The biggest deal of the week: Monzo, the UK-based fintech company, is now a unicorn. The company has raised £85 million and now boasts more than a million users.  The UK plans to introduce what it calls a “digital services” tax that will target tech giants - UK chancellor announces 2% ‘digital services tax’ on tech giants’ revenues starting in April 2020 - Hammond's digital tax faces opposition from big tech firms - US attacks UK plan for digital services tax on tech giants Interview: Christian Nagel, co-founder and managing partner at EarlyBird Lessons learned from the story of Click & Grow, and the rise of indoor smart gardens - Estonian-founded “smart garden” startup Click & Grow raises $11 million from an IKEA stores operator and other investors - Q&A with Mattias Lepp, founder and CEO of Click & Grow - I Tried the Click and Grow Herb Garden — Here's How It Went - I grew basil and lettuce using this indoor smart garden — and the process was truly effortless Events coming up soon: - Govtech Summit in Paris; November 12 - Techstars Startup Weeks around Europe; November - Global Entrepreneurship Week around the world; November - Investors Day & BETAPITCH Global 2018 in Berlin; November 15 Did we miss something? Let us know by filling out the event submission form. Our reading recommendations: - Matthew Hughes on TNW: “Influencer marketing is bullshit” - Diablo Immortal Reveal with Chat Reaction — Blizzcon 2018 Opening Ceremony We hope you enjoy the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions at andrii@tech.eu or tweet at @tech_eu, @nnovick, and @adegeler.  For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

The biggest deal of the week: Berlin’s GoEuro who has raised a $150 million investment round by Kinnevik and Temasek, with participation from Hillhouse Capital. I was at a few things they did when I was living in Berlin-- they really have a cool company and they are providing a lot of utility for people travelling around Europe. If you are interested in staying in the know about all the deals — check out the Tech.eu Insider newsletter! Google has abandoned plans to open a new campus for startups in Berlin’s Kreuzberg. - Google abandons Berlin base after two years of resistance - 'Google go home': the Berlin neighbourhood fighting off a tech giant - Fuck Off Google Interview: Florian Pauthner, managing director of SevenVentures Ireland is joining the ranks of the countries where Airbnb and other short-term rental platforms get heavily regulated. - Ireland to regulate Airbnb-style rentals to tackle housing shortage - Clampdown on Airbnb rentals 'will be difficult' Events: - Connected Data London 2018; November 7 - Web Summit in Lisbon; November 5­–8 - Govtech Summit in Paris; November 12 - Techstars Startup Weeks around Europe; November Did we miss something? Let us know by filling out the event submission form. Our reading recommendations: - Nitasha Tiku on Wired, “An alternative history of Silicon Valley disruption” - David Heinemier Hansson, “It doesn’t have to be crazy at work” - China’s Grueling Formula for Success: 9-9-6 - After three weeks in China, it's clear Beijing is Silicon Valley's only true competitor - Book reviews on 800-CEO-READ and The Economist We hope you enjoy the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions at andrii@tech.eu or tweet at @tech_eu, @nnovick, and @adegeler.   Image credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images | The Guardian For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

Here’s what we discussed this time. The biggest deal of the week: Truphone, a UK-based eSIM mobile carrier that works with Apple, raised $71 million. The company is now valued at $507 million. We also tracked a number of eight-figure rounds in Spain, Sweden, Denmark, France, Germany, and the Netherlands. If you are interested in staying in the know about all the deals — check out Tech.eu Insider newsletter! Google will soon start charging smartphone makers for Google Play Store in Europe - Google app suite costs as much as $40 per phone under new EU Android deal - Google to charge smartphone makers for Google Play in Europe Interview: Gidi Pridor, VP Marketing at TravelPerk that has recently raised $44 million in funding “Davos in the desert” and Saudi money in European tech - Where Saudi Arabia is investing in tech - Tech reckons with Saudi cash after journalist’s brutal murder - Assessing Saudi Arabia's stake in Uber - Term Sheet -- Thursday, June 2 - Where SoftBank has invested its $100 billion Vision Fund - £70bn Saudi-backed Softbank fund in talks with UK's Oaknorth - Business titans fight shy of Saudi’s trillion-dollar charm offensive - The meaning of the Vision Fund Interview: Igor Zhadanov, CEO and co-founder at Readdle Events: - Women Startup Challenge Europe in Paris, France; October 25 - NOAH London Conference; October 30­–31 - Edinburgh’s Startup Summit; on October 31 - Web Summit in Lisbon; November 5­–8 - Govtech Summit in Paris; November 12 Did we miss something? Let us know by filling out the event submission form. Our reading recommendations The Aleph Report, “Politicians and regulations are about to end the startup world” Martin Bryant, “The language of technology” series We hope you enjoy the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions at andrii@tech.eu or tweet at @tech_eu, @nnovick, and @adegeler.   Photo by Yunus klifa on Unsplash For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

