Rotilu discusses-The the birth of Openseed, The benefits of being a solo general partner, What type of investments Openseed is interested in, Why startups should partner up with Openseed, and The investment landscape in Europe and Africa.

Mohammad is the winner of the EIT Changemaker Award and co-founder of Woamy, which develops biodegradable plastic-free biofoam for protective packaging to replace harmful plastic foams. https://www.woamy.com/

Dr. Andreas Bittner is the winner of the Public Award winner from HiQ-CARB, a team that produces sustainable and resource-efficient nanomaterials for high-performance batteries. These materials enable faster-charging electric vehicles, extended battery life spans for mobile phones, and enhanced safety and longevity for battery-powered devices. https://www.greener-carbons.eu/

Asked what per cent of fintechs pitching Breega, a European VC which backs UK savings and investment app Moneybox and UK card-consolidator Curve, are AI-first startups, Breega partner Benjamin Deplus said:

Deplus was speaking on the Tech.eu fintech podcast with Florian Reichert, partner and managing director at Picus Capital, the early-stage tech investment firm, which backs Dutch payment processing tech firm Silverflow and French BNPL firm Alma.

The pair discussed an array of subjects focused on fintech and VC trends in 2024.

On hot investment fintech sectors in 2024, two of those cited by the pair were CFO stack fintechs and payment infrastructure fintechs.

Reichert said:

Deplus said: 

Monika Liikamaa, co-CEO & co-founder of Enfuce, was speaking along with Michaela Berglund, CEO and founder of Feminvest, an events and education platform for women which has also launched an €8.8 million fund to invest in Nordic startups which are majority owned by women.

The pair discussed the dearth of female founders, female CEOs and females working in VCs- and its impact on the industry.

Asked her thoughts on seeing headlines in the media denoting gender such as “female founder raises .... ” and “……  appoints first female CEO”,  Liikamaa says she found the headlines “empowering”-as it shows women were achieving feats.

That said, Liikamaa added:

Liikamaa pointed to data showing companies with female directors outperforming those with male directors.

She said women were partially to blame for the lack of female founders, as they hadn’t explained well enough that women can be founders and have families as well.

In the UK, Anne Boden, founder, Starling Bank; PensionBee founder and  CEO Romi Savova; and Lisa Jacobs, CEO of Funding Circle, are examples of high-profile female leaders.

Liikamaa added:

Talking about Feminvest’s VC fund, Berglund said:

In the Tech.eu podcast, Yorick Naeff, BUX CEO, gives us the background to ABN AMRO’s purchase of BUX, announced in December last year.

The Dutch giant was an early stage investor in BUX- most famous for offering commission-free trading to European investors- and the pair are also tech partners.

“We started discussing opportunities around the summer last year and at some point these things become more concrete,” says Naeff.

“I am very much aware of the pitfalls of becoming part of a larger corporate beast. I think it is up to me to make sure obviously that we keep our innovative power and agility.”

He added it was his job as CEO to “protect” BUX from “too much influence from the larger organisation”.

For example, he wants to ensure that BUX doesn't become too subsumed within ABN AMRO, losing its ability to launch products quickly and also that BUX maintains its tech stack.

On the flip side, he points to the benefits of the tie-up, pointing to ABN AMRO’s global reputation, knowledge and experience across financial services.

Elsewhere in the podcast, Naeff talks about other recent changes to BUX, including 40 per cent job cuts, amid a tough economic environment and why it is shifting out of crypto.

Finally, he talks about the importance for him of work-life balance and says meditation works for him.

He adds:

Wise gives us the full skinny on his new book, Start-Up Nation, which offers a fresh look at the rise in entrepreneurship and startups and how they are changing the world of work as well as what the changing economy means for the future.

He talks about fintech luminaries, such as GoCardless founder Hiroki Takeuchi who was “integral” to some of the thinking behind the book.

On Monzo co-founder Tom Blomfield and Revolut co-founder Nikolay Storonsky, Wise said:

Wise also offers his view on some of the latest fintech trends.

The CEO pointed out that the Middle East was where the world gets a lot of its oil from.

Janardana said:

“What happens in the Middle East? It’s hard to predict.  I am assuming there will be concerns about the conflict spreading and thus putting pressure on oil prices again, driving a new potential inflation scare.

“There is, of course, the tremendous humanitarian cost of what is happening there and what does that do to the West’s ability to support the war in Ukraine? And it’s still a very rapidly developing situation.

“There are many potential scenarios where this can go, where this can get worse. And when that happens, then investors tend to be careful with their money and they like to put that in cash, rather than in stocks.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Janardana talks about some of the high points for Zopa this year, including topping one million customers and crossing £3 billion in deposits.

In 2023, Zopa underwent two fundraising rounds, amid a challenging funding landscape.

But Janardana said the two £75m funding rounds “were not that hard”, owing he said to Zopa’s growth and customer demand for its products.

The fintech boss also touched on whether market conditions had improved to the extent that Zopa would likely soon IPO; the potential launch of new products; and its relationship with investor SoftBank.

The two executives discuss the virtues of their international fintechs having European headquarters and why they chose the cities they are located in.

Sandhofer says: 

Lambert says: 

Lambert adds that London and Amsterdam stand out for their “fintech presence”, adding that London is “a kind of a behemoth”.

Sandhofer says that in European cities outside of London and Amsterdam, where Nium also has a hub in, it is “harder to find talent which is willing to work only in English”.

On having dual headquarters, Lambert says:

The pair also discuss their current working practices, the benefits of hybrid working and whether they plan to open further European offices.

Timberlake, though, says the most prominent difference is between US West Coast VCs and US East Coast VCs, which are more aligned to European VCs.

Timberlake says, generally speaking, US West Coast VCs are looking for binary outcomes, while US East Coast and European VCs are more focused on revenue and loss aversion.

Schäfer said it was difficult to generalise about the differences between US and European VC funds, given fund-to-fund differences.

That said, he said European VC funds tend to be a little smaller in size.

The pair also discuss the trend of US VCs, such as Sequoia and General Catalyst, opening London offices, 

Schäfer said: 

“Of course, if you are on the ground and you can play at seed, and if you hit the winners you will obviously be a lot better at deploying capital because you have to build relationships.”

He said this strategy of US VCs ploughing more resources into Europe was seeming to work.

Timberlake says: 

On whether the trend of US VCs investing heavily in Europe would continue, Schäfer said: 

In this podcast, we talk to Henrik Rosvall, chief operating officer of Stockholm-based climate fintech Doconomy and Emil Stigsgaard Fuglsang, co-founder and chief operating officer at Matter, the Copenhagen-based sustainability insights fintech.

We discuss the fintech scene in Scandinavia and why it is the envy of other nations across Europe; the factors that make cities like Stockholm and Copenhagen attractive fintech ecosystems; how receptive Scandinavians are to startups and fintechs; and whether the desire to tackle the climate crisis is particularly acute in the Nordics.

Commenting on Scandinavian success stories like Klarna and Spotify, Rosvall said: “The big giants have fostered a new generation of entrepreneurs.”

Fuglsang says that those fintechs that are successful in the region are usually successful globally too.

Those that make it in the region “typically make it because we go global quite quick and that is because [Scandinavia] has fairly small markets,” he says

The pair also discuss that the relatively high standards of living in the Nordics mean there is generally a higher motivation to care about climate change and try and tackle it.

The row between Farage and NatWest bank has already accounted for the heads of the CEOs of NatWest and Coutts, the prestigious private bank for the wealthy it owns, and looks set to rumble on.

In this podcast, we chat with a PEP expert Alia Mahmud, who is the Regulatory Affairs Practice Lead at compliance data provider ComplyAdvantage.

Mahmud tells us what exactly a PEP is; how fintechs manage PEP clients and the extra due diligence involved; and why fintechs and other financial institutions might want to reduce their number of PEP clients.

She says that being a PEP involves a “whole lot of complications” and Mahmud also tells us why it is “prudent” for fintechs not get publicly involved in commenting on clients’ political and social beliefs.

We caught up with Mike Tuchen, who joined the company almost three years ago after stints as CEO of companies like Rapid7 and Talend, and was brought on board to lead the scale-up and supercharge global growth.

Started with merely $30,000 in seed funding a decade ago, Onfido has raised more than $200 million in funding to date, and currently employs more than 600 staff around the globe.

According to Tuchen, revenue has reached well over $100 million a year, but getting the multi-national company to cashflow-positivity while maintaining healthy growth figures is one of his priorities.

We didn't only talk numbers though; Tuchen also went deep into Onfido's software, its positioning, how and why it uses artificial intelligence in its products, combatting bad actors and deepfakes, the war for talent, the company's recent acquisition of Airside, his take on the UK and European technology ecosystems, and much more.

You can also watch the interview directly on YouTube.

A few months back, the company raised $40 million right before completing the first successful flight of its flagship aircraft, the Black Swan.

As the deep tech firm gears up to close a Series A round, Dronamics wants to build on the momentum by commercialising its drone.

We caught up with one of the two brothers who co-founded the company, CEO Svilen Rangelov, to learn more about the startup's fascinating journey.

You can also watch the interview on YouTube

The AI wars are heating up: During London Tech Week Prime Minister Rishi Sunak set the goal of establishing the UK as the global home of artificial intelligence. This week OpenAI, the firm behind ChatGPT, announced that it would open its first international office in London, and Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis went on record stating that his engineers are building an AI system dubbed Gemini that will be more capable than that of OpenAI. All the while Stability AI, the company behind Stable Diffusion is looking, well, a bit unstable.

A new report from Frontline Growth took a look at how US companies succeed and fail when it comes to European expansion. Representing up to 40% of global revenue for public software businesses, The authors note that "the strength of today's European tech ecosystem makes ignoring the region a costly mistake." Frontline goes on to cite the problem of success amnesia, where companies focus on sales at the expense of local marketing, community development, and brand-building efforts. Their data shows that 50% of companies don't have a single marketing resource in Europe a year after landing.

