Tech.eu

And that's a wrap on February this week folks! While it might be cold and grey out of doors, as expected, it's hunting season and the M&A activities have been off the charts, this week in particular.Up this week:01:38 - German semiconductor manufacturer Infineon is to buy GaN Systems of Canada for $830 million in cash.02:12 - Helsinki's cash flow management SaaS Nomentia was acquired by 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 listings14:25 - 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!

On the one-year anniversary of the Russo-Ukrainian war Tech.eu has dedicated our coverage to the Ukrainian ecosystem. In addition to this week's news recap, we heard from Reface co-founder and CEO Dima Shvets about how the company has survived and is growing.Up this week:00:31 - Interview with Dima Shvets of Reface14:40 - Lay-offs at Zalando and Ericsson16:43 - Quantum Motion computes new UK record with £42 million raise19:02 - Robin's 'quick' rundown of a whole lotta other news20:55 - Europe's AI industry's set to confound market expectations, generating 25% CAGR through to 2026Slava Ukraini.

Spearheaded by Index Ventures and supported by more than 700 CEOs, the Not Optional campaign is spurring policymakers across Europe to reform outdated rules and regulations that limit employee ownership.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.

Johannes Reck, Co-founder and CEO of GetYourGuide, talks about the company's growth post-pandemic, strategic partnerships, AI innovations, and future plans for funding or IPO. He also discusses the evolution of the Berlin tech ecosystem and the decision to discontinue the 'Originals' program for better customer experiences.

Tech Nation will reach the end of its journey on 31 March, and after that it will be up to Barclays Eagle Lab to provide similar, perhaps complementary services to the UK tech community's startups and scale-ups.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. :) 

Up this week:03:00: Scaling startups showcase cutting-edge Industrial tech at the Sixth Sense Summit09:10: The end of an era as Tech Nation to cease operations as of March 31st17:33: Robots aren't representing us in court but here are 7 legal tech startups transforming the legal system21:56: In no way boring, spacetech startup The Exploration Company lands €40.5 millionAnd 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!

Tech.eu caught up with sustainability advisor Kristine Nagle and Elodie Broad, the recently appointed Head of Impact and ESG at Balderton Capital, to have a chat about what 'sustainability in VC' actually means, whether 'greenwashing' is a thing in that industry as well, and how investment firms can (should?) approach the implementation of ESG strategies internally and with their portfolio companies.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.

After an extended holiday break, the Drive at Five is back! Helping to celebrate its return, Dan and Robin are joined by Cate and Callum this week where we call tech support, discover who the founder of the Bauhaus school was, talk about death (or however you want to call it after your heart stops beating), Walt Disney, qubits, and how supply chain problems can tarnish a brand and lead to (potentially) a closing up of shop. 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!

Tech.eu had a chance to sit down with Daniel Glazer, managing partner of the London office of American tech law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, as he was passing through Brussels.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.

As the phrase goes, the best-laid plans of mice and men, just minutes after Robin and I finished recording this week's edition of the Drive at Five, Getir's acquisition of Gorillas broke. Needless to say, this would have been a topic we would have addressed, but in lieu of audio, you can find our coverage of the story here.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 takeawaysDan's look at VC activityTamara's country-by-country analysisand 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.