All posts in Europe
Google invests €3 billion to expand data centers in Europe, with a focus on clean energy
Google has announced plans to invest €3 billion to expand its data centers in Europe over the next two years, with a focus on sustainability and clean energy, according to Tech Crunch. The company’s data centers are hubs for digital storage, networking, and cloud computing for its services, allowing data to be stored online instead of […]
Where does France really stand in the Tech World?
We like to put things – and people – into neat little boxes: this country is good at inventing, this one does well in computer sciences. How much if it is true? The OECD has just released a comprehensive report on Science, Technology and Industry for 2017. Maybe it’s time to set the record straight. […]
5 smart European VC predictions for 2016
Last year’s Predictions on the State of VC in Europe 2015 proved so popular that I decided to do it again. Here are some insightful predictions for 2016 from five of my more prophetic peers. Dmitry Chikhachev, Runa Capital, Russia I would predict 2 trends for VC in Europe in 2016: 1) a growing number […]
2016 Will Be The Year Of The European Entrepreneur
Making predictions are hard, especially about the future. I may be underestimating the time horizon, but for me the trend is unmistakable. The European entrepreneurial ecosystem is poised to enter the major leagues, and I predict that this will happen in 2016. Our vieux continent already boasts a burgeoning collection of tech unicorns, with the […]
Europe's tech IPO market: Where's Santa?
Just when it felt like the market for European tech IPOs were opening, the events of the past few weeks have dashed those hopes. Days after Deezer announced the delay of its initial public offering, HelloFresh drew the same conclusion. In France, the only notable IPOs of late were Amundi and ShowroomPrivé. The asset management […]
Introducing the European FinTech RUDEscape
Wow, the appetite for FinTech in Europe is booming, with VC funding reaching dizzying heights. It’s not just Europe, by the way. A recent visit to Bangkok confirmed that even in the emerging startup ecosystem of Thailand, FinTech is hotter than a spicy som tam salad (more on that later). With the entire sector representing […]
State of the (European) Union in VC
A couple years back I argued that the state of the union for VC in Europe was bleak. In particular, I was referring to the tax-advantaged retail fund sector — most prolific in France but not unheard of in some other European countries like in the form of the UK’s VCT vehicles. Today in contrast, […]
11/11: Remembering our veterans and remembering the genesis of the EU project
Today is a holiday: 11/11. Europe celebrates it as Armistice Day, commemorating the end of World War I (the war to end all wars), of which the fighting stopped on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918). The Commonwealth nations observe 11/11 as Remembrance Day in honor of the […]
What I think about when I think about mobile gaming
When people inquire about my investment strategy, I explain that I try to structure my investment thinking around themes or theses. Readers of this blog will recognize that one of my favorite investment themes over the past few years has centered on the value chain of mobile gaming. Often, I visualize aspects of a theme […]
Festicket launches its B2B platform for festival organizers, suppliers and affiliates
Festicket, the platform that makes life easier for all live-music lovers, opens the door to a new strategy by offering all its business partners a new platform to track, manage and improve sales. The London-based startup was founded in 2012 by Zacharie Sabban (CEO) and Jonathan Younes (CTO) and aims at gathering on one platform a booking […]