Tech.eu

Digital currencies. Love 'em, hate 'em, or ambivalent about 'em, the financial instruments are here to stay. But for all the volatility that we've seen in the markets, where exactly does Europe stake its claim in the ecosystem? And what's the deal with MiCA?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.

Providing one of the biggest language learning platforms on the planet, Berlin-based veteran tech scale-up Babbel has only raised a little over $30 million to date. An IPO attempt in 2021 failed to materialise, but that doesn't leave the company desperate for funding - at all. We saw down for a good (remote) chat with CEO Arne Schepker to learn more about its current status, and future plans.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

Post-SVB drama, this week might just go down as the week that the world woke up to AI, as GPT-4 dropped, Microsoft and Google unleashed the beast, and people both cheered and feared.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!

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.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.

We caught up with Pedro Barros, Partner and Head of Fundraising & Investor Relations at Target Global, the pan-European technology investment firm with more than €3 billion in assets under management.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.

The overarching, and still developing story of what's going on at Silicon Valley Bank has overshadowed pretty much every piece of news that came out this week. And perhaps many more stories to come. But as we watch events unfold ...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!

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.