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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:

• Spain's competition authority intends to levy a fine of nearly €500 million against Booking for engaging in anti-competitive behavior.

• A program backed by the Scottish government has initiated its inaugural hub in San Francisco to strengthen connections between Scottish startups and the tech community in Silicon Valley.

• The Board of Directors of Smart Valor AG has strategically opted to initiate the delisting process for the Swedish Depositary Receipts (SDRs) of the company from trading on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market Stockholm.

• The European Union is poised to impose a €500 million fine on Apple for purportedly pushing aside competitors in its music streaming sector.

• The CEO of CAB Payments resigns less than a year after the IPO.

Top Funding Rounds:

• French AI startup Bioptimus, which aims to develop a large language model (LLM) for biotechnology, has raised a $35 million seed round just a few months after its creation.

• Planity secures $48 million in funding, highlighting the demand for SaaS products even within the hair salon industry.

• Napier AI secures £45 million backing from Crestline Investors to drive ongoing growth in AI-powered financial crime compliance.

• Ev.energy, a software platform based in London that oversees the charging of EVs, revealed that it has been selected to receive a public funding grant of up to $41 million from the California Energy Commission.

• GeoPura, a startup specializing in green hydrogen, has announced securing $70.96 million in funding.

Notable Exits:

• Cityscoot a provider of shared scooters in Paris is set to be acquired by Spanish competitor Cooltra for €400k. Cityscoot had previously filed for insolvency in November last year.

• Accenture has revealed its intention to acquire GemSeek, a customer experience analytics provider based in Bulgaria.

• New York’s Ubiquity has acquired Amsterdam-based Aigent, a company specializing in AI-driven agent coaching, monitoring, call transcription, and post-call analytics.

• Conscia, a Danish company has announced its acquisition of UK-based digital transformation firm ITGL for an undisclosed amount.

• Sherpany, a meeting software provider based in Zurich has been acquired by Datasite.

About Investors:

• GapMinder Ventures, a venture capital firm dedicated to advancing technology companies in Romania and Eastern Europe, has initiated GapMinder Fund II, aiming for an impressive target of €80 million.

• The UK is providing £15 million in funding for space technology projects aimed at supporting commercial astronaut missions.

• Molten Ventures, based in London, has purchased around 19% of Seedcamp's third fund for €8.5 million.

• Horizon Capital, a private equity firm based in the US, has declared that its newest $350 million fund focused on Ukraine, Horizon Capital Growth Fund IV.

• PFR Ventures has invested close to €35M in four Polish venture capital funds that focus on investing in innovative companies within Poland and the CEE region. The list includes Inovo VC, Market One Capital, and SMOK Ventures.

Premium Insights:

Middle East

Important News:

• Plus VC and Tawaref have formed a strategic partnership aimed at expediting the smooth establishment of companies in Saudi Arabia.

Top Funding Rounds:

• PIESHIP, a company based in Saudi Arabia, has concluded a pre-seed round backed by SEEDRA Ventures, Nama Ventures, and angel investors.

• GameCentric, the latest gaming platform in the region leading the way in bridging brands and gamers, has secured $1.5 million in funding from Dubai-based angel investor Bilal Merchant.

• The Cloud has successfully raised $12 million in Series B Funding as part of its $30 million target.

• PhysioHome, a health-tech company based in Saudi Arabia, has completed a Seed round of funding.

• Thiqa Tutoring, an edtech company headquartered in the UAE, has secured a $300,000 investment from Hope Ventures.

Notable Exits:

• The data automation company from Saudi Arabia, Basserah, and the AI startup from UAE, nybl, have completed a merger.

About Investors:

• The Dubai Future District Fund has joined the second round of investment for the pan-African fund Partech Africa II, which amounts to $300 million. This fund is managed by the global investment firm Partech and includes participation from Africa Re, Orange, AXIAN Investment, and the AFDB.

• Alat, a division of PIF, is set to infuse USD100 billion into the Saudi tech industry by 2030 and has forged partnerships with four companies to drive this initiative forward.

Premium Insights:

Africa

Important News:

• Uber is currently discussing potential investment in the African mobility startup Moove as part of a funding round valued at $100 million.

• Techstars organizes a Demo Day in Lagos featuring presentations from 12 African startups belonging to its second cohort.

• Wahu Mobility has launched its factory in Ghana for the local production of electric bikes.

• Former Twitter employees in Africa have reached a settlement agreement with the company after 14 months.

• Jumia records a 90% year-over-year decrease in operating loss for 2023 and expresses optimism for the year ahead in 2024.

Top Funding Rounds:

• South Africa’s Hohm Energy Raises $8M to Drive Solar Revolution.

• Mamamoni, a Nigerian fintech social enterprise, has secured $270,000 in funding from the Challenge For Youth Employment.

• d.light and Chapel Hill Denham unveiled a $7.4 million fund to drive the expansion of off-grid solar solutions in Nigeria.

Notable Exits:

• The Cardinal Stone sells its stake in i-Fitness to Verod Capital Management for $12 million.

• FairMoney is currently in talks to acquire Umba, a credit-focused digital bank offering payroll and financial solutions to clients in Nigeria and Kenya. The deal, valued at $20 million, is said to be an all-stock transaction.

About Investors:

• Sawari Ventures plans to introduce a $150 million fund to support startups in Egypt.

• Despite a global decrease in funding, Partech's Africa-focused fund II successfully concludes its final close with a record $300 million.

Premium insights:

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