• seeds for women-focused startups, B2B marketplaces, forecasting SAAS, fermentation tech
• politicians turned investors, celebrities raising funds
• VCs cutting funds in half

 

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Interesting deals

Nordics

🇸🇪 Moonrise, operating a digital health coaching platform for women, raised a seed round from Swedish and German angel investors.

🇳🇴 Ocean Oasis, a freshwater provider that utilizes the power of waves to deliver desalinated water to shore, raised a seed round led by Unconventional Ventures, joined by Unruly Capital, Grieg, Farvatn Ventureand Antler.

🇸🇪 Bookboost, selling hospitality SAAS used in 107 hotels across 36 hotel chains, raised seed from CVX Ventures. 

🇸🇪 Meela, developing a marketplace that matches women to their best fit therapist and therapy, raised $600k from Calm/Storm Ventures, Unconventional Ventures, and angel investors.

🇸🇪 Asker, developing a data-driven platform for conducting job interviews, raised $600k pre-seed from APX, The Talent Company, Fast Track Malmöand Wave Ventures.

🇸🇪 Alex Therapeutics, developing a platform helping pharmaceutical companies prescribe digital therapies, in a $1.3 million seed extensionbacked by Innovestor.

🇸🇪 Audiodo, using a proprietary sound optimization algorithm for providing personalized audio, raised $2.6 million.

🇸🇪 Ingrid, a B2B shipping aggregator serving 150+ Nordic retailers, raised $9.6 million in venture debt and a seed equity round backed by Schibsted Ventures, Blq Invest and Verdane Capital. 

🇸🇪 ROYC, building a digital investment platform, connecting family offices, wealth managers and financial advisors with investment opportunities in private markets, went out of stealth announcing a funding round closed at $13.6 million.

🇳🇴 Appfarm, SAAS startup selling a no-code app for deploying a wide range of tech apps, raised $6 million from Idékapital and Eviny Ventures. 

​

DACH

🇩🇪 Toolify, developing a B2B one-stop marketplace for providers of robot-assisted automation of manual activities in production, manufacturing or warehousing, raised seed from HTGF.

🇩🇪 Limbiq, developing SAAS that streamlines all of the different ways of doing supply chain into a simple, usable network for all stakeholders, raised $1 million from Motion Ventures and local angel investors.

🇩🇪 Mily, developing a delivery analytics platform tailored for parcel delivery companies, raised $1 million pre-seed from South Central Ventures.

🇩🇪 Saclab, developing an online marketplace for fashion handbags, raised $1.7 million seed from Trind Ventures and G-Fund.

🇩🇪 Green Fusion, developing a cloud-based energy manager for the intelligent control of heat, electricity and e-mobility, raised $2.9 million seed from investors led by BitStone Capital, joined by High Rise Ventures, ENKIDU Venture Capital, Vireo Ventures and angel investors.

🇩🇪 Secfix, helping smaller and medium-sized businesses automate the security compliance, raised a $3.8 million seed round led by Octopus Ventures, joined by Neosfer.

🇩🇪 Apaleo, SAAS developer of a self-service, API-driven cloud platform for the hospitality business, raised €4.5 million in a series A extension round backed by Serpentine Ventures, Rockaway Ventures, Redalpine, andForce Over Mass Capital.

🇩🇪 Impossible Cloud, developers of a cloud platform that offers decentralized, multi-service cloud solutions based on web3 technology and decentralized infrastructure, raised $7 million seed from investors led by HV Capital and 1kx, with participation from Protocol Labs, TS Ventures, and Very Early Ventures. It previouly raised $3 million pre-seed 12 months ago.

🇨🇭 Simulands, manufacturing simulation equipment for medical training of cardiac interventions, raised $10 million first money in from SHS Ventures.

​

The UK

🇬🇧 eTEU, developing a shipping document digitisation platform used for optimisation and digitalisation of documentation processes in international trade, raised a seed round from Jenson Funding Partners alongside Larix Equity, Pinto Ventures, and angel investors.

🇬🇧 Sourcerie, a D2C startup building a personalised shopping marketplace for the beauty industry, announced a $2.2 million preseed round raised from Playfair and multiple angel investors including VCs working for London shops.

🇬🇧 Cordless, developing a platform for customer support services that transcribes calls automatically and makes content searchable, raised $2.3 million seed from investors led by Fly VC, joined by Passion Capital, TrueSight Ventures and angel investors. 

🇬🇧 Ramp, developer of a forecasting SAAS for customer behaviour and future revenue, raised $5 million seed in a round round co-led by AlbionVC and Eurazeo, joined by Triple Point Ventures and angel investors.

