• pre-seed for quantum, finance chatbots, and (more) carbon credits market developers
• growth funding for 2 (two) German vending machines startups
• Daniel EK and Taavet Hinrikus involved in a superconductor startup

 

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Interesting deals

Nordics

🇫🇮 SemiQon, developing silicon-based quantum processors, was pre-seeded by Voima Ventures.

🇩🇰 Cellugy, producer of alternative cellulose material designed for the packaging industry, raised seed from PreSeed Capital, North-East Ventures and Planet Fund.

🇩🇰 Wise Home, developers of an IoT infrastructure system for properties that tracks real time energy data, raised an undisclosed amount from investors led by EMDFonden.

🇳🇴 Fjong, operating a marketplace that makes it easy to rent and share clothes from a digital closet, raised an undisclosed amount from Unconventional Ventures, Bakken & Bæck and angel investors.

🇸🇪 Nordkap, doing SAAS for real estate treasury management, secures $1.6 million from NFT Ventures, Stronghold, Roosgruppen and Malmkroppen.

🇸🇪 Younium, developers of a SAAS solution for B2B subscription management and billing, raised $2 million from Partinc Capital and local angel investors.

🇩🇰 Landfolk, operating a marketplace for renting summer houses, raised $4 million seedfrom investors led by SEED Capital.

🇩🇰 QuadSAT, selling a drone technology platform used to test and calibrate satellite and VSAT antennas autonomously, raised $10 million series A from IQ Capital and Seraphim Capital.

🇸🇪 Blinto, operating a marketplace used for auctioning used heavy machinery, tools, and vehicles, raised $11.3 million first money in from Verdane. 

🇩🇰 RightHub, Danish software startup operated from London and developing an all-in-one IP Portfolio management platform, raised $15 million seed from investors led by Firstminute Capital and Anker Capital.

🇱🇹 Cast AI, developing an AI-driven cloud optimization platform that slashes cloud cost, optimizes DevOps, and automates disaster prevention, raised $20 million series A in a round led by Creandum.
​

DACH

🇩🇪 The climate choice, doing a digital platform used for decarbonizing companies and their supply chains, raised a $2 millio pre-seed round from investors led by Gutter Capital.

🇩🇪 oculai, developing an AI solution for construction firms using cameras for getting a bird’s eye view of a construction site, logging all of the site’s processes, raised $2.9 million seed in a round led by HTGF, joined by Bayern Kapital, Axeleo Capital and angel investors.

🇩🇪 Deeploi, providing an all-in-one IT platform, raised a $3.2 million seed funding round led by Cherry Ventures. 

🇨🇭 nexoya, doing SAAS analytics based on KPIs collected from from tools like Google Ads and Facebook, raised $5 million series A in a round led by Blacksheep MadTech Fund. 

🇦🇹 Finmatics, developing a digital tool that automates the activities of accounting service providers, raised $6 million series A backed by eQventure and Mangrove Capital Partners.

🇨🇭 Invenda, a technology provider for vending machines, raised $19 million series B led by Point Break Capital Management and joined by Mutschler Ventures. 

🇩🇪 Foodji, another vending machine operator for ultra fresh and healthy food, snacks and drinks, raised $23 million series A co-led by Movendo Capital and DLF Venture.

🇨🇭 Verity, producer of autonomous indoor drones meant to help with inventory tracking, raised $32 million series B from Danish AP Moller and Dutch Exor.

​

The UK

🇬🇧 MoneySavvy, a yet to be launched providers of a digital financial advisory service to the UK market, was pre-seeded by Haatch.

🇬🇧 Vector Homes, using recycled materials and enhancing them with the nanotechnologies in order to create unique properties for superior construction materials, raised $550K in a round led by SFC Capital.

🇬🇧 Fundpath, developing a SAAS fund buying solution for wealth managers, raised $4.9 million seed in a round led by Fuel Ventures.

🇬🇧 Recite Me, developing tools helping dyslexic and visually-impaired users to personalize their web browsing tools, raised $5 million from BGF.

🇬🇧 Gener8, doing a browser plugin that lets people control and sell their online data, raised $6 million from angel investors.

🇬🇧 Seldon, a cloud-agnostic machine learning deployment specialist, raised $20 million series A led by Bright PIxel, joined by AlbionVC, Cambridge Innovation Capital and Amadeus Capital Partners.

