Tech.eu

In case you weren't paying attention, a whole boatload of activity happened across the European tech scene this week. So much so that we had trouble whittling down what to discuss and what to let slide.  In discussion: - The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2023 (GSER 2023) - German autonomous trucking company FERNRIDE announces it has raised $31 million in Series A funding. - Venture capital firm...

Acquired by Germany-based Ratiodata in November 2020, Romania-born tech solutions giant Accesa is a perfect example of how 'IT outsourcing' has evolved in the last 20 years. Accesa CEO Andrea Marliere explains. Accesa is a leading technology services company headquartered in Cluj-Napoca (Romania), with offices in Zurich, Oradea and Munich. Over the past 16 years, the company has managed to establi...

The fintech industry- and the business world- is grappling with generative AI, which experts say has the potential to revolutionise financial services. Spearheaded by the rival of ChatGPT, fintechs are being wooed by generative AI’s potential to transform their way of working, from back to front office. In this podcast, we chat with Alexandra Mousavizadeh, an economist who benchmarks banks’ adopti...

We caught up with Mathias Wikström , CEO of Sweden's Doconomy , to learn more about its platform to measure climate and social impact in the financial services industry. The Stockholm-based scale-up, which recently acquired fellow Swedish financial wellbeing fintech Dreams Technology for an undisclosed sum, last raised funding back in September 2021. We asked Wikström what's been up with the busin...

On this Drive at Five editione speziale the omnipresent community builder/angel investor/and now Solo GP, Sarah Drinkwater sits in to discuss her newly announced fund, Common Magic . Tune in, turn it up, and start taking notes, because this week we're talking: - What is a Solo GP fund? - Angel speed, less structure, more access. - Nightclub term sheets. - Traditions to keep, traditions to change....

With the team finally recovered from anything and everything that was the Tech.eu Summit, we're back guns a-blazin'. This week we're talkin': - Sex tech - it's not what people think it is. - Quinky is a company that's developing an app providing sex education through gamification for Gen-Z’s - "We are after all the IP branch of the oldest industry in the world – Sex’ and ‘Social permission and the...

Niknam set up bunq in 2012, inspired to reinvent banking in the wake of the financial crisis.  Today, bunq is one of the most well-known challenger banks across Europe, with millions of users across the Netherlands, Germany, France, and other European contrives. Next up, it is launching in the US market, a tough nut to crack where other European fintechs have struggled. In this podcast, Niknam, a...

Alright meow, listen up, because we've got a whole lotta content to recap and a whole lotta people to thank. If you missed us in Brussels earlier this week, you missed a day full of networking, great talks, and a party that saw music selections by our very own resident DJ, Mr. Robin Wauters.  Meow, to those of you who've already asked - we haven't set the date for next year, but if I know my bosse...

It's all happening man! The Tech.eu Summit is coming up next week, and on a personal note, I can't wait to see and meet and have a beer with each and every one of you. No seriously, buy me a drink, I'll show you. It's been a crazy week and the editorial team is in fine spirits, give a listen to this one folks! Up this week: - Cate throws us a bone and fills us in on what's waggin' in the world of...

Should anyone tell you that preparing for an event is a piece of cake, run. Run far and fast. In case you don't know what I'm alluding to, it's crunch time here at Tech.eu as we gear up for our annual Summit in just 12 days' time. We've got an incredible roster of speakers lined up, and I personally can't wait to geek out on the quantum computers and space tech panels I'll be hosting. But the news...

Aaaaaand we're back! Due in part to the Tech.eu editorial staff being here there and everywhere last week, the Drive at Five took a breather, but to make up for the absence Nick Stevens sits in to provide a comprehensive rundown of what went down in the world of AI this week and what the implications are. But that's not all: 02:21 - Sky News reports that European e-scooter giant Tier Mobility is w...

Hey, you did it! You made it through another week, but did you catch all the European tech news that's fit to print?  If the answer is no, well you've come to the right spot. Now kick off those shoes, grab an icy (or steaming) beverage of your choice, and let us get you up to speed on everything that went down. Note: Please take care when removing said shoes, as it's generally frowned upon at the...

It’s not every day that we hear of a new automotive startup. Automotive accessories, parts, innovations, sure, but a full-blown tyres-to-top, bumper-to-bumper creation? Not so much. But in less than three months since announcing the acquisition of another French EV specialist, one that’s built upon the legacy of the Mini Moke, a lesser-known cousin to the iconic British Motor Corporation builds, t...

