Mike Butcher
Editor At Large
The Latest from Mike Butcher
As the bee population declines, this startup secures $8M to apply AI and EVs to pollination
Given our general reliance on something called “food” you’d think the issue of pollination — and its general decline — might be higher up the world’s agenda. Over 80% of crops requ
Portugal’s Coverflex raises a €15M Series A to make employee benefits more flexible and engaging
In the current environment, startups are having to do a couple of seemingly contradictory things at the same time. First, they have to keep employees (the ones they want to keep, at least) happy. Then
Addressable raises $7.5M to match crypto wallets to Twitter accounts. But how?
Marketo, which was developed — among other things — to enhance marketing around social media users, ended up being acquired by Adobe. Now a new startup hopes to do what Marketo did in Web
Tech Nation looks for new home as UK gov hands tech ecosystem contract to Barclays
After more than 10 years in operation, Tech Nation, the U.K.’s government-sanctioned ecosystem builder for U.K. tech startups and growth tech companies, is to cease operations after losing its grant
European banks struggle with AI, while US banks lead the field, according to a new index
In the wake of a seminal wave of new artificial intelligence startups such as OpenAI, a new U.K. company claims it can track and rank banks on their ability to develop and deploy AI platforms. Evident
This startup hopes to take on Canva, raising an $11.6M Series A for its design platform
Despite Canva being worth in the region of $26 billion, it appears startups feel there is still plenty to be mined from this “easy-to-use design platform” arena. Admittedly, Professional A
BMW iVentures continues its love affair with EVs, backing this Bulgarian startup’s $13M A round
Electric vehicle charging management systems are usually end-to-end solutions for managing EV charging operations, billing, energy, drivers and even fleets. This means EV charging service providers ca
A new kind of PE fund plans to roll up German startups into potential unicorns and bigger exits
European startups have always suffered from the perennial startup problem: how to exit? However, in Europe the problem has always been particularly acute. How many large European industrial or corpora
German teens went crazy for this ‘compliments’ app, and now VCs are backing its next phase
The teenage market for apps is a tough nut to crack and stay relevant in. Just ask Snapchat. Equally, teens are going through a stage in life where almost every social interaction seems to carry porte
Our obsession with pets means startups aimed at vets are booming, as Digitail shows
With our mysterious, unsustainable and psychological attachment to pets, combined with a boom in pet ownership since those lonely pandemic times, veterinary practices have come under increasing pressu
Peppy secures a $45M Series B to expand its B2B2C health services platform to the US
There are some mega-trends playing out across developed-world workforces that startups are picking up on. There’s the digitization of healthcare, the “platforming” of employee services a
With Bling, the fintech startup revolution spreads even to pocket money
Today, banks and fintech startups tend not to provide products dedicated to families, specifically, and this has appeared as something of a gap in the market. Meanwhile the general lack of financial
Despite the Crypto Winter and other scandals, blockchains seem here to stay in the sports betting market
According to Grand View Research, the global sports betting market is expected to grow to $182.12 billion in revenue by 2030, up from $76.75 billion last year. So we are seeing a number of startups th
TheyDo fires the starting gun on the race to own the customer journey
It doesn’t matter what kind of web site it is, the “customer journey” has always been important, otherwise you lose that engagement and the end result can hit the bottom line. That was a
France’s IRIS Capital reaches €110M first close for its new €150M venture fund
According to Atomico’s new State of European Tech 2022 report, France has taken the U.K.’s title as the third largest listed tech nation, with Britain moving down to fourth. Nothing to do with Bre
Harbor Lab secures €6.1M to make shipping dock more easily and cheaply
When a ship goes into a commercial port, there are lots of port call-related costs. These are called things like “disbursements” and “port call expenses.” They can include port
How Chargifi pivoted to Kadence, a platform to enable hybrid co-working, then pulled in $10M
Coordinating people, projects and their various locations has become a headache for companies in the post-pandemic world of remote and hybrid working. There is expensive office space to maintain and l
As demand for real estate VR booms, Founders Fund leads $16M round into Giraffe360 platform
The property industry now requires high-quality photographs, floor plans and virtual tours, so the industry for software providers in the space is booming. The whole area was accelerated during the pa
GoStudent uses its warchest to acquire large network of traditional tutoring centres in Europe
GoStudent — the Austria-based late-stage tutor marketplace that has raised $686.3 million (and attained a €3 billion valuation) to date — has acquired Germany-based Studienkreis, a traditional t
Natives Rising wins backing to help Native Americans into tech and startups
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, Black, Latina and Native American women represent approximately 16% of the total U.S. population, but make up only 4% of students obtaining b