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Other geographies 

🇫🇷 Tailwarden, developing an open source platform for software developers, raised $2 million seed from Eurazeo, LaFamiglia, Kima Ventures and angels investors. 

🇫🇷 Geoflex, cloud services operator providing universal hypergeolocation services, raised $6 million series A from Bouygues Development, Stellantis, Thales.

🇳🇱 AG5, developing a plug-and-play skills management tool, raised a $6.6 million post-seed equity round backed by Peak, Headline and Acadian Ventures. 
​
🇪🇸 Innovamat, developing an app that uses gamification to teach the K-8 maths curriculum, raised $22 million series A round led by Reach Capital, joined by multiple Spanish VC investors.

🇫🇷 Zeway, startup providing a fleet of 1000 scooters for consumer subscribers from Paris, raised $28.5 million from Demeter, InnovAllianz, WaterStart Capital, ADEME Investissement, Matmut and local business angels.

​

Please note that this is just a customised selection, all deals are available here.

 

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Investors

Powder

🇫🇷 Swen Capital Partners raised €170 million for a fund focused on marine sustainability.

🇮🇸 Iceland has a newly announced $71 million fund called IS Haf fjárfestingar slhf also focused on ocean projects.

🇫🇷 BpiFrance announced Bpifrance Amorquage Industriel, a €50 million fund to back French startups developing incremental innovations in the industrialization phase.

🇩🇪 Rethink Ventures announced the launch of a €50 million fund to be deployed on Seed to Series A investments in European mobility tech and logistics companies.

🇫🇷 Citizen Capital launched a €14 million impact fund for backing social and environmental startups from France.

🇬🇧 Ada Ventures announced its second angel programme dubbed Ada’s Angels, providing 20 angel investors with £50,000 each to be spent on startups from across Europe.

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On the move

🇪🇸 Gonzalo Torres was hired as first Spanish venture partner for RedRiverWest, a French VC that specializes in investing in post Series A companies and helps them launch in the US. He previously worked for Shopify. 

🇩🇪 Marco Sedlmayr joined Hayfin Capital as head of DACH, coming from a managing director position with Golding Capital Partners.

🇨🇭 Steve Salom was promoted to a partner role with Geneva-based investment house ACE & Company, after three years as an advisor with the company

​
Also notable

🇬🇧 Citymapper, the London-based developer of a public transport mapping app, was acquired by US-based Via for a mixture of cash and stock.

• Citymapper, dubbed once as *the* Google Map's alternative, has been out for sale for some time now as it failed to build a venture returning operation - it has raised $60 million from high profile investors including Index, Benchmark, Balderton and Greylock. It's become an investors washout, in a deal estimated to be well below $100 million and done for incorporating the tech into Via's product stack. 
• Via's investors include 83North, RiverPark Ventures, Pitango, Exor and Common Fund - it raised $110 million at a $3.5 billion valuation last month.

🇳🇱 Just Eat Takeaway.com officially delisted from Nasdaq, in a move called by its CEO Jitse Groen a cost reduction measure. 

• The company initially ended up trading on the American market following the Grubhub acquisition in 2020, via a listed ADS (American Depositary Shares) which began trading on 2020. 
• Just Eat Takeaway.com is now traded on two European public markets - Amsterdamand London, and is currently priced at €38 per share, as it has lost two-thirds of its share value since reaching a peak above €109 in October 2020. 

🇪🇺 Spotify’s Daniel Ek and Wise co-founder Taavet Hinrikus are among a group of investors that put $21 million in an American superconductor startup called Unearthly Materials.

🇮🇪 Manna, the Irish drone delivery company, announced raising a strategic investment round from Coca-Cola, which will start using the startup for logistics operations in the US. Mana is backed by VCs including Molten, Founders Fund, and DST Global which put some 30 million in the company. 

🇨🇳 Geely, the Chinese owner of Volvo, sold its 6.3% stake in Daimler Truck, equivalent of roughly €1.5 billion.

🇺🇸 Y Combinator will not raise another Continuity Fund, which backs late-stage startups, and the two partners who led the fund plan to leave the company.

🇺🇸 Silicon Valley Bank's former parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Friday. The FDIC took over its commercial bank that collapsed from a run on deposits a week ago and is now managing the business, overseeing its attempt to be sold. 

