Investors and funding

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French fintech Pennylane raises €175M


Paris-based fintech Pennylane has just pulled off one of Europe’s most noteworthy funding rounds of the year, announcing €175 million in new capital to accelerate its push into artificial intelligence and expand its footprint across the continent. The round was led by growth investor TCV, with participation from Blackstone Growth and a group of existing backers that includes Sequoia Capital, DST Global, CapitalG and Meritech Capital.  What makes this raise stand out isn’t just the size of the cheque, though €175 million is hard to ignore in a selective funding market, but the strategic timing and purpose behind it. Pennylane…

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Berlin’s Cloover secures over $1.2 Billion to build the “Shopify of Energy”


Berlin’s energy transition sector got a defining boost today as Cloover, a climate fintech based in Berlin, announced it has secured more than $1.2 billion in total capital commitments, combining Series A equity and a substantial debt facility to accelerate the rollout of its software and financing platform across Europe. The financing package includes €18.8 million (approximately $22 million) in Series A equity, led by MMC Ventures and QED Investors, with participation from Lowercarbon Capital, BNVT Capital, Bosch Ventures, Centrotec, and Earthshot Ventures. Alongside that, a €1.02 billion debt facility provided by a major European bank will be deployed directly…

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Odoo tops €7 billion valuation as General Atlantic increases stake


Belgian business software company Odoo, also a unicorn, has reached a fresh milestone. Growth investor General Atlantic has increased its stake in the firm, buying additional shares from regional backer Wallonie Entreprendre and pushing Odoo’s valuation to roughly €7 billion.  This move isn’t a typical funding round where a company raises new capital. Instead, it’s a secondary transaction: General Atlantic bought existing shares that were previously held by Wallonie Entreprendre, the investment arm of Belgium’s Walloon region. After the deal, Wallonie Entreprendre still holds about 3 % of the company.  Odoo was founded in 2002 in Belgium and has grown steadily…

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Sequoia’s big bet on Anthropic


Venture capital powerhouse Sequoia Capital is preparing to invest in Anthropic, the AI startup best known for its Claude family of large language models, in one of the largest private funding rounds in tech this year. The deal is being led by Singapore’s GIC and U.S. investor Coatue, each contributing roughly $1.5 billion, as part of a planned raise of $25 billion or more at a staggering $350 billion valuation. This move stands out for two reasons: the size and speed of the valuation surge and the fact that Sequoia, already an investor in rival AI builders such as OpenAI…

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Europe’s €307 million AI funding call


When the European Commission announced on 15th of January a €307.3 million funding call for AI and related tech under Horizon Europe earlier this year, the press materials presented it as a strategic push toward trustworthy AI and European digital autonomy. The funding targets trustworthy AI, data services, robotics, quantum, photonics, and what Brussels calls “open strategic autonomy.” Viewed in isolation, the number itself isn’t eye-popping. By global standards, where the private sector alone pours hundreds of billions into AI, €307 million is barely a rounding error. Yet this sum matters less for its scale and more for what it…

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BizzyNow opens Mamacrowd equity round to fund “micro-meetings” for business professionals


Italian startup BizzyNow has launched an equity crowdfunding round on Mamacrowd to finance the next phase of its networking app, built around quick, in-person meetups it calls “Bizzy Moments.” The campaign targets €150k–€400k at a €3m pre-money valuation, with a €500 minimum ticket. BizzyNow says proceeds will support go-to-market validation, product upgrades, and the operational groundwork needed to scale. The problem BizzyNow solves Professional networking has a timing problem. The most valuable introductions often happen in the gaps: 40 minutes before a flight, a pause between conference sessions, an unscheduled evening in a new city, or the lull after a…

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Europe’s AI boom is leaving femtech behind


Left unchecked, Europe’s narrow focus on AI investment will come at the health of half its population. As venture capital floods disproportionately into the AI sector, women’s health innovation — the definition of essential infrastructure — is once again left fighting for scraps. In 2021, global femtech investment peaked at €1.89bn before plunging to just €1.1bn the next year, amid a tech funding apocalypse and capital making a headlong dash towards AI. Several factors contributed to this decline — broader market conditions, withering investor risk appetite, and natural sector maturation. But the surge in AI funding coinciding with a plunge…

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Startup wisdom: How to break the cycle of meeting hangovers


Startup wisdom is a new TNW series offering practical lessons from experts who’ve helped build great companies. This week, Vivian Acquah, a certified inclusion strategist, workshop facilitator, and founder of Amplify DEI, shares her tips on ending meeting hangovers. So, you’re a leader. Your leadership involves managing a team while having both a defined direction and multiple essential goals that need completion. Your goal is to plan effectively and empower your team to achieve high performance. The truth is that team leadership extends beyond goal achievement. Leaders must handle the complex interpersonal situations that emerge when working with people. The speed…

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Startup wisdom: How to get your startup noticed — 5 principles to master


Startup wisdom is a new TNW series offering practical lessons from experts who’ve helped build great companies. This week, Lize Hong, the founder of strategic communications firm Venture Vox, shares her tips on getting startups noticed. Startups don’t fail because they lack a good product. They fail because no one knows or cares about them. It’s brutal, but true. While many founders cling to the myth that “build it and they will come,” the reality is that attention is oxygen for startups. I’ve learned this through experience. As a tech communications expert, I’ve defended the reputations of companies like Google and Uber…

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The Hot Crazy Matrix explains why investors get tech deals wrong


Private equity deals hit an all-time high in 2021, peaking at a total value of more than $1tn, with an average deal size exceeding $1bn for the first time. Founders were media darlings, valuations soared, and investors raced to get a piece of the action.   By 2023, many of those same companies — such as Klarna and Stripe — had lost billions in value. Klarna’s valuation plummeted by 85% from its 2021 peak of $45.6bn to $6.7bn in 2022. Stripe also fell dramatically, from $95bn in 2021 to $50bn in 2023.   Fast forward to today, and even more tech companies…

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