On this episode, hosted by Natalie Novick and Andrii Degeler, we discussed the following topics: The biggest deal of the week: immersive reality tech startup Varjo has raised a $31 million Series B round from Atomico, Next47, and others. Apple’s shopping in Europe - Danish startup Spektral sold to Apple for $30 million - Apple confirms it has acquired Spektral, a Danish computer vision startup, for augmented reality technology - Apple inks $600M deal to license IP, acquire assets and talent from Dialog to expand chipmaking in Europe HelloFresh and the issues with subscription marketing - The World's Most Ruthless Food Startup: The Inside Story of How HelloFresh Clawed Its Way to the Top - HelloFresh: The world's most ruthless food startup - ‘Complaints are vastly outweighed by positive feedback’: HelloFresh defends face-to-face salespeople - HelloFresh To End Street Team Program Following Complaints From Greenpoint Residents - Subscription box deliveries set to become billion-pound market - HelloFresh has a Bigger Customer Retention Problem Than Blue Apron Interview: Semyon Dukach, One Way Ventures Berlin-based startup Pitch raises $19 million to take on slide decks - Pitch, from the founders of Wunderlist, raises $19M to take on PowerPoint in presentations - Wunderlist creators raise $19 million for Pitch, a next-gen collaborative presentation platform Events: - NOAH London Conference; October 30­–31 - Fintech Belgium Summit in Brussels, Belgium; October 22 - Women Startup Challenge Europe in Paris, France; October 25 Did we miss something? Let us know by filling out the event submission form. Our reading recommendations Kara Swisher: “I just knew I was going to surpass these guys I was working for.” Also, check out Kara’s recent AMA session on Reddit. Blockchain scepticism: “The Big Blockchain Lie” and “Sorry Civil, 'crypto-economics' and 'constitutions' won't save journalism.” Bonus: Tim Berners-Lee on reinventing the web (without blockchain). We hope you enjoy the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions at andrii@tech.eu.   For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

On this episode, hosted by Natalie Novick and Andrii Degeler, we discussed the following topics: The biggest deal of the week: Owlstone Medical from Cambridge raises $35 million for its breathalyser-based diagnostics solution. Amazon has announced that it will raise minimum wages for all its workers in the US and in the UK - Don’t let Amazon’s living wage announcement fool you. This is why I’m not calling off my boycott yet - Amazon workers strike in Germany, Spain and Poland to coincide with Prime Day - Amazon’s other pay benefit: A higher UK tax rate? - Amazon warehouse workers lose bonuses, stock awards for raises - Amazon raises the minimum wage for US and UK employees Interview: Jonas Huckestein, co-founder and CTO of Monzo Huel, the UK food startup that has secured a £20 million funding round from Highland Capital Interview: Dmitriy Zaporozhets, the co-founder and CTO of Europe’s latest unicorn GitLab Balderton Capital, a venture fund headquartered in London, has raised its new fund of $145 million called Liquidity I - Why we raised Balderton’s Liquidity I — and the dramatic growth and maturation of Europe’s tech ecosystem - Balderton’s $145M ‘secondary’ fund will give shareholders in European scale-ups the chance to exit early Events: - Web Summit stays in Lisbon - World Summit AI in Amsterdam, the Netherlands; October 10–11 - Health Pioneers in Vienna, Austria; October 10 - RuhrSummit in Bochum, Germany; October 11–12 - Europe Code Week; October 6–21 - SaaStock in Dublin, Ireland; October 15–17 - Uprise Festival in Dublin, Ireland; October 17–18 - Fintech Belgium Summit in Brussels, Belgium; October 22 - Women Startup Challenge Europe in Paris, France; October 25 Our reading recommendations After earning €10 million in revenues, Tim Schumacher and Christian Kroll will to turn their company, Ecosia over to their employees and become a “self-owned company” - Our company, Ecosia, makes 10 million in revenues. Today, we’re donating all of our shares. Why on earth are we doing that? - Purpose economy It turns out that there are still a lot of journalists — mostly those writing for local newspapers — who use Microsoft Word and not Google Docs to send their stories to the editors. - Journalists just can’t quit Microsoft Word. But some are trying - Do capybaras dream of Google Docs? We hope you enjoy the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions at andrii@tech.eu.   Photo by Hello I'm Nik on Unsplash For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

On this episode, hosted by Natalie Novick and Andrii Degeler, we discussed the following topics: Wimdu, a Germany-based “Airbnb killer” is shutting down by the end of 2018. - Wimdu’s press statement - Report: Rocket Internet-founded Wimdu shuts down, prepares to lay off more than 100 staff Interview: Oscar Jazdowski, who is setting up Silicon Valley Bank in Germany. Recorded by Robin Wauters on the Bits & Pretzels conference in Munich. The biggest reported deal of the last week: SEBA Crypto, a Swiss fintech startup, has raised CHF100 million, or about €88 million, to build a crypto bank. - Swiss startup SEBA raises funds to build a crypto bank - Swiss startup raises $103 million to launch cryptocurrency bank Interview: Kelly Adam, program manager of TechStars’ new accelerator in Amsterdam. Recorded by Andrii Degeler on the Angel Island in Amsterdam. UK newspaper industry demands levy on tech firms, first of all Facebook and Google Events: - World Summit AI in Amsterdam, the Netherlands; October 10–11 - Health Pioneers in Vienna, Austria; October 10 - RuhrSummit in Bochum, Germany; October 11–12 - Europe Code Week; October 6–21 - SaaStock in Dublin, Ireland; October 15–17 - Uprise Festival in Dublin, Ireland; October 17–18 Our reading recommendation: “The State of European Autotech” report just released by Tech.eu. Photo by G. Crescoli on Unsplash For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