Live and direct from the Tech.eu newsroom, it's been a short week, but topics abound. This week we're talkin': 00:57 - Spotted Zebra raised a seed round of $1.8 million for its workforce platform. Fiona sees this as great news for the skills gap sector, as the 'zebras are 'powering the shift to skill-based organisations’. 01:24 - Lithuania’s SME Finance added another €100 million to its pot thanks...

Up this week: 01:10 - Tech startup tackles Ireland's housing crisis by connecting buyers with vacant properties. 08:27 - Quantexa raises a $129 million round at a $1.8 billion valuation. 09:37 - Acorns has acquired GoHenry. 11:49 - Parisians have voted to ban rental electric scooters in their city. 12:32 - Fitfck, the dating app for ‘fit as’ singles, launches with an OnlyFans connection. 15:53 - H...

As to be expected, lots of wheeling and dealing this week with a news cycle that was ringing off the hook. To put it mildly, if we discussed everything that happened this week, this show would run well into the wee hours of the morning. Up this week: 01:10 - No Label Ventures - the new VC Firm for immigrant founders 02:55 - Ireland has a new sustainability accelerator programme and everyone's invi...

Well alright, alright, alright. Spring has sprung and what would a week without a little controversy be? This week we're looking at Hedonova and Carbonomy, or not, the JET and some not-so-nice labour actions, ridiculous funding round names, SerenityNow, DeepDrive's neck breaker of a new EV drivetrain, and Ferrari getting h4x0r3d, again. And one more thing: a Neobanks Report to end all neobanks rep...

Digital currencies. Love 'em, hate 'em, or ambivalent about 'em, the financial instruments are here to stay. But for all the volatility that we've seen in the markets, where exactly does Europe stake its claim in the ecosystem? And what's the deal with MiCA? I sat down with Membrane Finance co-founder and CEO Juha Viitala, and Maki.vc Partner Paavo Räisänen to find out. In this episode: 02:19 - In...

Providing one of the biggest language learning platforms on the planet, Berlin-based veteran tech scale-up Babbel has only raised a little over $30 million to date. An IPO attempt in 2021 failed to materialise, but that doesn't leave the company desperate for funding - at all. We saw down for a good (remote) chat with CEO Arne Schepker to learn more about its current status, and future plans. Babb...

Post-SVB drama, this week might just go down as the week that the world woke up to AI, as GPT-4 dropped, Microsoft and Google unleashed the beast, and people both cheered and feared. Up this week: 01:38 - GPT-4, Microsoft, and Google, oh my!. 02:55 - Climate Policy Radar and GPT-4 . 04:16 - Tech.eu's collective thoughts on AI. 06:47 - is SXSW best in show and best in entertainment, media, and cont...

International law firm Orrick has analysed 500+ transactions it closed for European clients last year, with an aggregate value of more than $12 billion, and released a very comprehensive report based on all that useful data. We caught up with the firm's partner Jamie Moore , and Raph Crouan , who is Orrick's Managing Director for 'Tech Clients' in Europe, to learn more. You can and should check ou...

We caught up with Pedro Barros, Partner and Head of Fundraising & Investor Relations at Target Global, the pan-European technology investment firm with more than €3 billion in assets under management. Last Friday was an interesting day to talk to Pedro Barros , a Partner at multi-billion euros VC firm Target Global who's in charge of fundraising and investor relations at the investment company...

The overarching, and still developing story of what's going on at Silicon Valley Bank has overshadowed pretty much every piece of news that came out this week. And perhaps many more stories to come. But as we watch events unfold ... Up this week: 00:25 - Moody's downgrades Silicon Valley Bank, stock price falls 60%, and all hell breaks loose . 05:03 - International Women's Day: European tech start...

And that's a wrap on February this week folks! While it might be cold and grey out of doors, as expected, it's hunting season and the M&A activities have been off the charts, this week in particular. Up this week: 01:38 - German semiconductor manufacturer Infineon is to buy GaN Systems of Canada for $830 million in cash. 02:12 - Helsinki's cash flow management SaaS Nomentia was acquired by Inf...

On the one-year anniversary of the Russo-Ukrainian war Tech.eu has dedicated our coverage to the Ukrainian ecosystem. In addition to this week's news recap, we heard from Reface co-founder and CEO Dima Shvets about how the company has survived and is growing. Up this week: 00:31 - Interview with Dima Shvets of Reface 14:40 - Lay-offs at Zalando and Ericsson 16:43 - Quantum Motion computes new UK r...