🇬🇧 WNWN, a fermentation food tech company developing cocoa-free "alt chocolate", raised $5.6 million seed in a round led by PeakBridge VC, joined by FoodLabs, Mustard Seed Maze, PINC, Investbridge AgriTech and HackCapital. 

🇬🇧 Electrify Video Partners, aggregator holding that invests in and acquires YouTube channels, raised $50 million from MEP Capital.

​
Other geographies

🇧🇪 Summ.link, B2B SAAS developer of a predictive analytics tool, raised $1.4 million seed from Vlaio and Belfius.

🇫🇷 GoMecano, building a marketplace connecting car mechanics with customers needing servicing 7 days a week, raised $2 million from Via ID.

🇧🇬 Transmetrics, developing tools used to optimize logistics planning and asset management by leveraging the power of predictive analytics and artificial intelligence, raised $2.6 million seed from EIC and Impetus Capital.

🇫🇷 Inarix, developing technology providing real-time crop qualification results from a simple picture, raised $3.1 million seed from Ankaa ventures, Label Investment, Newfund, Alliance for impact and Resiliance. 

🇫🇷 Cycle, developing an all-in-one tool dedicated to product-centric teams, raised $6 million from Boldstart, eFounders, Base Case, 20VC Fund, SV Angel, BoxGroup and Hummingbird Ventures.

🇧🇪 Henchman, developers of a SAAS platform that automatically centralizes past clauses and definitions from any legal team’s contract database, raised $7 million series A from investors led by Adjacent VC and Acton Capital.

🇮🇹 Caracol, developing an extrusion system and software algorithms combined in a robotic system that can produce large-scale 3D single-piece components, raised $11.5 million series A co-led by b and CDP Venture Capital.

​

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

 

Investors

Most active last month

Angels
​🇬🇧 Tom Blomfield
🇬🇧 Paul Forster
🇺🇸 Guy Podjarny
🇩🇪 Angel Invest
🇫🇮 Ilkka Paananen
🇧🇪 Pieterjan Bouten
🇩🇪 Tim Schumacher
​see all​
​
Early stage VCs (deals closed at <$10M)
​🇩🇪 IBB Ventures
🇮🇹 CDP Ventures
🇫🇷 Newfund
🇩🇪 Point Nine Capital
🇮🇹 Primo Ventures
​see all​
​​
Later stage VCs (deals closed at >$10M)
​🇫🇷 Eurazeo
🇬🇧 Octopus Ventures
🇫🇷 Swen Capital Partners
🇫🇷 Elaia
🇬🇧 British Patient Capital
​see all​
​

Powder

🇪🇺 Blackstone is considering the launch of an open-ended European infrastructure fund targeting $2 billion.

🇩🇪 High-Tech Gründerfonds has announced the closing of its fourth fund at €493.8 million to be invested in German seed startups.

🇳🇱 StartGreen Capital launched a sixth fund, the StartGreen Transition Fund, which will invest in regional clean energy projects in the Netherlands. It is targeting a €200 million fund size.

🇬🇧 Spex Capital, a British health-tech VC firm led by Claudio D’Angelo, says it’s targeting €100 million for its debut fund to be deployed in early-stage health-tech ventures, from seed up to series A, offering tickets up to €5 million.

🇫🇷 Irdi Capital announced launching 2 new funds with an overall first close of €75 million:

• IRDInov 3 - a seed capital fund dedicated to deeptech startups in the health sector, closed at €44 million.
• Aelis Innovation 2 targeting digital companies in the commercialization phase or close to scalability, with secured commitments of €31 million.

🇬🇧 The UK Space Agency announced the Moonlight programme, a £50 million investment fund intended for UK companies to develop communication and navigation services for missions to the Moon. 

🇲🇹 Chiliz is a newly-announced Malta-based blockchain sports token platform operating a $50 million incubator program to target early-stage projects in the sports and entertainment industries.

🇮🇪 Sure Valley Ventures launches Irish Software Fund with a first close at a €30 million to invest in the Republic of Ireland.

🇳🇱Quantum Delta NL announced QDNL Participations, a €15 million fund dedicated to helping university quantum researchers turn their technology into VC-investable startups.

🇬🇧 The Royal College of Art has launched a £5 million fund to be invested over 18-24 months in 15-22 companies founded by Royal College of Art staff or graduates.

​

On the move

🇬🇧 Grant Paul-Florence joined Gresham House Ventures as a director of investments, after 2 years with BGF and 5 years with Octopus Investments.

🇫🇷 Thibaut Ceyrolle joined Atomico as a partner, after a four years stint as VP with Snowflake EMEA. 

🇬🇧 Charlotte Van Reyk joined Lightspeed Partners as VP of Platform, Europe in the London office, after 8 year of work for Google.