Following a retreat from France, Turkish speedy grocery service Getir is now pulling out of Spain. Spain's biggest trade union CCOO didn't mince words stating, "We condemn the disastrous business management of Getir, which has not known how to grow or have a market strategy in Spain. Now its staff will suffer the biggest harm." In light of these developments, it would appear as though Getir's rumoured offer to acquire Flink might well be off the table.

VTT Spinout Steady Energy is working on a 50MW nuclear reactor to be used to heat homes in Europe. Operating at significantly lower temperatures and pressure than a traditional reactor, the company's CEO Tommi Nyman says, "The pressure required by the LDR-50 reactor is comparable to the pressure that of a household espresso machine. It operates at a lower pressure than a district heating network. This ensures that in case of a malfunction which leads to a leak, the leak is contained within the heating plant, without endangering people or the environment."

Working on the algorithms that drive quantum computing, specifically, applying these algorithms to drug discovery and development, Finnish startup Algorithmiq 's CEO and co-founder Sabrina Maniscalco says that, "a useful quantum advantage is coming sooner than many think."

A new report issued by ESG_VC and BVCA analysed ESG data provided by 450 startups backed by leading venture capital firms including Lakestar, Balderton, Molten Ventures, Highland Europe, Beringea, and MMC Ventures. We spoke to ESG_VC co-founder Henry Philipson about how the initiative is aiming to assist startups navigate the world of ESG, as well as gather his response to commentary that startups shouldn't be focusing on ESG in early days.

Either way, due to popular demand stemming from her appearance at our Summit just last month, we're welcoming Earlybird Venture Capital's Marieke Gehres to the show today where she brings a unique opinion to this week's news.

We're talkin':

- Finally, Bolt + Starship have ‘shipped’!
- Bolt's new scooters are on the lookout for bad riders
- Are new immigrant policies a threat to the Finnish start-up ecosystem?
- Crappy photos no more thanks to generative AI
- How do you get the US Marine Corps as a client? The power of partnerships
- €100 million tech campus planned for Vilnius – Tech Zity to create ‘largest tech campus in Europe’
- EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager is in the running for the top job at the European Investment Bank
- Open AI - stolen EMEA account details for sale
- EasyTranslate is using generative AI to drill down to client-specific language models
- Wimbledon and IBM for AI tennis
- The BBC documentary about London-based events startup Pollen and its collapse: Crashed: $800 million festival fail
- Sequoia's new tool to help find talent: Atlas.

All this, and a whole lot more on this week's episode of the Drive at Five!

Globant may not be a household name in the global tech field, but arguably it should be.

Founded in Buenos Aires by four friends back in 2003, the software development giant went public in 2014 and currently has a market cap just south of $8 billion, bringing in hundreds of millions in revenue on a quarterly basis from clients all over the world.

Its relationship with Europe goes back a long way. The company opened an office in London around a year after its founding, and one of its first key clients was the UK-based Lastminute.com.

Since then, the company has built up its business in this part of the world and opened quite a number of talent hubs, from the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy to smaller countries such as Romania, Poland, and Denmark.

It also captured attention globally at the tail end of last year by scoring a multi-year agreement with football's world governing body FIFA to "supercharge the growth of the FIFA+ streaming platform and support football’s flagship events".

We caught up with Fernando Matzkin, Chief Business Officer and GM of Europe for the company, to learn more about its future plans for European expansion.

Matzkin, who's been with Globant for more than 14 years, previously headed up the company's business in North America, and is now tasked with growing its business in Europe, where it already has more than 11,000 staff.

Globant aims to do that through client recruitment and partnerships, as well as opening new and further boosting existing talent hubs, but also through targeted acquisitions and startup investments, Matzkin says.

The company has a CVC fund called - simply - 'Globant Ventures' but also operates the 'Be Kind Tech Fund', which invests in startups that tackle the misuse of technology in society.

Currently, Europe represents only 15% of Globant's revenue, but the desire to grow that footprint to a bigger percentage is clear.

Recently, it made acquisitions in France (Pentalog), Denmark (Vertic), and Italy (Sysdata) and announced back in September 2021 it would invest £65 million over a number of years to bolster its business in the UK.

Stay tuned for much more Globant activity in Europe in the near future.

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 Molten Ventures has written down its holding in Revolut by 40%, adding to the fintech company’s recent trouble as it struggles to gain a UK banking licence.
- Stock trading app Freetrade is cutting its pre-money valuation by around 65% ahead of a planned Crowdcube fundraise later this month.
- UK payments unicorn GoCardless is to cut 17% of staff in a bid to shave 15% off its cost base and quote unquote rediscover its scrappy startup energy.
- Digital bank Zopa, also based in the UK, is rejigging its leadership team.
- Amsterdam-based cloud banking provider Mambu has announced the immediate departure of its CEO and co-founder Eugene Danilkis for “personal reasons”.
- France is openly courting to become the home of Tesla's next Gigafactory in Europe.
- Earlier this week, Musk met with the Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni as leaders in Europe attempt to woo the Tesla boss into building a new car manufacturing facility in their countries.
- Less than a month old startup Mistral AI raised a seed round of €105 million at a €240 million valuation.
- Wargraphs sells to M.O.B.A Network for €50 million.
- Wayflyer renews debt line of $300 million from JP Morgan.
- EU Regulation Update
- Amsterdam - Framer AI
- Mercedes adding ChatGPT to their cars
- a16z crypto comes to London.
- Pirate Summit scuttles the ship with its last burn.

All this and a whole lot more on this week's Drive at Five!

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 establish itself as an employer of choice for IT professionals.

Today, the company offers a wide array of technology competences and partnerships, providing services like software development, cloud solutions, automation, artificial intelligence, e-commerce and intelligence workplace solutions, and much more.

In November 2020, Accesa joined forces with Ratiodata, one of the largest system houses and service providers for banking technology and document digitalisation in Germany. This has allowed the company to grow to around 1,200 IT professionals on the team, servicing more than 70 clients globally.

In the past, companies would simply outsource their IT needs to third-party vendors who would provide temporary staff to work on specific projects.

Today, however, nearshoring has become a more sophisticated and strategic approach than pure outsourcing. Rather than simply providing staff on a temporary basis, nearshoring involves integrating the outsourcing partner into the company's value chain. This means that the outsourcing partner becomes a strategic partner to the company, working closely with them to achieve specific business objectives.

I caught up with Accesa CEO Andrea Marliere to learn from about this shift to nearshoring, and the new trend which is 'friendshoring'.

She explained more about how and why she joined the company, how the company ended up joining Ratiodata, and how Accesa aims to deliver value to its partners now and in the future (with case studies to boot!).

In this podcast, we chat with Alexandra Mousavizadeh, an economist who benchmarks banks’ adoption of AI and Christian Trummer, the co-founder and CTO of crypto company Bitpanda, about the potential of AI.

Mousavizadeh says generative AI will be as transformative as email and “change the way we work”.

“The release of ChatGPT has put AI at the top of mind of every CEO in every sector,” she says.

But she caveats this by saying generative AI is not a “plug and play” and highlights the challenge of running Large Language Models (LLMs), the algorithmic basis for AI-powered Chatbots like ChatGPT, on financial data.

Trummer, meanwhile, predicts that in the future amid the rise of generative AI, “everyone will need to be a prompt engineer”.

Bitpanda has recently made a whopping $10m investment in AI and Trummer discusses how the money will be spent and what impact the technology will have on his business and fintech more broadly.

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 business since, if fresh financing will (need) to be raised, and learned more about how the company helps banks, brands, and consumers better understand and reduce their environmental impact.

You can watch the video on YouTube here.

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.
- Sarah has raised one-third of a targeted £10 million.
- Investing in 30 to 35 startups in Europe and the US at the pre-seed and seed stage.
- "Hey kid, here's a hundred bucks, don't spend it all in one place."
- "Products with community at their core." What does that mean?
- Sarah's first job? You do not want to miss the answer.
- Flexing the Google
- 2014 - 2018 London. Good times.
- SuperVenture: 40 people at a meeting, 38 in ironed white or blue shirts.
- Temperature check: what is the funding landscape like at the minute?
- What are LPs looking for right now?
- Who do you see as people, "who are underestimated and underrepresented in their field"?
- Grit!
- An eye infection, pitching for 50 hours a week, and nobody says yes.
- Pitfalls founders should be aware of when setting out on community building.
- Nick breathes community. But only if they smell good.
- A thesis, an ah-ha moment, and a "but isn't this obvious?"
- Great club nights.
- "I'm always nervous about trends because trends imply impermanence."
- Building community is hard. Community builders are busy.

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 confidence to ask for what they want in the bedroom because that transcends to the boardroom" - Dominique Karetsos, CEO of the Healthy Pleasure Group.
- Elaine Burke in the Business Post Connected goes into detail about different areas of sex tech.
- British digital bank Monzo has hit profitability for the first time.
- Klarna, the Swedish buy now, pay later company, also recently unveiled that it has halved its net loss in the first quarter.
- Revolut is definitely not profitable yet, but it has announced reaching over 30 million retail customers making 400 million transactions a month.
- Taxfix has laid off 20% of its staff — 120 employees — as part of wider restructuring of the business aimed at cutting costs.
- Vitamin has folded.
- John Reynolds knows fintech.
- Creative equity is the new investment.
- Today global travel experiences platform and marketplace GetYourGuide, announced the closing of $194 million in equity and credit financing.
- NVIDIA was and then they weren't, but either way, the keynote was hot shiz.
- AI made the cover of TIME Magazine.
- More letters about AI. Probably lost in the post.
- OpenAI is handing out cold hard cash.
- Italy bans, unbans, and now establishes a state-backed fund to support AI startups.
- Japan says copyright, schmopyright when it comes to training AI.
- Your honour, ChatGPT has no further questions.
- Spanish startup Jeff never closed a €90 million round, hasn’t paid employees for nine months, and is now filing for bankruptcy. 

All this and a whole lot more in this week's Drive at Five! If you've enjoyed this show, be sure to like, subscribe, tell your friends, tell your enemies, hell, tell your dog too.

