Tech.eu

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.

🎄🎄 We're heading down the final stretch - there are only 23 days left until Christmas! 🎄🎄Up this week:🇸🇪 From the brains behind Motherbrain, Ark Kapital releases AI-driven forecasting platform AIM to founders everywhere. You can hear more from Henrik Landgren himself at the Tech.eu Summit, this coming May in Brussels. Tickets are now on sale!🇺🇸 US-based acquisition specialist Carlyle Group has raised $3.12 billion as it targets European B2B technology businesses.🇧🇪 Crypto market maker Keyrock raises $72 million as it plans to further develop its offer and seek regulatory licences across Europe, the US, and Singapore.🇳🇱 Dutch e-commerce brand buyer Dwarfs has secured €30 million in a Series B funding round, one that was initially anticipated to be much, much larger. €120 million larger in fact.🇪🇺 Infarm, Zilch, MessageBird, Lyst, and a whole lotta others announced layoffs this week.🇮🇪 Facebook parent company Meta has been fined €265 million by the Irish Data Protection Commission.Fintech acquisitions abound: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Equals Group to acquire fintech startup Roqqett for up to £2.25 million🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Business banking platform Tide acquires Funding Options🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Toucan has been acquired by PayaCharity🇱🇺 Mangopay acquires fraud detection and prevention company Nethone🇫🇮 Breathing new life into spent Tesla EV batteries, Cactos raises €2.5 million to meet growing customer demand.And there's one more thing:🇧🇪 Antler has released its 2022 Benelux Unicorn Founder Roadmap: How to build unicorns in Benelux report🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Atomico is releasing its State of European Tech report next week🇺🇸 Accel's "Europe and Israel’s Startup Founder Factories" reveals that of the 344 VC-backed unicorns since 2008, nearly two-thirds (203) have led to at least one startup being founded by former employees, with 1,018 tech startups emerging in total.All this, and a whole lot more in Episode 17 of Tech.eu's Drive at Five!

🎄🎄 Yes, that's right boys and girls of all ages, there are only 30 days left until Christmas! 🎄🎄 Up this week:🇩🇪 After listing on Nasdaq in September of 2021 via a SPAC, Munich-based makers of eVTOL aircraft, Lilium, has now raised $119 million in a concurrent private placement and registered direct offering.🇫🇮 Finland's Wolt launches new hiring drive in Israel, Sweden. Tech hubs in Tel-Aviv and Stockholm mean new hires and future-proofing for the Helsinki-based delivery platform.🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 US e-commerce enablement player AppHub has paid $72 million to snap up the founders' stake in REVIEWS.io, a UK-based customer feedback portal that allows product vendors to source user reviews that can be deployed on e-commerce services and community media outlets.🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Anne Hathaway backs female-led Pact as it launches £30 million seed fund aimed at inclusion, well-being, and climate.🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Fresh from launching its first electric scooter, Zapp is going public in a SPAC merger deal.🇦🇹 Amid crypto winter, Austrian unicorn Bitpanda secures Germany’s most comprehensive crypto licence.And, as always, there's one more thing ...The EU chip industry. Enjoy.All this and a whole lot more on this week's episode of the Tech.eu Drive at Five!

While Dan was OOO for a few days this week, Robin was MC'ing The Big Score and collecting tonnes of knowledge. Up this week:🇧🇪 Belgian co-living startup Cohabs has bagged a massive €110 million round and set its sights on achieving 5,000 bedrooms for co-living rental and real-estate in the next four years.🇮🇹 Faded from former glory company Evernote is joining the Bending Spoons family.🇹🇷 As the once white-hot home delivery of just about everything you could imagine continues to cool, Just Eat Takeaway.com and Getir announce a partnership just one day after Gopuff and Uber Eats announce a similar partnership in the UK.😢 Layoffs, layoffs, layoffs (Typeform, UiPath 6%, Sendcloud 10%, Pipedrive 15%, Dance 16%, Jimdo 16%, Hopin 17%, Juni more than 30%, Wayflyer 40% etc.) and Deliveroo exiting the Australia market.🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 London-based Index Ventures is reaffirming its commitment to helping founders get their ideas off the ground and prepare for the road ahead with the launch of its second dedicated seed fund, Origin II at $300 million.And there's one more thing ...🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Balderton Capital's first Executive in Residence, Dave Kellogg, has authored an invaluable resource in the Founder's Guide to B2B Sales. Don't skip this one!All this and a whole lot more on this week's episode of the Tech.eu Drive at Five!

Index Ventures Partner Hannah Seal joins the show today to provide deeper insight into the whats and the whys behind the firms' recently launched $300 million Origin II seed-stage focused fund.