize end-to-end supply chain solutions, raised a $8.5m Series A from Brabantse Ontwikkelings Maatschappij, Dutch Founders Fund and Newtown Partners. InnovationQuarter also participated in the round. Read more.
Veriff, the Tallinn-based developer of a SaaS-based identity verification platform designed to make online identity verification service secure, raised a $69m Series B in a deal led by IVP and Accel. Other undisclosed investors also participated in the round. Read more.
Anari, the Novi Sad-based (Serbia) developer of an AI computation platform designed to allow customers to choose their own custom hardware infrastructure, raised a $2m Seed round led by Earlybird. Serbian entrepreneurs, Acequia Capital, Eric Ries and other undisclosed individual investors also participated in the round. Read more.
inSTREAMLY, the Warsaw-based provider of an automated streamer management platform intended to bring brands and streamers together, raised a €1.1m Seed round led by Supernode Global. Read more.
Mibo., the Amsterdam-based developer of a video chat app designed for online meetings, remote drinks, social mixers, networking events, or just hanging around, raised €1m of venture funding from Peak Capital. Read more.
Interesting SPACs
Cellebrite, an Israeli provider of digital intelligence solutions, agreed to go public at an implied $2.4bn valuation via TWC Tech Holdings II (Nasdaq: TWCT), a SPAC led by private equity vet Adam Clammer. Cellebrite backers include Israel Growth Partners. Read more.
Sporting goods retailer SIGNA Sports United, owned by Austrian investor Rene Benko, is in talks to go public through a merger with a blank check company in a deal that could value the firm at up to $4bn. Read more.
International Media Acquisition, a media and entertainment SPAC, filed for a $200m IPO. Read more.
Grab, a Singaporean ride hailing company, is expected to reveal a deal to go public via merger with Altimeter Growth, a SPAC. A deal could value it at $34bn. Read more.
Babylon, a London-based digital health app, is in talks to go public at between a $3bn and $4bn valuation via Alkuri Global Acquisition, a SPAC led by ex-Groupon CEO Rich Williams, per Bloomberg. Babylon has raised over $630m from firms like Vostok New Ventures, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Hoxton Ventures, Munich Re Ventures, Centene and Kinnevik. Read more.
Microsoft + Nuance Communications
We usually don’t cover M&A transactions, but we are making an exception because this is BIG (literally)! Microsoft agreed to buy Massachusetts-based AI and speech recognition company Nuance Communications for around $19.7bn (incl. debt). This is Microsoft's second-largest acquisition, behind the $26.2bn deal for LinkedIn in 2016. Microsoft already incorporates speech recognition in some of its products (Bing and Teams) so this deal will expand Microsoft's capabilities in voice software significantly. Read more.
Investors
Shilling, an early-stage VC in Portugal, launched a new €30m early-stage fund called Shilling Founders Fund, which is backed by just over 35 successful tech founders, as well as large European VC Atomico. Read more.
Index Ventures raised $200m for its first dedicated seed fund. Read more.
Serena Ventures (invested in Coinbase btw) is raising outside capital for a new fund. The firm, formed in 2019, to date had been capitalized exclusively by tennis star Serena Williams. Read more.
Sberbank and Russian Venture Company (RVC) will launch a $100m fund for investment in technological and science-intensive start-ups. Read more.
NGK Spark Plug, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of automotive spark plugs, announced a new $100m fund to invest in start-ups and find potential merger and acquisition deals. Read more.
Ardian, a Paris-based investment house, raised €6.5bn for its control buyout fund, Ardian Buyout Fund VII. It also raised €1bn via LP co-investments. Read more.
Tallinn’s seed-stage focused Tera Ventures closes €43m fund. Read more.
London-based LocalGlobe raised $150m for its next flagship seed fund, plus $220m for its Series B sister vehicle (Latitude). Read more.
Inflexion Partners, a London-based midmarket PE firm, is raising £2bn for its sixth fund. Read more.
Pale Blue Dot, a European early-stage climate tech VC firm, secured €34m more for its debut fund, on top of a €53m first close. Read more.
Good reads
The Lilum investor presentation (pretty pictures merged with a hockey stick forecast)
Why Tiger Global is eating your lunch (& your deals) [Must read!]
Despite record 1Q results, Coinbase’s valuation remains ridiculous
Thought of the week
There’s nothing like an explosion of blockchain news to leave you thinking, “Um… what’s going on here?” That’s the feeling I’ve experienced while reading about NFTs when I stumbled across them for the first time. So what are NFTs?
Now that we have all smartened up - here is a thought:
I have €3m in Ethereum.
I create an NFT piece.
I use my €3m of Ethereum to buy my own NFT.
I still have my €3m in Ethereum, and I also have an NFT piece that is worth €3m according to the price history.
I sell my NFT to someone for only €300k, or at a 90% discount (it’s a bargain!).
Now I have €3.3m in Ethereum.
Am I missing something or can we all quit our jobs and move to a Caribbean island? 😊