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 serial entrepreneur who set up his first company when he was just 16, offers his insight into some of the latest fintech news stories.

This includes revealing his dealings with fintech regulators in light of strained relations between rival neobank Revolut and UK regulators.

“Maybe Revolut’s relationship with the regulators is good and this is just a way for Nik [Storonsky] to get free publicity,” Niknam says.

He also offers a damning view of the current commercial potential of crypto and blockchain applications.

Talking about bunq, Niknam reveals the challenger bank is on course to make a full-year profit for the first time, as challenger banks across Europe face increased pressure to swing into the black.

He also shines a light on bunq’s plans to launch in the US, and how it might be bolstered by a new funding round.

On the European challenger bank market, he tells us why he thinks bunq’s subscription model will win out against free-of-charge rivals.

“Any business that wants to survive needs to be profitable,” he says, in a dig at rivals who have amassed millions of customers but remain unprofitable.

Finally, Niknam addresses criticism about his management style, saying those employees who criticise him didn’t meet the grade.

On disgruntled ex-bunq employees “venting” online, he says, “We always find it a bit sad that people don’t discuss it internally” but “it’s a free country”.

Meow, to those of you who've already asked - we haven't set the date for next year, but if I know my bosses, they'll be kicking off some superwickedcrazy early bird ticket sales sometime soon. Stay tuned.

Up this week:

- Cate goes nuclear. With Heike Freund, Chief Operating Officer, Marvel Fusion and Mathieu de Lophem Partner, Nuketech.
- Manna Drones' Bobby Healy reveals the company's most delivered item, and we ponder how another type of product delivery might work.
- Meatable has developed the ability to create high-quality cultivated meat in only eight days.
- Google co-founder Sergey Brin orders up a $330,000 burger.
- Wall-e isn't what you think it is. Or is it?
- Spacetech and sustainability DO go together. Quite well in fact.
- Quantum computing: The magic number is 300.
- Flink has reportedly raised at least €150 million as takeover talks with Getir remain fruitless.
- Fake news about the Pentagon.
- NVIDIA is set to join the trillion-dollar club.
- Microsoft marches on with AI offerings. Are we looking at Clippy 6.0?
- OpenAI and governance. 'Nuff said.
- Adobe introduces generative AI in photoshop, Dan puts it to the test.
- Fiona sat down with Caroline Farberger, Nora Beavy, and Merike Gehrts at our Summit to discuss diversity.
- and Robin's anxious to watch videos!

All this, and a whole lot more on this week's Drive at Five!

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 pet tech
- BASF business incubator Chemovator has opened its door to startups outside of the company
- We stand in solidarity with CNET journalists
- The Titanic: Full-sized scans reveal the wreck as never seen before
- Regulators say no no no to Revolut's bid for a full on banking license
- Seedcamp hauls home $180 million
- Fake Tan meets Fake Article. Irish Times got played and Fiona fell for it too
- Evie Ring by Movano announced its launch date for September
- Elkstone has closed its €100 million early-stage venture fund
- The EU Artificial Intelligence Act
- Sam Altman at Congress
- Zoom + Anthropic
- Buzzfeed
- The Creator
- The Death of a Translator

All this and waaaaaay more on this week's Drive at Five.

But the news cycle is a never-ending beast and it's been a busy week. Let's get you up to speed:

01:49 - Paris-based EV charging infrastructure builder Driveco has raised €250 million in a new funding round.
02:10 - Jolt Energy announced a €150 million investment from InfraRed Capital Partners to bring its ultra-fast charging stations to urban areas across Europe and the US.
02:24 - A few weeks ago, Helsinki-based electric vehicle charging platform Virta also raised €85 million in a new funding round.
02:41 - Shell struck a deal to acquire the evpass EV charging network in Switzerland.
02:55 - Tesla drops prices in Spain as it goes head-to-head with Wallbox.
03:23 - The E-20 highway.
04:32 - What is the ultimate charging tune?
05:00 - "In Norway, the Electric Vehicle Future Has Already Arrived"
06:07 - Where was the first electric vehicle made? Dan thought it was Dr. Porsche in Vienna, but Nick knows the real deal.
07:11 - Fiona weighs in on the Baltics and promotes Robin's appearance on The Pursuit of Scrappiness podcast.
08:12 - The Scaling of Ecosystems panel with ARC CEO Stuart Grant, Maria 01 CEO Ville Simola, and BeCentral Co-founder and MD Laurent Hublet.
10:30 - In contrast to Robin admitting that he doesn't make predictions on Episode 8 of Selected - The Sesamers podcast, Cate is going out on a limb and predicting ...
11:03 - Green software to be the next big thing.
11:25 - The ICT sector is responsible for up to 3.9% of global emissions — almost as much as the airline and shipping industries.
12:20 - Cate spoke with Dr. Huamin Chen, a Senior Principal Software Engineer and Sustainability Technical team lead at the Red Hat about project Kepler.
15:31 - Doing more with less.
16:44 - Aiiii Carumba!
17:32 - IBM goes BIG on AI.
18:02 - Hugging Face, the darling of open-sourcing everything AI launches transformers agent.
19:39 - Google I/O. Ohhhhhh.
22:08 - Humane is starting to creep out into the world.
22:59 - Everseen is using AI to help companies keep tabs on inventory. And announced a €65 million raise this week.
24:22 - 23-year-old Snapchat influencer Caryn Marjorie used OpenAI’s technology to create an A.I. version of herself that will be your girlfriend for $1 per minute. Caryn. CAAAAARRRRRYYYN!
25:41 - RewindAI turns the tables on investors and comes out winning big.
26:44 - The EU's new rules and regs on AI - we're going deep next week. Promise.
27:30 - Wingcopter announced the raise of €40 million this week alongside a pilot project that will see the drone maker flying high above German skies and delivering groceries to remote locales. Now, if Getir gets Flink and essentially creates a monopoly in the groceries-to-your-door space, do they have aspirations much bigger than just snacks? I can think of a certain book distributor that certainly went down that path.
31:25 - All good things must come to an end, and so it is with Pirate Summit.

All this and a whole lot more on this week's Drive at Five!

But that's not all:

02:21 - Sky News reports that European e-scooter giant Tier Mobility is working with bankers at Qatalyst Partners to explore their options for a potential merger with or an outright sale of the company to one of its rivals.
05:25 - The Tech.eu Summit is happening on the 24th of May in Brussels. The agenda and full speaker lineup are now live!
06:17 - Ahead of the Summit, Fiona interviewed Caroline Farberger where she revealed, "I genuinely thought that the playing field was even when I lived as a man, but I only had to live as a woman for a few months to realise how wrong I had been, how little I understood."
07:39 - Fiona also spoke to Tech.eu Summit edtech panelists Svenia Busson, co-founder of the European Edtech Alliance, and Manna drone delivery CEO Bobby Healy about bridging the divide between the education system and real-world employment.
11:28 - AI. What a week. Nick breaks down how the employment of AI is affecting the employment of humans, most notably at Chegg, Shopify, and IBM.
14:37 - The Guardian reported that a UK competition watchdog launches review of AI market.
14:45 - The White House announced new actions to promote responsible AI innovation that protects Americans’ rights and safety.
15:07 - The godfather of AI, Dr. Geoffrey Hinton left Google to speak out about the dangers of AI.
16:03 - A leaked document indicates that open source AI will outcompete both Google and OpenAI.
19:11 - Istanbul-based Getir, who most recently raised approximately $500 million, is in talks to acquire German competitor Flink.
22:12 - At risk of a Nasdaq delisting, Lilium says it needs to raise $250 million, Tencent puts up $100 million at first close and offers more, but with a caveat.

All this and more on this week's Drive at Five!

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 pub, in the tube, and can be a safety hazard whilst driving.

Up this week:

01:08 - 4/20, a day that will live in infamy, the day the blue tick died.
02:26 - Robin discusses haircuts, specifically valuation haircuts.
02:41 - Getir's raised a bunch of cash again, but has seen its valuation nearly halved to $6.5 billion.
04:07 - Things aren't looking so good for Berlin-based fintech N26 and its valuation has been decreased to around $3 billion, down from a high of $9 billion.
04:57 - CulturePulse raised "just shy of $1 million" in a seed funding round and is possibly de-spamming the spam?
07:49 - RebelTech raised €1.5 million to help clean up the tech refurbishing process. And they're using frickin' laser beams!
09:29 - Rovio. Angry Birds no more after a €706 million acquisition by Sega?
12:42 - French EV maker Kate wants to get a brand new ride in your hands at a starting cost of €15,000.
16:22 - John Reynolds is back with a comprehensive look at the European BNPL industry, highlighting the players worth knowing, their positioning, the rise of B2B BNPL, regulation, and much more.
16:59 - Lawmakers in the European Parliament this week approved a package of rules aimed at regulating the cryptocurrency industry, aka MiCA.

All this, and a whole lot more on this week's edition of the Drive at Five.

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, the Mini, Kei-car inspired auto builder Kate announces today that it’s secured €7 million in a seed funding round.

In an interview with Kate CEO and co-founder Matthias Goldenberg, he revealed that the €7 million will be used to accelerate R&D activities around the company’s upcoming K1 vehicle, as well as begging the development of the assembly line process.

With every automaker under the sun making their own play in the hybrid and/or all-electric four-wheeled mode of transportation sector, does the world really need another player? According to Goldenberg, most certainly yes.

“We have a lot of electric cars on the roads already, but the new thing is to reduce the size of the car. When you see the figures of usage of cars, you see that 98% of journeys are under 80 kilometres. And this generates 11% of CO2 emissions,” explained Goldenberg. “Right now, the car is becoming less efficient, more expensive, larger, heavier. That’s crazy.”

And while in 2021, SUV sales accounted for 48% of the passenger car market in China, Goldenberg is betting the future of Kate on the shift from a bigger is better mentality will occur through necessity.

“This shift will occur because of the price of the car. Today, if we would like an electric car, it’s €40,000 or €50,000. It’s very expensive and it's just impossible for all people to buy this.”