🇸🇪 Charlotte Bonde Tamm joined the British alternative investments advisor Alvine Capital for managing its Stockholm office.

🇬🇧 Sajid Javid, British politician ex-Chancellor of the Exchequer, joined Centricus Asset Management as a senior adviser.

🇵🇱 Wiktor Namysł joined as a general parter for Orbit Capital after 24 years of work with McKinsey Poland. Orbit is a Czech Republic-based growth and venture debt firm focused on CEE and last year was looking to raise a 200 million fund, yet to be closed.

​
Also notable

🇬🇧 London dealmakers say move to Wall Street from The City is just starting. 

• London’s public companies are looking to New York as a preferable market for listing their shares, with City dealmakers handling frequent inquiries from clients asking how they could shift across the Atlantic.
• On the other hand, a third of the major companies on the UK stock market a decade ago have since vanished, with more than half going to overseas buyers. Almost all were bought by or merged with another company - 54% by number and almost 70% by value have gone overseas, mostly to foreign public companies. 

🇱🇺 Luxembourg early stage VC Mangrove Capital Partners led a $3 millionseed round closed by Philippines-based Enstack, a developer of a financial super app for SMEs.

🇩🇰 Re-Match, an artificial turf recycler, was de-listed from the local stock exchange in a $33 million equity deal backed by Verdane and Nordic Alpha Partners.

🇪🇸 Spanish food delivery company Glovo announced the launch of a €5 million Impact Fund expected to support local communities, climate action initiatives, the digitalisation of small local businesses, close the gender gap in tech, and provide upskilling programmes for couriers. 

🇺🇸 Founders Fund has cut the size of its eighth venture capital fund in half, from around $1.8 billion to around $900 million, with the extra 1 billion on hold for a ninth venture capital fund that will activate whenever Fund VIII is fully committed (at which point management fees will kick in).

🇺🇸 American actress Gwyneth Paltrow is raising a $75 million venture capital fund seeking to invest in early-stage consumer goods and technology companies, including web3 startups.

 

Investors profile

🇬🇧 Playfair Capital

• founded in 2011 by Federico Pirzio-Biroli, an Italian angel investor turned VC. 
• Pirzio-Biroli re-located to Kenya shortly after, while the ops are managed by a team of 9 led by Chris Smith in London
• first fund closed in 2013, at $30 million, second in 2019, at $32 million, notably with Federico as sole LP. No new funds announcements since then.
• they fund pre-seed and seed deals in the UK, playing the Angel DNA differentiator card.
• co-investors: IQ Capital, Passion Capital, Amadeus Capital
• part of 14 new deals in the last 14 months, 5 of which new adds to the portfolio:

🇬🇧 Cauldron - developers of a web3 gaming world.
🇬🇧 Kuai - digital solutions for brands looking to enter the Chinese ecommerce market
🇬🇧 Qureight - data platform for large clinical datasets allowing hospitals and pharma companies identify novel biomarkers.
🇬🇧 Skiller Whale - on-demand live team coaching that targets individual skill gaps for teams of software developers.
🇬🇧 Sourcerie - D2C startup a personalised shopping marketplace for the beauty industry
​
​

🇫🇷 Quantonation

• founded in 2018 by Charles Beigbeder, Christophe Jurczak, Jean-Gabriel Boinot-Tramoni and Olivier Tonneau. 
• team of 6, based in Paris, investing out of a fund that had a final closing at €91 million in 2021. 
• focused on geo agnostic early stage deals, up to series A, highly specialized in what they call quantum technologies - quantum computing (hardware and software), quantum networks, quantum sensing and deep physics. 
• co-investors: HTGF, Runa Capital, Verve Ventures, the EIC Fund
• 9 new startups added in the portfolio in 2022, 6 of which from Europe:

🇫🇷 Aleia - developers of a software platform used to create, deploy and operate scalable AI projects in an industrial matter.
🇩🇪 HQS Quantum Simulations - developers of quantum algorithms for materials scientists in the chemical industry used to predict molecular properties for specialty chemicals & pharmaceutical companies.
🇩🇪 Kipu - application-specific quantum computing solutions for immediate industrial use.
🇩🇪 Pixel Photonics - developers of highly scalable integrated-optical single-photon detectors that enable scaling of solutions in quantum computing, QKD and imaging among others.
🇫🇷 Qubit - a physics driven drug discovery company from France using advanced simulation software and AI-enhanced medicinal chemistry in order to develop novel drug candidates.
🇫🇷 WeLinQ - developers of solutions used to interconnect quantum processors in order to drastically increase their computational power and to make them quantum-accessible at a distance.

 

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