Meanwhile, in the UK HSBC paid £1 for acquiring the operations of SVB's local branch. HSBC's top shareholders are China’s State-backed Ping’An Insurance, which controls 8.2% of the shares and the US investor behemoth Blackrock, w/ 7.9%.

 

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Investors profile

🇫🇷 Daphni Ventures

• founded in 2016 by Marie Ekeland, Willy Braun, Mathieu Daix, Pierre-Yves Meerschman and Pierre-Éric Leibovici. 
• They list a team of 23 people based in Paris, and invest in seed and series A, anywhere between €300,000 and €3 million. 
• Daphni calls itself a VC as a platform as it runs a +300 people community of LPs seeing the dealflow in real time and advisors available to the portco founders.
• Their thing is letting the LPs co-invest against saving in their management fees w/ Daphni keeping the lead when it comes to board seats. 
• The platform seems to be the sole differentiator for selling themselves to founders, and they do good marketing - i.e nice website and produce a decent weekly newsletter.
• Daphni kicked off business in 2016 with an initial €150 million fund (Purple), followed by Yellow closed in 2020 w/ an undisclosed value. It also invests from a €80 millionfund co-founded with Carrefour in 2022 and advises on another €200 million JV fund done with Jaïna Capital in 2021. 
• co-investors: Eurazeo, Aglaé Ventures, Eduardo Ronzano, Swen Capital, Kima Ventures 
• part of 18 deals in the past 14 months, with 7 new startups added in the portfolio in 2022:

🇫🇷 Animaj - a gateway platform connecting talented content creators and wide-eyed young audiences everywhere.
🇫🇷 Archeon - producers of medical devices and solutions for the monitoring, diagnosis and treatment of critically ill patients.
🇫🇷 Captain Cause - platform that allows you to offer pre-financed donations to your customers and collaborators.
🇬🇧 Emperia - developers of an immersive virtual store framework for the fashion and art industries
🇫🇷 Faume - logistics platform sold as a white label solution from start to finish for brands looking to launch second-hand clothing platforms.
🇫🇷 Morpho - developers of an open source protocol for crypto-assets.
🇫🇷 Starton - a framework enabling any developer to build Blockchain applications.

​

🇨🇭 Lakestar Ventures

• founded in 2012 by Klaus Hommels, a German-Swiss long time finance guy who had previously worked for Apax and Benchmark in London. 
• started with a €135.5M seed fund closed in 2013 and that did 70% IRR, giving it a reputation as one of the best venture capital firms in Europe. 
• it now deploys from a $700 million fund announced in 2019, a third dedicated to seed and the rest to growth deals, both geo (but mostly Europe) and industry agonostic.
• Lakestar's selling point is the track record and the consequent expertise - it seems like an old school, traditional VC, super connected and sharp, and doing things the right way.
• team of 50 people, based in London, Berlin and Zurich
• co-investors: HV Capital, Accel, Atomico, Project A, Latitude, Earlybird 
• 16 deals in the past 14 months, out of which 11 new startups added to the portfolio:

🇫🇷 Alan - health insurance company.
🇩🇪 Aware - mobile app used for evaluating health data via a subscription-based blood test. 
🇨🇭 ClearSpace - space tech manufacturer developing in-orbit service missions to enable a vibrant, resilient, and sustainable space industry.
🇩🇪 ConstellR - developers of an analytics-ready level-2 georeferenced land surface temperature data as well as higher level derived information products directly searchable and accessible via an API.
🇬🇧 Dexory - data-driven robotics and AI company developing fully autonomous robots for warehouses.
🇩🇪 Graswald - a digital library for natural and digital 3D worlds for the entertainment industry.
🇫🇷 lemon.markets - development environment used to process market data in an own automated strategy leading to order execution at the stock market via an API.
🇬🇧 Netspeak Games - a zero-crunch studio that develops online multiplayer games.
🇬🇧 Ntropy - API platform that takes raw transactions across platforms and extracts merchant information and labels it. 
🇬🇧 Tesseract - energy reseller startup from the UK building an energy business sold to households and businesses via blockchain-enabled transactions.
🇸🇪 Validio - a cloud-based solution used by enterprise customers for real-time validation, monitoring and cleaning of big data.

 

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