Kate’s coup de grâce lies in the fact that its four-person, four-wheeled, 450kg people mover will debut at a price of just €15,000.

To put that into perspective, adjusted for inflation, one of the most iconic people carriers of all time, the VW Beetle would cost in today’s EUR, €14,664, weigh 200kg more than Kate’s K1 and be powered by dead dinosaurs that have to be extracted from the ground and produce CO2 emissions whilst in use.

The company is now taking orders for its Original model, a completely revamped version of the NoSmoke, a model which while offering owners the same ear-to-ear smile the vehicle has been capable of since 1959, Goldenberg admits that the vehicle is functioning as a testbed, or MVP, for the under-development flagship model the K1. 

Alongside real-world R&D testing and research within the Original, sales of the company’s first offer are also being used to partially fund the continued development of the K1.

All in all, Goldenberg and Co. remain incredibly optimistic about what they’re working on, “With its modern design and exceptional performance, the K1 is destined to become one of the most iconic cars of our time.” And if the Beetle drew the map, the K1 appears to already be plotting its course.

During our podcast/audio interview, I received a personal invitation to travel to Paris for the unveiling (and potentially a head-to-head race with the co-founders) and will report back in the coming month as to whether Kate’s K1 really is made of The Right Stuff. 

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 to London-based Fasanara Capital.
01:45 - Czech Republic has a new investment fund for AI start-ups. (AISI) AI Start-up Incubator is aiming to raise €20 million to support early-stage AI-driven companies.
02:03 - CampX by Volvo Group announced that they will also be adding a focus on fintech innovations going forward to ‘better support their customers with productivity and sustainable solutions’.
03:10 - OpenAI’s ChatGPT is entering a world of regulatory pain in Europe.
03:20 - Would you like to see the video version of these podcasts? Hit us up on the Tweeters and let us know.
06:16 - Who's enforcing this? Is this like a Sicilian task force?
08:00 - The horse has already bolted.
08:24 - Remember EyeEm? Well, it looks like they're now ByeEm. Here's the story. 😞
08:45 - Robin sold a photo.
10:39 - Lifetime earnings: $4.28.
15:45 - Cate brings us death tech. Again. I'm starting to sense an obsession.
20:27 - Do they have to be dead?
20:44 - I want to be smoked after I'm dead.
22:37 - Robin's one more thing: Raspberry Pi has received fresh investment from Sony’s semiconductor unit.
24:24 - Could it get me a beer?

All this and a whole lot more on this week's Drive at Five!

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 - Hyperjob raises €435k to bring marketing tactics to the recruitment process.
17:14 - Electric boat maker X Shore sees bow lift after €26.6 million raise.
18:08 - Electric motorcycle producer STILRIDE pulls back the curtain on final design, reveals price.

All this and a whole lot more!

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 invited
06:25 - Norway’s 1X raised $23.5 million in OpenAi-led round, and is working its robots into the security sector. What could possibly go wrong?
10:11 - Tech Nation is in talks with Founders Forum Group. Yay!
12:35 - Isar Aerospace closed a €155 million round, while Virgin Orbit called it a day and is shuttering its doors effective immediately.
15:00 - The European Champions Alliance is helping scaleups maintain and foster innovation in Europe. Suhweeet!
18:38 - There's another event that's also helping scaleups maintain and foster innovation in Europe. Hint: May 24, Brussels.
19:36 - Fiona's one more thing. That she forgot. No Lable Ventures helps folks with visas.
20:28 - Robin's one more thing. By Dan. Sweden's Zound Industries turned the partnership up to 11 and acquired Marshall.

All this and a whole lot more on this week's episode of the Drive at Five.

Keen listeners will recognise that we've taken a staple of the show and moved it from the very end to the very beginning. Because lulz.

Up this week:

00:50 - Shady actors called Carbonomy and a questionable-at-best hedge fund named Hedonova.
06:16 - Tech.eu has invited Hedonova to join us for a rebuttal in a video interview format.
08:11 - Just Eat Takeway, the sage continues as it said on Tuesday it will reorganise in Britain, ending an employment model called Scoober by which it employs its own couriers.
08:43 - SCOOBER!
12:39 - HeavyFinance raised €3 million in a seed round aimed at fuelling expansion efforts.
12:48 - Social fitness app GoJoe bags a sports star and £1.2 million in its Seed round.
13:26 - emma raised $6 million in Seed funding to hire engineers for no-code platform.
13:45 - Finland’s MVision AI raised €5.4 million for an AI-powered Cancer treatment planning platform.
14:07 - Fiona gets creative with funding round nomenclature.
15:32 - After seven years bootstrapped, IntegrityNext takes on €100 million via EQT Growth.
15:49 - Serenity NOW!
17:47 - Lieferkettensorgfalts­pflichtengesetz.
18:55 - i Ventures. iPod? iPad? iPhone? i Series cars ... lightbulb moment.
19:16 - BMW i Ventures shifts €15 million DeepDrive’s way.
20:10 - Italia’s pride tarnished as the Prancing Horse of Ferrari falls prey to ransomware.
22:05 - Winningest. It is a word.
22:46 - One more thing: A Neobanks Report. Go read it. Lots of numbers. And a pretty table.

All this and a whole lot more on this week's episode of the Drive at Five!

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 - Intros and who and what Membrane Finance is, and why it matters.
03:25 - What's the big deal with crypto and what's the Golden Promise?
04:33 - Where it all started and where we're going.
07:40 - Why is crypto plagued with horror stories?
08:50 - What's the deal with the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation?
09:20 - What's a stablecoin?
10:27 - Who's backing the majority of stablecoins and why isn't it Europe?
13:00 - A safe haven. In a good way.
14:25 - Well-timed regulation.
15:45 - The EUROe, a stablecoin that's tied to the Euro.
17:38 - The digitally native Euro.
19:32 - Where can I get my EUROe?
20:42 - Better regulation in the EU market.
21:43 - A "safe gateway".
23:00 - The European standard.
23:56 - Maki.vc's take on Membrane Finance and European crypto.

Babbel, the edtech company behind the eponymous popular subscription-based online language learning service, is not exactly a spring chicken anymore. Born back in 2007, the scale-up has - weirdly - picked up no more than $30 million in funding to date, despite running one of the biggest subscription-based language learning businesses on the planet.

Or maybe it's not despite but thanks to that status, as the company - now with more than 1,000 employees - is generating enough cash not to think about external funding all that much. It also doesn't need to think about pursuing an IPO any time soon, which in this market is hard enough as it is.

Babbel famously launched an IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in 2021, but those plans were cancelled rather quickly.

But meanwhile, the company kept on growing, got really big in the US, and continues to hire at a fast pace.

More than enough reasons to sit down for a chat with Babbel CEO Arne Schepker, who joined the company back in 2015 and seems to have enjoyed the rollercoaster years that followed.

You can watch the interview above or directly on YouTube.

Also read:

By helping displaced Ukrainians learn a new language, Berlin's Babbel tries to make a difference

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 content winner PentoPix killing creativity? Cate finds out. And explains Cocaine Bear.
11:47 - Dan visits a lot of sketchy places on the interwebz; Cate helps us all stay private in our travels via Gener8.
16:08 - Robin's still burning dead dinosaurs with his kid transportation device, and it looks like the UK's EV developer Arrival isn't arriving any time soon.
19:12 - Speaking of delistings - Just Eat Takeaway.com and Rocket Internet.
20:50 - Happy St. Patrick's Day, what's what with Manna Drone Delivery, and Fiona dives deep with Starship Technologies.
25:56 - Robin's One More Thing - 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.

All this and a whole lot more on this week's episode of the Drive at Five!

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 out the report proper, but both gentlemen did a great job summarising the main findings of the research, which includes things like term sheet terms have become 'more investor-friendly' (so, less founder-friendly) in recent times, the average deal size in Europe declining, the rise of debt funding in these parts, and more.

You can also watch the interview directly on YouTube.

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, as the SVB saga started unfolding.

So of course the first questions were about Silicon Valley Bank, but it quickly turned to how the past 3.5 years after Pedro joined Target Global have been for the man, given that there wasn't a dull moment in European tech and VC in recent history.

Target Global is focused on Europe and Israel, and has made investments in the likes of Delivery Hero, Grover, WeFox, Revolut, Cazoo, Auto1, Omio, and plenty more.

Pedro discussed the current trends in the European tech innovation and investment space, given the downturn and market volatility that's defined it in the past 15 months or so, and what the sentiment is like in LP and fund manager circles these days.

We also talked about interesting sectors and geographies that are on Target's, well, target list, and how long it will be before things get back to 'normal' (whatever that means).

You can also watch the interview directly on YouTube.

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 startups – a long way off gender pay equality, UK Women tech founders are taking a bigger share – 24 percent capital increase in 2022 compared to 2021, and Geraldine MacCarthy, Chief Revenue Officer at Personio offers her advice on how we bring more females into the tech sector.
07:38 - Meet the rising female founders building the Metaverse.
10:58 - Once looking at a unicorn valuation, UK fintech Railsr has been sold to a consortium of investors.
12:52 - Is this the same Nigerian prince?
13:23 - Italian unicorn Scalapay pays out as it acquires Cabel IP.
15:11 - UK Government unveils £360 million plan to ‘cement the UK’s place as a science and technology superpower by 2030’
17:00 - Would you keep your money in SVB?

All this and a whole lot more on this week's episode of the Drive at Five!