On this episode, hosted by Natalie Novick and Andrii Degeler, we discussed the following topics: GitLab, a devops software platform, has raised $100 million at a valuation of $1.1 billion. - GitLab raises $100M - How GitHub rival GitLab is building a business with just 0.1% paying customers Interview: Dr Tanja Emmerling, principal at High-Tech Gruenderfonds France’s fintech coup - The Govtech Summit - Le Swave launches its second recruitment campaign - Scouting For Fintechs: Is French President Emmanuel Macron Keeping His Promise? - Newly Approved ICO Framework May Turn France Into Europe’s Leading ICO Hub - France Woos U.K. Finance as Industry Reels From Brexit Paper - Video: Learn more about Le Swave, first Fintech incubation platform in Paris CBD Interview: Marc-Alexander Christ, co-founder at SumUp It's the rumours time! Bloomberg reports that Uber is talking to Deliveroo about acquisition possibilities. - Uber Is in Early Talks to Buy Europe's Deliveroo - Uber Eats couriers' pay protest brings traffic to a halt in central London Events coming up in Europe: - Angel Island, Amsterdam - Lviv IT Arena - Mondial.Tech, Paris - Bits and Pretzels, Munich - France Digitale Day, Paris - Oslo Innovation Week - Cybertech Europe, Rome Recommendations from Natalie and Andrii The true cost of the gig economy—an example of Amazon delivery drivers - ‘Someone is going to die in this truck’: Amazon drivers and managers describe harrowing deliveries inside trucks with ‘bald tires,’ broken mirrors, and faulty brakes - Missing wages, grueling shifts, and bottles of urine: The disturbing accounts of Amazon delivery drivers may reveal the true human cost of ‘free’ shipping - I Delivered Packages for Amazon and It Was a Nightmare - Amazon drivers 'work illegal hours' - A day in the life of an Amazon delivery driver The Point Nine Land and other content created by VCs - The Point Nine Land blog - Natalie’s Twitter list of VCs - Standout post Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

On this episode, hosted by Natalie Novick and Andrii Degeler, we discussed the following topics: The European Parliament has passed the copyright directive, which contains the infamous Article 11, aka the link tax, and Article 13, aka the upload filter and the meme killer. - The Copyright Directive - Data mining: why the EU’s proposed copyright measures get it wrong - EU copyright reform will spell disaster for sports fans - Everything you need to know about europe’s new copyright directive What’s next for the EU’s grant schemes for entrepreneurs and researchers: an interview with the director of EASME Julien Guerrier. French travel platform Evaneos has picked up €70 million in a Series D funding round led by Partech. This is the the largest deal we tracked last week. How is TomTom doing? An interview with Corinne Vigreux, co-founder of TomTom and founder of Codam.nl. Google and the EU are fighting the possibility of expanding the “right to be forgotten” globally. Events coming up in Europe: - Angel Island, Amsterdam - Lviv IT Arena - France Digitale Day, Paris - Oslo Innovation Week - Cybertech Europe, Rome Recommendations from Natalie and Andrii - Hedge, a book by Nicolas Colin of the Family - The Copenhagen Catalog - How An International Hacker Network Turned Stolen Press Releases Into $100 Million - Darknet Diaries Podcast Image credit: David Iliff For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

Discussed on this episode: CCP Games, Startup Poland, relayr, iZettle, Taxify and e-scooters, Vinted, tech events coming up in Europe, the AI composer Aiva, Big Revolution and re:Charged newsletter, and much more. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

On this episode, we discuss the following topics: - PayPal's acquisition of iZettle - Revolut raising $250 million - Adyen heads for an IPO - Klarna buys Shop.co - In Germany, Dreamlines and Frontier raise big funding rounds - The acquisitions of FanDuel and Zoopla - The recent Tech Nation report on the UK's tech sector - Apple's rocky relationship with the EU and Ireland - A look at recent movements for seed investors eFounders and Seedcamp We also feature a number of interviews with key players in the European electricity industry, including Kristian Ruby (the Secretary General of Eurelectric, the organisation that represents the common interests of the energy sector, and Tiago Moura Antunes, who heads client-focused innovations for EDP, the Portuguese utility player. We also talk to Xavier Mamo from EDF Energy, who sponsored this podcast, as they recently wrapped up their Pulse Awards (and we chat with one of its winners, UK-based Powervault). For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy