Tech.eu

Earlier this year, smart data capture firm Scandit raised $150 million in a Series D  round, providing the company with a valuation north of $1 billion, a valuation that despite recent market upheavals, still holds.But how do three researchers at ETH Zurich spin out a company that in just 13 short years grows from an idea in a lab to one that's trusted by 5 of the top 10 Fortune 500 companies, and has a client roster with just about every household brand you can think of?I sat down with Scandit co-founder and CEO Samuel Mueller, Ph.D. to find out. Along the way Samuel discusses what pitfalls fledgling European startups can avoid when going global, and how to course correct the "oh shit" moments. We also get to know a bit more about the man driving the company in the lighting round, and crucially, Samuel weighs in on one of the most pressing questions of our modern era: when it comes to chocolate which country lays claim to the crown, Switzerland or Belgium?All this and more with Scandit's Samuel Mueller!

Europe may be on holiday, but that isn't stopping the deal flow. This week Celonis pulled in $1 billion in liquidity at a $13 billion valuation, and Web3 investments take centre stage. Nine-month-old thirdweb raised $24 million as it facilitates the creation of Web3 apps across popular blockchains, including games, NFT drops, DAOs, token gated membership clubs, and more. And despite Bitcoin dropping below $22,000 just least week and for all the doom and gloom talk of the "crypto winter", Estonian crypto trading platform Bitlevex raised $50 million from GEM Digital Ltd., a Bahamas-based "digital asset investment firm". Dan and our special guest Monty Munford discuss the red flags therein.This, Monty ended up on John McAfee's yacht in Malta, and a whole lot more on episode 4 of Tech.eu's Drive at Five.

Aaaaaand we're back! Robin takes a stab at the lead in this week, while Dan says it's got a good beat and that he can dance to it, but let's rewind the tape.Normally around this time of the year tech news stories are a bit thin, but the summer of 2022 isn't letting up on the pace. This week Robin and Dan wax poetic about what happened, or is happening, with Wallbox's acquisitions, how it's flown under the radar, relatively, for the past 7 years, and is now poised to make a major impact in the U.S. market, Super's keyword bingo and claim to "one of the largest ever pre-seed funding rounds in Europe", Robin's side hustle, Robinhood and the massive price drop in its acquisition of Ziglu, how and why and what's happening with the bureaucracy in Brussels' funding of startups, and one more thing - Just Eat says tchau to Brazil.All this and more on the Tech.eu Drive at Five.

With around $600 million in funding raised to date, and close to 1,000 people on the payroll, UK tech scale-up Improbable probably (ha) needs little introduction to our audience. In many ways, though, a decade into its existence the really exciting days for the 'metaverse technology' company seem to be still ahead of them.That's also a sentiment shared by Herman Narula, the affable co-founder and chief executive of Improbable, who said that technology is finally catching up with the ambitious goals the company had set for itself in the early days.Improbable has created a technology dubbed Morpheus that allows social interactions within virtual worlds, where thousands of people can talk to each other in lag-free environments, offering its virtual world-building services to a slew of entertainment companies, academic institutions, gaming companies, and even governments around the world.Improbable recently secured another $150 million in financing to establish and develop M², a network of 'interoperable Web3 metaverses' powered by its Morpheus tech. Even more recently, the company found itself squarely in the spotlight when it partnered up with Yuga Labs, the creators of the well-known Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT brand.Improbable worked with Yuga to build, service, and operate Otherside, basically a gamified MetaRPG universe where the players own the world. Earlier this month, the company assisted in 'First Trip', the highly-anticipated tech demo of Otherside: about 4,500 people were able to dance, sing and talk simultaneously. Check this video to see it in action.You can also watch our interview with Narula on our YouTube channel.

We asked you answered, and it's now definitively The Drive at Five, Tech.eu's show where we ponder what went down in European tech this past week and try to make sense of it all.Today, Robin and Dan wax poetic about what happened, or is happening, at Deliveroo and what's up with pulling the plug in the Netherlands, Pollen's WTF-is-going-on-here collapse, how Nuri is handling the shutdown situation a whole lot better, Spin Master's acquisition of Nørdlight (Nerdlife), and one more thing ... Balderton's makes an impact with its new hire.All this and more on the Tech.eu Drive at Five.

At Tech.eu, we're never ones to shy away from experimentation. And so in the spirit of being a fly on the wall at Robin and Dan's favourite Friday night spot to share a tasty beverage, we're bringing you the Drive at Five. Alternatively, the RAD (Robin and Dan) show, where we ponder what went down in European tech this past week, and try to make sense of it all.Today, RAD wax poetic about what happened, or is happening, at SoundCloud as they've announced (another) series of layoffs, auxmoney and lenders borrowing to lend, why the German government is a bit late to the game on dishing out some serious cash to native startups, and where Dan might be applying for a new job. All this and more on the Tech.eu Drive at Five

We had a great conversation with Mauricio Magaldi, a London-based crypto connoisseur and blockchain thought leader who guides 11:FS clients into the world of Web3 and DeFi.I was prompted to interview Magaldi as he was billed as the main author of a report entitled 'How Web3 is changing the future of finance', a great read on the subject.Fortunately for you, we recorded that conversation and you can watch it in all its glory below. You can also watch it on YouTube here (subscribe!) and follow Mauricio on Twitter here.You can ALSO check out Mauricio's mad drumming skills here.

We sat down with Franck Lebouchard, chief executive of French acoustical engineering company Devialet for almost five years now, to talk about the firm's challenges and opportunities in a world very much in turmoil.Founded in 2007, Devialet designs and builds high-end audio tech products such as amplifiers, speakers, wireless earbuds, and a soundbar, and also licenses some of its patented technology to other companies.The company's on a mission to "elevate sound in people's lives" and its future product roadmap will address new audio categories in that regard, Lebouchard tells us, even if it's up against some really big companies in that space, and pandemics, wars, and geopolitical issues continue to disrupt supply chains around the world.

Coming to Molten Ventures from the world of finance, management consulting, and angel investing, Vinoth focuses on the firm's investments in the sectors of fintech, insurtech, proptech, and climatetech.In the interview for Tech.eu Podcast, Vinoth discusses his approach to fintech investments and the way he approaches the industry, looking for B2C companies that "bridge the trust chasm" and B2B ones that build the fundamental infrastructure for people's interactions with money. In addition to that, he talks about Europe's prospects as a climate tech powerhouse, the value chain of VC, and the benefits of lateral thinking.To hear all this and more, check out the Tech.eu Podcast episode with Molten Ventures' Vinoth Jayakumar.

In this episode, Tech.eu sits down with Ampler Bikes' CEO and co-founder Ardo Kaurit about the Estonian firm's commitment to design, and quality and how quietly going about its business has led them to build an almost cult following in its existing markets.All this, and Dan's (not) patented 'Lighting Round' that gives us more insight on our guest(s), well beyond the 9 to 5.