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 Inflexion for a rumoured €300 million.
02:20 - Milan’s Nexi to purchase 80 percent of Sabadell's PayComent for €280 million.
02:32 - Britishvolt finds a new owner in the Australian firm Recharge Industries.
03:45 - Summa Equity has acquired a majority stake in cybersecurity firm Logpoint.
03:53 - Shell struck a deal to acquire the evpass EV charging network in Switzerland.
04:49 - QDNL Participations announced the launch of a €15 million early-stage Dutch quantum fund. (With commentary from Managing Director Ton van 't Noordende).
06:40 - High-Tech Gründerfonds closed a new fund at €493.8 million.
08:21 - Payfit to part ways with 200 people, or 20% of its workforce. Or is it more like 290 people?
09:36 - Swedish payments group Klarna aims to return to profit by the summer after posting record losses.
10:05 - Revolut has posted its first annual profit of £26.3 million in 2021. And is there something fishy going on over at The Columbus Building?
10:47 - Bunq released numbers and claims to now be the first EU-based neobank to report a quarterly profit.
11:04 - Starling Bank achieved its first full year of profitability, just five years after launching in app stores, and Monzo clocked up a loss of £119 million.
11:36 - Wise announced that it has “reached 16 million customers served worldwide”, and revealed plans for further global expansion.
12:58 - Robin's one more thing: London and Berlin account for more than 51 percent of European VC job listings
14:25 - Robin checks his agenda, rustles some papers, and yes, the Tech.eu Summit IS happening on the 24th of May in Brussels! If you act now (operators are standing by) you can save €150 on our early bird tickets.
16:02 - Dan runs out of breath.

All this and a whole lot more on this week's episode of the Drive at Five!

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 record with £42 million raise
19:02 - Robin's 'quick' rundown of a whole lotta other news
20:55 - Europe's AI industry's set to confound market expectations, generating 25% CAGR through to 2026

Slava Ukraini.

We recently reported on new analysis by Not Optional which found that over the past six years, the 2017 average of 12 percent of European employee ownership has climbed to 16 percent.

Not quite the 20 percent still enjoyed across the pond, but a 4 percent increase is better than a no percent increase, and figures continue to go up.

Looking at 2021 and 2022 numbers, years that saw the crowning of 124 new venture-backed unicorns, the increase in percentage equates to some €5+ billion more that’s been put into the hands of European startup employees.

We had a catch-up with Dominic Jacquesson, VP of Insight and Talent at Index Ventures, to learn more about the campaign and the report that was released last week, and what will need to happen to maintain the momentum.

Also, a good reminder to check out the handy resources Index makes available to all, including the OptionPlan app that helps founders get employee ownership right from the get-go.

But, co-founder and CEO Johannes Reck tells me in a recent video interview, there's a profound belief within the company that the best years for the travel tech unicorn are still to come.

With close to $900 million in financing received to date, GetYourGuide has seen more than 80 millions tours booked through its platform since its inception, and its focus is now on helping people personalise their travel experiences while helping tour operators, guides, and others on the supply side run their businesses online more efficiently.

Reck talked about how the company weathered the Covid-19 storms, how big its TAM is (and can become in the future), what happened to its 'Originals' product, how GetYourGuide deploys AI and machine learning to innovate, and the strategic partnerships it's currently building to expand its reach.

He also discussed future plans for funding or a potential IPO or acquisition for GetYourGuide, and shared his insider take on the evolution of the Berlin tech ecosystem. 

We had an interesting chat with Tech Nation's CEO, Gerard Grech, on the impending closure, how it came to pass, and what happens next with regards to the non-profit's activities, its team, and, of course, himself personally.

Grech explained why Tech Nation was unable to continue operating without the UK government's core funding, and called into question Barclays' ability to serve the UK tech ecosystem's needs at the same level as Tech Nation has in the past nine odd years as a private, commercial organisation rather than a non-profit, a sentiment echoed loudly by others as well.

Grech also pointed out that Tech Nation will be continuing its work bringing global tech talent to the UK through the 'Global Talent' visa scheme in the immediate term, despite the impending cease of operations and the fact that Barclays will not be taking this over. The organisation has helped bring more than 6,000 tech workers to the UK with the visa endorsement process to date, and will continue to do so until further notice.

Grech also commented on a potential future for Tech Nation's assets and body of work, this week's launch by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of an all-new Department for Science, Innovation and Technology in the UK, and whether or not he will ever bank with Barclays. :)

03:00: Scaling startups showcase cutting-edge Industrial tech at the Sixth Sense Summit
09:10: The end of an era as Tech Nation to cease operations as of March 31st
17:33: Robots aren't representing us in court but here are 7 legal tech startups transforming the legal system
21:56: In no way boring, spacetech startup The Exploration Company lands €40.5 million

And this doesn't even dive into our conversation about dongles, being left-handed, the Mac Mini M2 vs. the Mac Studio M1, Italy, and a whole lot more on this week's Drive at Five!

If your prefer, you can also watch the double interview straight on YouTube.

And in case you missed it, there is a new European VC collective called ImpactVC and comprising 120 venture firms, including Northzone and Balderton, that will attempt to disseminate industry knowledge on leveraging ROI and ESG value from impact-led investments.

Robin covers:

• Layoffs sadly.

Callum digs into:

• Tech.eu's tracking of smart building tech and some interesting funding rounds in the space.

Cate featured:

• Berlin's Tomorrow Biostasis, a startup that's working on cryopreservation and how death might not be the final chapter for us humans.

Dan lays down:

• Quantum computing player Pasqal announced a raise of €100 million in a Series B round this week, and how they're planting a flag for Paris in the home-of-quantum ground.

And Cate and Dan pedal:

• Things aren't looking so great for Amsterdam-based developer and designer of urban e-bikes VanMoof.

This and a whole lot more on this week's episode of the Drive at Five!

Glazer has been in the tech game for a while, knows a thing or two about what a crisis looks like, and shared his views on how he thinks the general market downturn and economic crisis will affect the European tech ecosystem in the short and long run.

We discussed the current (worrying) state of the ecosystem, of course, using the Atomico report on the 'State of European Tech' as reference.

We also talked about what the future might bring for both founders and investors, and why a tech-specific law firm like Wilson Sonsini doesn't need to necessarily worry about wanting for work even during a downturn.

Up this week:

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿  Atomico, Atcomio, and Atomico. As the London-based VC firm released its mammoth State of European Tech 2022 report, Tech.eu broke down selected portions:

• Robin's view on the (worrying) State of European Tech in 2022 and 15 additional takeaways
• Dan's look at VC activity
• Tamara's country-by-country analysis
• and Callum's look at thematic trends

🇸🇪 Einride posted a big number in funding this week, $500 million, but after a closer look, while it's nothing to sneeze it, the number is comprised of a variety of inputs.

🇪🇺 Following up on the VC dry powder section mentioned in the Atomico report, Robin highlights big raises by VC firms including IRIS, One Peak, Cavalry, Partech, and World Fund

🇩🇪 Speaking of World Fund, along with Porsche, Abacon Capital, and Vsquared Ventures, Germany's battery cell developer and producer Customcells saw a fresh injection of €60 million in a funding round aimed specifically at moving the needle in the e-aviation sector. 
 
And there's one more thing - according to the Atomico report, diversity figures in Europe aren't good. At all.

All this and more on this week's episode of the Drive at Five.

Up this week:

🇸🇪 From the brains behind Motherbrain, Ark Kapital releases AI-driven forecasting platform AIM to founders everywhere. You can hear more from Henrik Landgren himself at the Tech.eu Summit, this coming May in Brussels. Tickets are now on sale!

🇺🇸 US-based acquisition specialist Carlyle Group has raised $3.12 billion as it targets European B2B technology businesses.

🇧🇪 Crypto market maker Keyrock raises $72 million as it plans to further develop its offer and seek regulatory licences across Europe, the US, and Singapore.

🇳🇱 Dutch e-commerce brand buyer Dwarfs has secured €30 million in a Series B funding round, one that was initially anticipated to be much, much larger. €120 million larger in fact.

🇪🇺 Infarm, Zilch, MessageBird, Lyst, and a whole lotta others announced layoffs this week.

🇮🇪 Facebook parent company Meta has been fined €265 million by the Irish Data Protection Commission.

Fintech acquisitions abound:
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Equals Group to acquire fintech startup Roqqett for up to £2.25 million
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Business banking platform Tide acquires Funding Options
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Toucan has been acquired by PayaCharity
🇱🇺 Mangopay acquires fraud detection and prevention company Nethone

🇫🇮 Breathing new life into spent Tesla EV batteries, Cactos raises €2.5 million to meet growing customer demand.

And there's one more thing:

🇧🇪 Antler has released its 2022 Benelux Unicorn Founder Roadmap: How to build unicorns in Benelux report
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Atomico is releasing its State of European Tech report next week
🇺🇸 Accel's "Europe and Israel’s Startup Founder Factories" reveals that of the 344 VC-backed unicorns since 2008, nearly two-thirds (203) have led to at least one startup being founded by former employees, with 1,018 tech startups emerging in total.

All this, and a whole lot more in Episode 17 of Tech.eu's Drive at Five!

Up this week:

🇩🇪 After listing on Nasdaq in September of 2021 via a SPAC, Munich-based makers of eVTOL aircraft, Lilium, has now raised $119 million in a concurrent private placement and registered direct offering.

🇫🇮 Finland's Wolt launches new hiring drive in Israel, Sweden. Tech hubs in Tel-Aviv and Stockholm mean new hires and future-proofing for the Helsinki-based delivery platform.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 US e-commerce enablement player AppHub has paid $72 million to snap up the founders' stake in REVIEWS.io, a UK-based customer feedback portal that allows product vendors to source user reviews that can be deployed on e-commerce services and community media outlets.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Anne Hathaway backs female-led Pact as it launches £30 million seed fund aimed at inclusion, well-being, and climate.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Fresh from launching its first electric scooter, Zapp is going public in a SPAC merger deal.

🇦🇹 Amid crypto winter, Austrian unicorn Bitpanda secures Germany’s most comprehensive crypto licence.

And, as always, there's one more thing ...

The EU chip industry. Enjoy.

All this and a whole lot more on this week's episode of the Tech.eu Drive at Five!

🇧🇪 Belgian co-living startup Cohabs has bagged a massive €110 million round and set its sights on achieving 5,000 bedrooms for co-living rental and real-estate in the next four years.

🇮🇹 Faded from former glory company Evernote is joining the Bending Spoons family.

🇹🇷 As the once white-hot home delivery of just about everything you could imagine continues to cool, Just Eat Takeaway.com and Getir announce a partnership just one day after Gopuff and Uber Eats announce a similar partnership in the UK.

😢 Layoffs, layoffs, layoffs (Typeform, UiPath 6%, Sendcloud 10%, Pipedrive 15%, Dance 16%, Jimdo 16%, Hopin 17%, Juni more than 30%, Wayflyer 40% etc.) and Deliveroo exiting the Australia market.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 London-based Index Ventures is reaffirming its commitment to helping founders get their ideas off the ground and prepare for the road ahead with the launch of its second dedicated seed fund, Origin II at $300 million.

And there's one more thing ...

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Balderton Capital's first Executive in Residence, Dave Kellogg, has authored an invaluable resource in the Founder's Guide to B2B Sales. Don't skip this one!

All this and a whole lot more on this week's episode of the Tech.eu Drive at Five!

Up this week:

🇧🇸 The Binance/FTX fiasco and what it means to crypto.

🇺🇸 Zuck slashes 13% of the Meta workforce

🇵🇱 Ramp ramps up with one of the largest funding rounds on record for a Polish company.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Meta presses forward with its metaverse aspirations and acquires Cambridge-based sound recognition developer Audio Analytic.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Made.com, once valued at close to £800 million is acquired by Next for £3.4 million.

🇳🇴 OSLO-based Enode brings home $15 million in a Series A round led by Creandum and saw the participation of Chris Sacca's Lowercarbon Capital.

🇫🇷 Sarbacane, a company Robin's never heard of, raised $110 million, acquires Marketing 1BY1, and rebrands to Positive Group. Keep your eyes on this firm, as we foresee more acquisitions in the future.

🇸🇪 EQT Ventures just keeps on rollin', this time with its third fund at €1.1 billion. Since launching in 2016, the venture capital arm has accrued €2.3 billion. Not. Too. Shabby.

Dry Power? Fire Powder?

🇫🇷 PhotoRoom. It's fast, it's good, and it's the final nail in the coffin for working photographers. And they raised $19 million in a Balderton-led Series A funding round.

Government news:

• 🇪🇺 Microsoft faces a new antitrust complaint over its cloud computing practices as trade group CISPE, whose members include Amazon, took its grievance to EU antitrust regulators on Wednesday.
• 🇪🇺 The European Commission published a new regulation to streamline rental platforms’ operations and data-sharing practices across the EU’s single market, targeting the likes of Booking.com, Airbnb, and Expedia.
• 🇪🇺 EU antitrust regulators are drawing up charges against Facebook parent Meta over its use of customer data and the tying of its classified advertisements service to its social network.
• 🇪🇺 The European Commission is to conduct an “in-depth investigation” into Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of gaming company Activision Blizzard.
• 🇩🇪 Germany has blocked another Chinese acquisition of a domestic semiconductor company, in a further sign of the government’s tougher approach to protecting its high-tech sector.

🇪🇸 And in good news .... The Spanish Parliament has given the green light to a new startups law that will bring tax benefits and other perks to entrepreneurs, remote workers, and digital nomads who want to live and work in Spain.

🇳🇱 And the Dutch American Friendship Treaty, aka DAFT.

All this and a whole lot more on this week's episode of the Tech.eu Drive at Five!

No less than 15 days later, the company announced the purchase of US-based subscription metrics and retention automation startup Profitwell in a deal reportedly worth north of $200 million.

With today’s funding environment for startups getting tougher and tougher, we’ve seen a noted uptick in the number of mergers and acquisitions taking place in Europe. And we expect to see more.

Joining me today to discuss some key items to keep in mind when considering and negotiating an acquisition deal, I’m joined today by a man who’s seen both sides of the table when it comes to an acquisition, closing the Profitwell deal, but also as a Senior Director at Siebel Systems, a popular CRM that was acquired by Oracle back in 2005, Paddle President and COO Jimmy Fitzgerald.

🇩🇪 The first German developer of quantum computers, eleQtron has raised over €50 million in new funds, including venture capital from Earlybird and Siegerlandfonds.

🇸🇪 Polestar obtained $1.6 billion in financing support from its two major shareholders

🇩🇪 Volkswagen sells its electric car-sharing service, WeShare to Miles Mobility. Here's why.

🇵🇹 Web Summit? That's 71,000 people too many.

🇸🇪 Sweden’s STILRIDE is anything but still, rides ahead with €3.7 million

🇩🇪 Billed as the first European ClimateTech Entrepreneur in Residence programme, Atlantic Labs and FoodLabs launch Founders for Climate initiative

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 / 🇩🇪 Not quite dead yet, but Made.com has indicated that they're headed towards administration, and German nappy service provider Windeln.de has filed an application for insolvency proceedings

🇩🇪 Now closing in on close to $1 billion raised, Volocopter lands another $182 million in second signing of Series E round

🇪🇺 According to the Tech.eu database, European tech companies raised €5.7 billion in total in October, recording a €1 billion decline compared to the total amount raised in September (€6.7 billion).

All this and a whole lot more on this week's episode of the Tech.eu Drive at Five!

Moreover, instead of just the written word, we managed to sit down with Seqera Labs' CEO and co-founder Evan Flowden and hit the record button.

Read the article in-depth over at Tech.eu.

🇪🇺 First up, Bill Gates throws his support behind new European cleantech scale-up coalition

🇫🇷 Launch of a bioengineered houseplant called Neo P1 purifies your home

🇵🇹 No sheet: eToro acquires portfolio management provider Bullsheet

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Pixera is on a mission to make professional e-learning a more entertaining experience

🇪🇸 Former Tiger Global partner Lee Fixel’s Addition lead Seqera Labs’ €22 million investment round

🇮🇪 Johnson Hana raises €10.5 million to up-end the legal market

🇫🇷 One more thing: insuretech Neat

🖋️ One more one more thing: Dan was interviewed by Black Unicorn PR

All this and a whole lot more on this week's episode of the Tech.eu Drive at Five!

🐄 First up, Hoxton Farms raised $22 million in its efforts to pack in the fat and up the taste of meat alternatives. Dan concludes that ultimately everything tastes like chicken, and James adds that it now also tastes like pork belly too.

✈️ While Quantum Systems raised $17.5 million, in part via Peter Thiel directly himself, J&D dissect not only what the company does, but where the heck the name came from and if a massive pivot and Schrödinger weren't involved.

🚀 As it turns out, James is a massive space nerd, and Dan can recall the nominal average value of standard gravity at Earth's surface (9.8 m/s2). The duo somehow manage to weave this into a discussion about Orbex's landing £40.4 million in a Series C funding round as it gears up for the first vertical launch from Scottish soil.

🏖️ And one more thing - after being hard hit by the pandemic, travel tech funding seems to be on the mend as Munich's Holidu housed north of €100 million in a Series E round led by 83North.

All this and a whole lot more on this week's episode of the Tech.eu Drive at Five!

On the back of a just-days-ago-announced $40 million Series B extension to an already impressive $110 million round, we sit down with Vanta Chief Revenue Officer Stevie Case to discuss just what advantages the company offers organisations, and what this rock solid compliance certification can mean when it comes to speed of execution, growth, and ultimately the bottom line.

Stevie also highlights, in 90 words or less the top three most requested compliance certifications, SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and how Vanta works closely with auditors to ensure that every client that walks through their doors leaves fully compliant.

The company has recently opened offices in Dublin and Sydney, with Stevie confirming that the company is currently scouting locations to open operations in South America. When asked about any future M&A activities, Ms. Case remains ... politely silent. 

All this and more with Vanta Chief Revenue Officer Stevie Case.

We discuss the rumoured Getir/Gorillas merger.

Which of course evokes memories of one of the biggest shopping expeditions of all time: Ford vs. Ferrari.

Robin weighs in on the fast-delivery space and who's next on the M&A consolidation action.

Philly!

We discuss CNBC's Ryan Browne reporting on N26's, "net revenue increased 67% in 2021 to 120.3 million euros as the bank benefited from growth in subscriptions, stronger customer engagement and higher interest rates. However, the company continued to lose money that year, with its net loss climbing 14% to 172.4 million euros."

BaFin and Wirecard, with a tangent to kebab and The Gamestop Saga.

ABC = Always Be Cobbling.

Bonus: be the first to tweet us first with the addendum to the ABC's and you'll win a free t-shirt from Tech.eu.

And last by not least, Dan recaps the Big Deal this week and the rationale behind Grover's numbers. While he wanted something dark and dirty to be going on, in fact, the $2.1 billion in debt funding does, in fact, check out.

Teşekkürler!
 

❗ Tech.eu is expanding! We're looking for some new crackerjack news tellers to join our editorial team. If you've got the chops, or know someone that does, hit us up at work@tech.eu.

🎮 London-based Improbable did NOT, in fact, close a $100 million round this week, as confirmed by Tech.eu, but rather, they're in the process of closing the round. Robin reports on how very strange this news is.

❗ The Tech.eu Summit is 24 May 2023. In Brussels.

🛒 Spotify snaps up Kinzen / Reddit acqui-hired (Robin hates that term with a passion) Sweden's Oterlu.

🤖 Dublin-based Tines extended its Series B round by $55 million, and we find out just how Lee Fixel quit Tiger Global. Hint: Reuters.

🪑 An Austrian pr0n company proposes to buy Home24 for $250 million. In Robin's words, "F*ck you Home24". (XXXLutz is actually a furniture retailer that was founded in 1945).

🦷 Maki.vc sunk €5.3 million into Düsseldorf-based at-home orthodontics device maker K Line. Of interest as the IoT investment space has cooled dramatically.

📉 Tech.eu Insider members have exclusive access to our quarterly report where we outline the shape of the European landscape.

🥄 Dan recaps the Big Deal article that went out earlier this week, diving a bit deeper into Bending Spoons' recent $340 million funding round. We got revenue numbers direct from the horses mouth, uncovered that H14 is the family office of the Berlusconi family (Bunga bunga!), and how and why the company's name is tied to The Matrix.

📱 One more thing: The European Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of enforcing USB-C as a common charging port across a wide range of consumer electronic devices. Hallelujah. F*ck you dongles.

🍻 That's it, now get out there and have a fantastic weekend.

❓ Leave it, I don't care.

"As a startup, you want to be a painkiller, not a vitamin." - Karoli Hindriks.

We also discuss the ins and outs of digital nomadic life, why and how governments need to recognise that worker patterns and expectations have changed dramatically in the past 50 years, and what country is the toughest to deal with in terms of relocations. Hint, it's the United States of America.

In the signature Tech.eu Lightning Round, we get to know Karoli as a person and find out that she is (for the purposes of this podcast) related to one of the greatest guitar legends of all time.

Closing out the show, Dan digs into Karoli's CV (yes, she once worked for Fox, but at the same time, also held a position as a cabaret dancer), and she leaves the youths with some sage advice.

All this and more on Episode 303 of the Tech.eu podcast!

🇮🇹 (2:25) This week we cover Ryan Reynolds' involvement in a $340 million investment in Bending Spoons, their video editing tool Splice, photo editor Remini, how and why mobile tech has plateaued, why everyone shouldn't be a creative genius, DALL E2, and why Brad Pitt's Bullet Train is the greatest worst greatest film of all time.

🇩🇪 (7:27) We glossed over Grover (to an extent) as Dan's planning on taking a deeper look at the tech rental platform in the Big Deal segment next week, but spoiler alert, of the $2.3 billion that the Berlin-based company has raised, $2.1 billion of it is in debt funding.

🇮🇹 (10:40) Slimming the show down ever more, we blazed through Satispay, their €320 million Series D round, and after Scalapay (I'm detecting a theme here 🤔) the startup takes the second ever unicorn title home for Italy.

🇩🇪 (11:00) Nick chimes in with a subject near and dear to his heart and how Berlin's one • fıve is out to save the world. To spice things up, we do it in pub quiz trivial style with me not having the article open and seeing just how much of my own reporting I can remember.

🇬🇧/🇺🇸 (13:55) And last, but certainly not least, Nick and I cover why mayonnaise is the ultimate condiment, what I've got my eye on for the after work beverage of choice (hint: Guinness), and why Nick is taking drugs (hint: the clue is in the intro).

All this and more on Episode 8 of Tech.eu's Drive at Five! 

🇵🇹 Robin weighs in on Dan's "tech-light, but a good read" piece highlighting the shaky legal system in Portugal and what it means to the investment and startup scenes.

🎙️ > 🎤 After a blip in the audio recording, we're pleased to announce that we're going through Robin's audio setup with a fine-toothed comb, and let's see if we can get him sounding just as good as Dan. Or at the very least, remove all the technical barriers.

⚛️ Dan finally received the opportunity to pen a headline he's been waiting his entire life for it involves "pet food and supplements" and a quantum leap in innovation.

👑 Robin recaps the funding numbers of the week, noting that of the top 10 investments none of them were from the UK. A rarity indeed. What's going on? Hint: Salve Regina.

📱 Berlin/San Francisco-based telecom-as-a-service platform Gigs raised $20 million from a number of notable investors including Gradient, Google’s early-stage fund, YC Continuity, etc., but neither Robin nor Dan can figure out just who their customers are and/or what industries/segments they're targeting. Stay tuned...

🐝 Robin waxes poetic about the buzz surrounding the Instabox and Budbee merger.

💸 And there's one more thing - Robin takes note that investors tend to like the $300 million number. This week Swisscom Ventures, DTCP, and Extantia all clocked in at 300 million.

😂 Last but certainly not least, after 5 episodes hosted together, Robin finally loses it and we almost have to stop the show due to uncontrollable laughter.

All this and more on Episode 7 of Tech.eu's Drive at Five.

I sat down with the company's CEO and co-founder Philip Belamant to discuss how he might possibly be the most successful failed games developer and how this venture eventually led to the creation of Zilch, including his decision to disagree with the board of a listed, multi-national payments provider and strike out on his own.

With the industry currently experiencing some significant down-rounds, Philip takes me through a lesson in economics, and how Zilch's unique model isn't necessarily bulletproof, but how the company has been able to forge ahead while others are regrouping.

We also get into the nitty gritty on expanding to the U.S. market, including Zilch's decision to set up its HQ in Miami, and whether or not a crypto play is in the company's future. 🤔

And last, but certainly not least, Philip sits in on the trademark lightning round where we get to know him as a person and not as the head of a business. Hint: Bobotie, you should try it too!

All this and more with Zilch's CEO and co-founder Philip Belamant.

Traditionally focusing on Energy and AgriFood startups, in April of this year the firm opened the application process for its newest fund, Emerging Tech.

We sat down with Rockstart's man at the helm for this fund, Michael Bjørnlund to define what exactly Rockstart views as emerging tech, what unique selling points Rockstart offers above and beyond other accelerators on the market today, and how and why he'll be swimming to Rockstart's inaugural event, Forward 2022 in September.

All this and more with Rockstart's Managing Partner Emerging Tech Fund Europe - Michael Bjørnlund!

Up first, Neil and Dan weigh in on the rise of the east and how the CEE region, east to west, north to south is finally experiencing what Western Europe saw in the VC scene some 15 years ago, particularly in regard to what 500 Emerging Europe, LauncHub Ventures, VentureFriends, and Vitosha Venture Partners are up to.

Zooming out, we discuss U.S. investors' increased interest in the European startup scene, particularly this week's announcement of New York City-based Energy Impact Partners' €390 million commitment to EU-based startups, all with a healthy round of keyword bingo.

And last, but certainly not least, Neil doesn't shy away from talking about the failure of his startup, Playmaker, and provides both insight and three key takeaways that any starry-eyed founder should take note of before setting pen to paper.

All this and more on episode 6 of Tech.eu's Drive at Five.

First this week we look at Northzone's appointment of World Economic Forum sustainability expert and programme creator, Anna Skarborg as Head of Sustainability and the growing trend of ESG officers in-house at VC firms.

Former Revolut execs Alan Chang and Charles Orr have assembled a mighty impressive list of investors for their startup Tesseract which aims to disrupt the energy market. What and how they plan on doing this is still a bit ambiguous, as is where the $78 million came from. We discuss.

UK-based OneWeb took a $229 million writedown due to Russia taking 36 of the company's satellites hostage indefinitely.

Deliveroo's got more legal troubles when it comes to the treatment of its labour force, Instagram f*cked up in terms of data protection rights when it comes to minors, and last but certainly not least, Cazoo has called it a day across continental Europe, resulting in 750 jobs out the window.

All this and more on episode 5 of Tech.eu's Drive at Five.

But how do three researchers at ETH Zurich spin out a company that in just 13 short years grows from an idea in a lab to one that's trusted by 5 of the top 10 Fortune 500 companies, and has a client roster with just about every household brand you can think of?

I sat down with Scandit co-founder and CEO Samuel Mueller, Ph.D. to find out. Along the way Samuel discusses what pitfalls fledgling European startups can avoid when going global, and how to course correct the "oh shit" moments.
 
We also get to know a bit more about the man driving the company in the lighting round, and crucially, Samuel weighs in on one of the most pressing questions of our modern era: when it comes to chocolate which country lays claim to the crown, Switzerland or Belgium?

All this and more with Scandit's Samuel Mueller!

Nine-month-old thirdweb raised $24 million as it facilitates the creation of Web3 apps across popular blockchains, including games, NFT drops, DAOs, token gated membership clubs, and more. And despite Bitcoin dropping below $22,000 just least week and for all the doom and gloom talk of the "crypto winter", Estonian crypto trading platform Bitlevex raised $50 million from GEM Digital Ltd., a Bahamas-based "digital asset investment firm". Dan and our special guest Monty Munford discuss the red flags therein.

This, Monty ended up on John McAfee's yacht in Malta, and a whole lot more on episode 4 of Tech.eu's Drive at Five.

Normally around this time of the year tech news stories are a bit thin, but the summer of 2022 isn't letting up on the pace. This week Robin and Dan wax poetic about what happened, or is happening, with Wallbox's acquisitions, how it's flown under the radar, relatively, for the past 7 years, and is now poised to make a major impact in the U.S. market, Super's keyword bingo and claim to "one of the largest ever pre-seed funding rounds in Europe", Robin's side hustle, Robinhood and the massive price drop in its acquisition of Ziglu, how and why and what's happening with the bureaucracy in Brussels' funding of startups, and one more thing - Just Eat says tchau to Brazil.

All this and more on the Tech.eu Drive at Five.

That's also a sentiment shared by Herman Narula, the affable co-founder and chief executive of Improbable, who said that technology is finally catching up with the ambitious goals the company had set for itself in the early days.

Improbable has created a technology dubbed Morpheus that allows social interactions within virtual worlds, where thousands of people can talk to each other in lag-free environments, offering its virtual world-building services to a slew of entertainment companies, academic institutions, gaming companies, and even governments around the world.

Improbable recently secured another $150 million in financing to establish and develop M², a network of 'interoperable Web3 metaverses' powered by its Morpheus tech. Even more recently, the company found itself squarely in the spotlight when it partnered up with Yuga Labs, the creators of the well-known Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT brand.

Improbable worked with Yuga to build, service, and operate Otherside, basically a gamified MetaRPG universe where the players own the world. Earlier this month, the company assisted in 'First Trip', the highly-anticipated tech demo of Otherside: about 4,500 people were able to dance, sing and talk simultaneously. Check this video to see it in action.

You can also watch our interview with Narula on our YouTube channel.

Today, Robin and Dan wax poetic about what happened, or is happening, at Deliveroo and what's up with pulling the plug in the Netherlands, Pollen's WTF-is-going-on-here collapse, how Nuri is handling the shutdown situation a whole lot better, Spin Master's acquisition of Nørdlight (Nerdlife), and one more thing ... Balderton's makes an impact with its new hire.

All this and more on the Tech.eu Drive at Five.

Today, RAD wax poetic about what happened, or is happening, at SoundCloud as they've announced (another) series of layoffs, auxmoney and lenders borrowing to lend, why the German government is a bit late to the game on dishing out some serious cash to native startups, and where Dan might be applying for a new job. 

