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Investment in Europe’s tech startups surged 40 percent to a record $34.3 billion this year
European startups earned a record level of investment in 2019, drawing $34.3 billion in venture capital since the start of the year, according to the latest “State of European Tech” report from the London-based VC firm Atomico. It’s a 40 percent increase from the year before, and occurred even as US and Asian markets saw investment slowing. […]
French startup Angell unveils advanced, connected e-bike with integrated dashboard screen
The French startup Angell revealed its first e-bike this week, a ‘smart bike’ with advanced design and features, according to TechCrunch. The company is positioning itself to take advantage of an opportunity in the French market, where their data shows only 2 percent of commuters travel cities by bike, compared to 31 percent in the Netherlands […]
Twitter says the UK’s Conservative Party altered its account to pose as an independent fact-checker
Twitter says that the Conservative Party altered an official account to give the impression of an impartial fact-checking service, in an attempt to mislead the public ahead of the UK’s general elections, according to The Guardian. During a debate Tuesday night between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn, the party changed the name of its campaign headquarters press office […]
Textbook subscription platform Perlego, the ‘Spotify of books,’ raises £7m in Series A funding
Textbook subscription service Perlego has raised $9m (£7m) in a Series A funding round, to add new features and expand its platform into the European market, according to TechCrunch. Perlego bills itself as “Spotify for textbooks,” offering access to a large collection of educational books for a flat monthly subscription fee. The library includes 300,000 eBooks […]
Instagram expands test run to hide the number of ‘likes’ earned by posts
Instagram is expanding its testing of a new policy hiding the number of ‘likes’ received by a post, from an initial set of countries to select users in the rest of the world. It could be the final step in testing before the change is applied to all of the platform’s users worldwide, according to The Independent. […]
With its political ad ban, Twitter will also limit microtargeting for ‘issue’ ads
Twitter says it will place limits on microtargeting for issue-based ads, as part of its wider ban on political advertising, according to The Telegraph. The move could put additional pressure on Facebook to make similar changes. The debate over political ads on digital platforms has heated up in recent months, driven in part by Facebook’s decision to […]
Google to offer personal “smart checking” bank accounts
Google has announced plans to offer “smart checking” accounts to consumers, partnering with banks and credit unions in the US. The move will see Google join other tech giants moving to provide financial services, according to BBC News. Launched through Google Pay, the services will allow the use of Google’s analytics tools for conventional bank accounts. […]
Balderton Capital raises $400 million to invest in European tech startups
London-based venture capital firm Balderton Capital has raised $400 million for its seventh investment fund to back Europe’s tech startups. The fund will focus on early, Series A funding for enterprise software companies, health tech, and “deep-tech” such as artificial intelligence, according to Bloomberg. Earlier Balderton funds concentrated on financial technology and other areas, but the […]
E-scooter startup Voi raises $85 million in Series B funding round
Swedish e-scooter startup Voi has raised $85 million in a Series B funding round, to expand their e-scooter and e-bike network in Europe, according to TechCrunch. First launched in 2018, the company provides services in 38 cities in ten European countries, offering e-scooter and e-bike sharing. They say they have 4 million registered users and […]
EU competition chief says she won’t yet call for breaking up tech giants
European competition chief Margrethe Vestager has said that despite problems with large technology companies, she’s not yet ready to take the step of breaking them up, according to VentureBeat and Business Insider. During an interview at the Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal on Thursday, Vestager said: “From a competition point of view, you would have to do something […]