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Welcome to another edition of 🕵Startup Researcher - EMEA Weekly, your essential digest delivering the latest news and premium insights on startups and venture capital across the region🌍

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Without further ado, let's delve into the latest developments!

Europe

📰 Important News

• The UK has joined the Chips Joint Undertaking scheme, allowing UK chipmakers to collaborate with EU businesses on semiconductor design projects funded by the EU's Horizon Europe program, with a total budget of €11 billion.

• Finnish mobility startup MaaS Global has filed for bankruptcy after raising a total of €162 million since 2015.

• MEPs support a provisional agreement on the Artificial Intelligence Act to regulate AI in the EU. The agreement emphasizes safety and fundamental rights compliance and garners strong committee support with a vote tally of 71-8 and 7 abstentions.

• The London Stock Exchange announced that it will begin accepting applications for the admission of bitcoin and ether crypto exchange-traded notes in the second quarter of this year.

• In response to the EU's Digital Markets Act, Apple will allow iOS developers in the EU to distribute apps from the web, rather than exclusively through its App Store.

💸 Top Funding Rounds

• The Hague-based cybersecurity startup Eye Security has raised €36 million in a Series B funding round led by J.P. Morgan Growth Equity Partners.

• London-based payments platform PPRO secures €85M in a dual-tranche funding round to expand in key markets and strengthen its global network of local payment methods.

• San Francisco-based Databricks partners with Mistral AI, offering Databricks customers access to Mistral's AI models via the Databricks Marketplace.

• Amsterdam-based TheyDo raises $34M in funding, led by Blossom Capital.

• Flagstone, a cash deposit platform, secures £108M investment from Estancia Capital Partners, enabling deposit spreading across hundreds of accounts through a single application.

💰️ Notable Exits

• Norwegian startup Surf Beyond purchases bankrupt US-based scooter startup Superpedestrian's European business for €5 million, acquiring 25,000 scooters and technology assets to expand its European presence.

• Netherlands-based Levenue acquires Zurich-based fintech MidFunder to strengthen its operations in Switzerland.

• Swiss edtech company Avallain announced its acquisition of the generative AI toolset TeacherMatic.

• San Francisco's Mahana Therapeutics acquires Berlin-based HiDoc Technologies, known as Cara Care, expanding its healthcare offerings to address various conditions.

• Zendesk announced acquiring Berlin-based Ultimate to bolster its AI capabilities.

🏦 About Investors

• London's Ada Ventures closes its second fund at £63 million, focusing on early-stage UK startups with diverse founders.

• French deeptech VC Elaia secures €60 million for its third seed fund to invest in academic spinoffs and research-based startups, aiming to reach €120 million by early 2025.

• Eindhoven-based venture capital fund DeepTechXL has closed its first Fund raising €110M with contributions from ASML and pension fund PME.

• HeavyFinance raises €50M to support sustainable farming in Europe by providing mid-term debt capital to SME agricultural companies, aiding their transition to greener practices.

• Mercia Asset Management has raised £60m for three northern venture capital trusts, aimed at directing investments into the North of England.

📈 This Week’s Insights

Middle East

📰 Important News

• Numa, a MENA-focused fintech startup, has partnered with Visa to bridge financial gaps for freelancers in key markets like Jordan, KSA, and the UAE through a strategic investment.

💸 Top Funding Rounds

• Kuwait's social commerce startup Mojo has raised a seven-figure Seed round led by existing investors Joa Capital and Emkan Capital.

• Rakeez Capital, a Saudi B2B fintech has secured a $2 million Seed round led by Core Vision Investments.

• Saudi DaaS provider Zetta Technologies raised $1.5M in a pre-seed round led by Core Vision.

• UAE traveltech Seeru secures pre-seed funding from US-based Nabtah Ventures to enhance its travel planning platform and expand globally.

• Saudi foodtech Kitchenara raised $380,000 to boost its operational expansion, tech upgrades, and market outreach.

💰️ Notable Exits

• Germany's Mitgo Group acquires UAE's Embedded, enhancing its offerings with embedded finance solutions for affiliate market clients.

• Saudi T2 acquires Oman's Promize aiming to enhance local innovation and job creation.

• US-based edtech Classera acquires Saudi's Expert Solutions, an ERP system for education to enhance Classera's educational ecosystem.

🏦 About Investors

• UAE's Gulf Capital and Saudi RDIA are teaming up to invest $100 million in Saudi tech over five years, empowering local firms and attracting international ones.

• Saudi Venture Capital Company invests $30 million in Olive Rock Partners' debut fund, focused on Saudi SMEs.

• Investcorp Capital secures $800 million refinancing through an RCF with an international bank consortium, surpassing its $600 million target.

• PIF unit Jada invests $1 billion in Partners for Growth managed fund, supporting venture debt in Saudi Arabia.

📈 This Week’s Insights

Africa

📰 Important News

• South Africa's financial regulator will license 60 crypto firms by March 2024 under existing legislation to ensure integrity and consumer protection.

• Millions of users in Africa face prolonged disruptions to internet services due to damage to undersea cables off the continent's west coast.

• Africa's most valued startup, Flutterwave, has appointed former CBN director Dipo Fatokun as its new board chairman. Meanwhile, its COO Bode Abifarin is resigning.

• Nigeria seeks transaction details from Binance about their top 100 users for the past six months, while two Binance executives, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, are still detained.

• Chipper Cash relocates roles from the UK and the US to other African regions, laying off twenty employees, while Wasoko is halting its operations in Zanzibar, Uganda, and Zambia ahead of its merger with MaxAB.

💸 Top Funding Rounds

• Ghana's Warc Africa raises $7.5 million in Series B funding to expand services to over 100,000 farmers.

• South Africa's Simera Sense raises $14.8 million to enhance small satellite Earth observation capabilities.

• Youverify, a Nigerian identity verification provider, secures a $2.5 million Pre-Series A from Elm, a Saudi Arabian digital solutions company.

• South Africa's car subscription firm Planet42 raises $16 million from Standard Bank to repay euro-denominated loans.

• Dodai, an electric vehicle (EV) startup based in Addis Ababa, has raised $4 million in its Series A round, marking one of the largest funding rounds for startups in Ethiopia.

💰️ Notable Exits

• Interswitch merges with M-Kudi to pursue a Payment Service Bank (PSB) license from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

• Egyptian fintech MNT-Halan acquires Advans Pakistan Microfinance Bank, deal terms undisclosed.

🏦 About Investors

• XSML Capital, a key provider of growth capital to SMEs in Central and Eastern Africa, announces the launch of its fourth fund, African Rivers Fund IV (ARF IV), with an initial closing of $98.7 million.

📈 This Week’s Insights

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