All this and more on the Tech.eu Drive at Five

I was prompted to interview Magaldi as he was billed as the main author of a report entitled 'How Web3 is changing the future of finance', a great read on the subject.

Fortunately for you, we recorded that conversation and you can watch it in all its glory below. You can also watch it on YouTube here (subscribe!) and follow Mauricio on Twitter here.

You can ALSO check out Mauricio's mad drumming skills here.

Founded in 2007, Devialet designs and builds high-end audio tech products such as amplifiers, speakers, wireless earbuds, and a soundbar, and also licenses some of its patented technology to other companies.

The company's on a mission to "elevate sound in people's lives" and its future product roadmap will address new audio categories in that regard, Lebouchard tells us, even if it's up against some really big companies in that space, and pandemics, wars, and geopolitical issues continue to disrupt supply chains around the world.

In the interview for Tech.eu Podcast, Vinoth discusses his approach to fintech investments and the way he approaches the industry, looking for B2C companies that "bridge the trust chasm" and B2B ones that build the fundamental infrastructure for people's interactions with money. In addition to that, he talks about Europe's prospects as a climate tech powerhouse, the value chain of VC, and the benefits of lateral thinking.

To hear all this and more, check out the Tech.eu Podcast episode with Molten Ventures' Vinoth Jayakumar.

All this, and Dan's (not) patented 'Lighting Round' that gives us more insight on our guest(s), well beyond the 9 to 5.

Responsible for Molten Ventures' activities in the German-speaking market, a strong pull for Christoph are both the deep tech and industry tech sectors. Posting the largest number of deals closed within the firm, he sits on eight boards, has done nine investments in the past two and a half years, and on average aims to make three to four investments per year. 

He also lays out his two favourite questions to ask a potential hire at Molten. So if you're looking to get into the world of VC, you won't want to miss this episode. All this and more, with Molten Ventures' Christoph Hornung.

That valuation reportedly came in much lower than initially projected, which is a topic Marc-Alexander Christ didn't shy away from discussing (pointing out that the valuation is still 20 times higher than its last one).

Have a listen/watch to learn more about SumUp's early days, its plans to become the financial services partner for millions of small businesses around the world, its international expansion, and M&A strategy, and the likelihood of the company pursuing an IPO in the future.

The video that accompanies this audio can be found at Tech.eu

While presenting a huge opportunity for the companies who were ready to handle this shift, this shift has also emphasised the shortcomings and issues of today's e-commerce and adjacent industries.

"We're looking at a large volume of retail and a change in purchase behaviour happening online that's leveraging an infrastructure, be it software or physical infrastructure, that has been built to service previous generations of retail," McClafferty said.

This and similar issues in the field of consumer tech — or rather the startups that can solve them — is what McClafferty focuses on at Molten. We sat down to discuss what the future holds for this segment, and what trends are the most important to follow.

The firm has raised over $19 billion and invested over $16 billion in more than 350 tech companies over the last 27 years, accounting for some 145 IPOs and acquisitions.

Having established, and operating out of TCV's London office, General Partner John Doran shares his thoughts on how the firm has been so successful, where they're heading next, and the health of the European tech ecosystem.

All this and more on today's episode!

While you might be quite well versed in most things Amazon, just how much do you know about Amazon's Alexa service? It's benefits for the blind and deaf? For an aging population?

Moreover, what do you know about the safeguards the company has baked into the device since day one, asking consumers to allow, ney, invite their technology into and become a part of their homes?

And Tech.eu founder Robin Wauters also reveals a few fun facts that are sure to impress your friends and neighbours, and perhaps even Alexa, at your next dinner party.

All this and more on today's episode!

Cristobal talks us through Startup Wise Guys' acceleration of investments during the pandemic, up to 60 to 80 per year, expanding beyond the Baltics and across Europe, entering Africa, and the challenges associated with each.

With 212 active portfolio companies, Startup Wise Guys is shifting away from its primary Europe focus, and actively working to establish links to the US to, "help companies who, even from the beginning" want to go to the US.

Alonso helps position Startup Wise Guys as Europe's premier accelerator through three key factors: the ability to follow on, recognising and partnering with "brand name" syndicates and angel investors through co-investments, promoting a global mentality.

All this and much more ...

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

Christian walks us through his journey with Wunderlist (acquired by Microsoft), to an investor, to being unable to resist the urge to start another company, this time not reinventing the wheel, but doing presentations better with Pitch.

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

Andrii Degeler sits down with Marianne to discuss the first deep tech fund in Denmark, university research commercialisation and much more.

The conversation took place in Copenhagen, at TechBBQ in September.

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

Andrii Degeler sits down with Suzanne to discuss the future of search with AI-driven search engines and how entrepreneurship can become a primary school subject in Denmark. 

The conversation took place in Copenhagen, at TechBBQ a couple of months ago.

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

Our editor Robin Wauters sits down with Bo and Atte to discuss NGP Capital’s new report on what are the best places to start a business in Europe. 

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

Our editor, Robin Wauters, sat down with Robbie to discuss the usage growth of Notion and its plans for Europe.

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

The conversation with Andrii Degeler took place at TechBBQ Conference a couple of months ago.

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

In this conversation we discussed the differences between doing business in Europe and the United States, the mistakes entrepreneurs make when raising funds, the competition and partnership with Bloomberg and Reuters, and much more.

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions  to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

«Happy Christmas to all, and may your churn rate be light!»

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions  to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

The conversation with our editor Robin Wauters took place in Lviv, at the IT Arena conference a couple of months ago.

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

In this interview, our editor Robin Wauters and Shane discuss his relatively new role as the CEO of Mollie, the company’s fast growth, the opening of its new office in Maastricht, and the tough competition in the European payment industry.

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

Andrii Degeler sat down with Rune to talk about the changes that Rockstart has experienced lately, and the future of the company and the ecosystem as a whole.

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions  to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

In this conversation, we discussed HealthHero founding story, expansion and market entry strategies, the future and the challenges of the European digital health and telehealth landscapes. 

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

In today’s episode, listen to an interview with Martin Herman, CEO and Co-founder of Powerful Medical and winner of this year's Scale-up category at the UiPath Automation Awards.

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions  to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

Here are some things we’ve discussed:

• The story of Supercritical
• £2 million is a big pre-seed round
• The conventional offsetting world is infuriating
• The tech industry generates more emissions than aviation
• A tour of the carbon offsetting industry

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions  to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

Here are some things we’ve discussed:

• Why the mission of Chalmers Ventures may be the most important in Sweden
• The success of the Nordics in research commercialisation
• How to boost the entrepreneurial culture in academia
• From IP protection to startup offices on campus
• How do European universities catch up with US counterparts in terms of commercialisation?

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions  to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

This episode is sponsored by KassaiLaw, a startup law firm with an entrepreneurial mindset. Embracing the startup culture, KassaiLaw said goodbye to outdated arrangements and processes — they are here with a new perspective to break down the borders of the legal industry and reshape the way law firms collaborate with their clients.

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions  to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

Here are some things we’ve discussed:

• What to expect from this year's Web Summit?
• Whistleblowing, climate tech, NFT, and crypto
• Are there too many VCs?
• How an event company becomes a software company
• “Crazy” branding decisions outside Europe
• 100,000 people at next year's Web Summit

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions  to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

Here are some things we’ve discussed:

• How did the pandemic influence the UK ecosystem?
• The host of startup programmes by Tech Nation
• Zeroing in on Net Zero
• What's next for the UK tech scene?
• The success of the Tech Nation Visa

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions  to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

Here are some things we’ve discussed:

• Scratching your own itch as the best way to launch a startup
• B2B focus as a way to hide from the Eye of Sauron
• Life after stepping down as the CEO of a startup you've founded

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions  to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

Here are some things we’ve discussed:

• Angel investor activity
• Startup co-growing centres
• An ode to the startup ecosystem in Ukraine
• The next emerging underdog from CEE
• Challenges for Estonia
• Startup valuations are going nuts
• What makes a startup pitch work

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions  to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

Here are some things we’ve discussed:

• The firm in a nutshell
• Angel investing → La Famiglia → Visionaries Club
• How to build “the best product for founders”
• Why do you need to disrupt the VC ecosystem?
• Is the unicorn race getting out of hand?
• Berlin ecosystem these days
• Anti-portfolio examples

…and much more!

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions  to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

Here are some things we've discussed:

• Why a mechanical engineer founded an insurtech startup
• Millions of dollars to get an insurance license
• Who insures the insurer?
• What data can an insurer collect and use?
• How Wirecard scandal made it harder to get an insurance license in Germany
• Is your frontend connected to your backend?
• Insurtech comes in waves
• The insurtech landscape in Europe

…and much more!

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions  to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

As promised in the episode, here’s a link to the call for applications for the Aerospace Xelerated programme: xelerated.aero.

Here are some things we’ve discussed:

🎙 The move from ATI Boeing Accelerator to Aerospace Xelerated — what’s changed?
🎙 Unfair access, but no unfair outcomes.
🎙 How COVID-19 helped increase diversity in the programme.
🎙 How autonomy and AI startups advance the future of airspace.
🎙 Why an aerospace accelerator isn’t looking at startups that actually build aeroplanes?

…and much more!

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions  to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

In this conversation, which took place at TechBBQ in Copenhagen, we discussed how to collect 1.5 billion wine labels, what to spend $155 million on, how COVID-19 has impacted wine consumption, how to stay sane when stepping down as the CEO, and much more. 

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions  to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions  to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions  to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions  to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions  to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions  to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu. 

In today’s episode, listen to an interview with Vargha Moayed, chief strategy officer of UiPath, and Reshma Sohoni, founding partner at Seedcamp, one of the early investors in UiPath. Listen to this conversation to learn more about how UiPath started and raised its first money, and the advice Reshma and Vargha have for today's aspiring entrepreneurs.

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions  to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu. 

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions  to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu. 

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions  to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu. 

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions  to podcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.