New year new acquisitions! Barcelona-based unicorn Glovo has begun 2022 with a massive change in its shareholding, announcing on New Year’s Eve an acquisition agreement with Berlin’s Delivery Hero that values the startup at €2.3 billion. Delivery Hero, an existing shareholder in Glovo previously owning around 44% of shares, has now taken on an additional…
Portuguese startups in 2021: a tale of sailors and reinvention
Portugal has now seen 7 startups achieve unicorn status – Farfetch in 2015, OutSystems and Talkdesk in 2018, and Feedzai, Remote, Sword Health, Anchorage Digital in 2021. This number is even more impressive if you compare it with unicorns coming out of neighbouring Spain (Cabify, Glovo, Wallbox and Flywire) Italy (Yoox and MutuiOnline) or Greece…
Searching for co-creators 30 years ago and now: Lithuania’s approach to government digital transformation (Sponsored)
Thirty years ago, Lithuania announced a new vision: ‘Lithaunia 2000’. Pioneering the trends of co-creation, ‘Lithuania 2000’ invited the worlds largest tech companies to join forces with the aim to develop Lithuania’s public sector services and IT infrastructure. Lithuania now has a strong digital foundation, but the pace of technological innovation and the needs of…
Berlin-based MedKitDoc picks up €7 million to improve the access to medical care for all
Founded in Berlin in 2020, MedKitDoc has just raised €7 million to improve access to medical care, especially with elderly and chronically ill patients in mind. In addition to Vorwerk Ventures, Acton Capital, and existing investor Picus Capital, FlixBus founders Daniel Krauss and Jochen Engert are also investing in the fast-growing digital health startup. By…
The plant-based revolution: 10 European vegan meat alternative brands to check out
A few years ago, veganism was seen as just a passing trend, a fad, the centre of memes. Today, veganism is no longer a novelty and has undoubtedly reached mainstream adoption. Between 2018 to 2020, Europe’s plant-based food industry grew astronomically by 49%, amounting to total sales of €3.6 billion. A lot of us find…
Estonian fintech startup Raison app reaches €10 million valuation with its late venture investment marketplace
Raison app, the late venture investment marketplace from Estonia, has secured an additional €795k in seed funding with a €10 million valuation led by Server Partners. This comes after the fintech startup raised €125k last year. Founded in 2017, the Raison app aims to democratise top-tier late venture investment, allowing users to get involved in…
Elche-based PLD Space closes €25 million and looks to rocket-launch further expansion
Spanish space tech company, PLD Space, has just closed a Series B funding of €25 million. Founded in 2011, PLD Space has been pioneering the space launch business for small satellites in Europe since its launch. The funding was led by Arcano Partners, Aciturri and the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI) through…
Ten series for budding entrepreneurs to watch over the holidays
It’s the most wonderful time of the year – and a great time to tuck into a new series! There’s an abundance of streaming services available and a bunch of great series out there – especially if you’re a startup enthusiast or budding entrepreneur. The only problem is finding the show you want to watch….
Making online shopping more sustainable and efficient, London’s Purple Dot raises €3.5 million
Pioneering ecommerce waitlist and pre-order platform, Purple Dot, has just raised €3.5 million for its mission to revolutionize how we buy and sell online. The London-based sustainability-focused retailer allows brands to sell products before they arrive in the warehouse via pre-sale and restock waitlists – claiming they can improve sell-through rates by up to 40%. …
Weekly VC Overview: All European startup funding rounds we tracked this week (Dec. 20-23)
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Building Lithuania‘s AI ecosystem – lessons learned from boosting a local AI community (Sponsored)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming a cornerstone of modern economies. While big nations such as the USA and China are in a race to dominate the field, smaller countries, such as Lithuania, are trying to figure out where they stand amidst global AI ecosystems and define which direction to head in. Back in 2019, Lithuania…
Danish medtech startup Hedia raises €3 million and plans European expansion
Medtech startup from Copenhagen, Hedia, has just raised an additional €3 million for its technology to manage diabetes. The company is backed by Novo-heirs, and we reckoned it was one to watch back in 2019. Founded in 2016 by husband-and-wife duo Peter Lucas and Christina Kildentoft, alongside business partner Andreas Jespensgaard, Hedia has developed a…
Beam me up Scotty: 5 European startups having a meaningful impact on the future of space tech
With European tech funding reaching more than €100 billion in 2021, according to the European Tech Report 2021, Europe seems to be on the right track to becoming the tech hub it has been dreaming about for so many years. We are also seeing many more European unicorns – most of them in fintech, e-commerce…
Oslo-based Campanyon reels in €1.5 million for its travel platform for nature-lovers
With the vision to make nature and sustainable travel more accessible, Oslo-based Campanyon has just closed €1.5 million – one year after its first round. The funding is led by Schibsted Ventures with existing investors also participating. The travel tech startup, founded only last year, made it onto our list of Oslo startups to watch…
Female-founded audvice raises €1.9 million to bring the audio boom to companies
Based in Salzburg, audvice has just closed its first VC financing round with Cusp Capital, CapitalT and TinyVC raising €1.9 million. The female-founded tech startup, launched in 2019, is pioneering corporate communication. Co-investors include CapitalT, TinyVC and the founders of Austrian EdTech Unicorn GoStudent, Felix Ohswald and Gregor Müller. On a mission to bring effective…
Estonian Ridango acquires Slovenian-based LIT Transport as the European transport mobility market booms
Estonian tech company Ridango has just announced it has acquired a 100% stake in LIT Transport, a Slovenian based firm providing IT solutions for public transportation. The new group now operates across over 25 countries. Erki Lipre, the chairman of the management board of Ridango, said: “Our joint ambition is to become one of the…
Amsterdam-founded Dealroom secures €6 million for its startup research platform
At the end of what’s been an immense year for European tech startups, Dealroom has just raised €6 million in Series A funding for its data and intelligence platform on startups and tech ecosystems. The funding round was led by Beringea, the transatlantic venture capital firm, with participation from existing investors Knight Venture Capital and…
Norwegian edtech startup Vignita raises over €660k and plans international expansion
Vignita, founded in Oppaker, Norway in 2017, has just raised over €660k in an oversubscribed funding round. Eleven investors participated in this round, including Link Capital, North Venture, Penny Venture and Adler Konsult. The adult education market is booming, worldwide it’s becoming a trillion-dollar industry. Owing to global skills shortages and rapid technological development, we…