Mike Butcher
Editor At Large
The Latest from Mike Butcher
Otta, a jobs platform with a database approach, raises $20M Series A from Tiger
You’d think that platforms offering jobs listings couldn’t be innovated on much these days, but London-based Otta wants to prove that theory wrong. It has a platform for matching jobs at tech comp
Pandemic prompts launch of new $75M US telemedicine fund from Swiftarc Ventures
New York-based venture fund Swiftarc Ventures is launching a new fund dubbed Swiftarc Telehealth to take advantage of the boom in Telehealth-focused startups which have emerged, partly in the wake of
Israel’s Entrée Capital raises $300M for Israel-focused fund, Adi Gozes becomes partner
The Israeli VC scene seems to be on a bit of a New Year roll. Hot on the heels of the news that Viola Ventures, an Israeli VC, has closed its sixth fund of $250 million comes news from Entrée Cap
Dublin’s Exergyn pulls in $35M Series A for solution which replaces GHG-causing refrigerants
Dublin-based Exergyn replaces refrigerants with solid materials, thus reducing the output of greenhouse gases. The technology could be applicable in data centers. The industrial-grade cleantech compan
Berlin’s Cherry Ventures launches fourth fund at $340M, for early-stage tech and web3
Berlin-based Cherry Ventures has launched its fourth fund, a €300 million ($340 million) early-stage tech fund. The Cherry IV fund will also feature a dedicated crypto and web3 strategy, building of
Customer referral platform Mention Me raises $25M Series B led by Octopus Ventures
Mention Me, a platform to generate customer referrals, has raised a $25 million Series B round, led by London’s Octopus Ventures. Eight Roads Ventures, the lead investor from the prior round, a $7 m
Austria’s PlanRadar, which digitizes construction and real estate docs, raises $70M Series B
Back in March Vienna-based PlanRadar snapped up a €30 million Series A to digitize construction and real estate projects. The Austrian startup — a platform for documentation and communication
Israel’s Viola Ventures hits $250M for its new fund, appoints Yael Alroy as partner
Viola Ventures, an Israeli VC, has closed its sixth fund of $250 million. It now has $1.25 billion in assets under management, largely early-stage tech companies. Viola says the fund was oversubscribe
Mayfair Equity Partners aquires UK adtech platform LoopMe for $120M
Founded back in 2012, the LoopMe adtech/martech startup focused on brand-based mobile advertising, using AI to deliver measurable outcomes for its users. At its height, it had raised $25 million equit
Wayve raises $200M Series B led by Eclipse for its AI for autonomous delivery vehicles
British autonomous vehicle startup Wayve has raised a $200 million Series B funding round from investors to scale its technology and expand its partnerships with commercial fleets. Wayve is aiming to
LiveHive wants to be a ‘one-stop shop’ for online yoga teachers, PTs and other coaches
Yoga, personal trainers and other kinds of online coaches have a bewildering array of platforms on which they can launch their class, either in platforms specializing in verticals (PTs) or more genera
Burnt Finance raises $8M led by Animoca Brands, launches DeFi-oriented NFT marketplace
Burnt Finance is a crypto startup which, as a stunt, burnt a Banksy artwork and but then the NFT they’d minted for it for $400,000, double what it cost on the ‘normal’ open art market. B
InFlow, a science-based app for ADHD, raises $2.3M Seed led by Hoxton Ventures
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms can include anxiety, chronic boredom, impulsiveness, trouble concentrating, controlling anger, and even depression. But ADHD sufferers can face
UK class action lodged against Meta seeks $3.1B for breach of competition law
A competition legal expert, backed by a powerful litigation fund, is set to mount a multibillion-dollar class action suit against Facebook/Meta for breach of competition law on the basis that it abuse
Payment orchestration platform Gr4vy pulls in another $15M in a Series A extension
Retailers often build their own “orchestration” platforms for payment processing and routing, but these can be complex to maintain. Spreedly plays in this space, and, last year, new startup Gr4vy
Germany’s SoSafe raises $73M Series B led by Highland to address human error in cyber
As we’ve learned in the last few years, “human error”-led cybersecurity breaches are the ones companies often find hardest to guard against. Surveys suggest some 85% of attacks can be tr
HeyCharge’s underground charging solution raises $4.7M seed led by BMW i Ventures
EV charging continues to be a high-growth business, for obvious reasons. Since 2007, one of the largest players has been ChargePoint, the floated U.S. company with a widespread EV charging network. Bu
Omnichannel customer messaging platform Superchat raises $15.6M round led by Blossom
While last year’s WhatsApp outage is still sending shivers down the spine of its 2 billion users, the same is also true for the millions of businesses now using it to connect with their customers. A
Masters, an app for training with celeb athletes, closes a $2.7M seed funding round
It’s now 2022 and there are many, many apps out there that allow you to do cardio or build muscle by taking classes inside smartphone apps. We are all familiar with the success of platforms like Pel
Fast-charge EV battery maker StoreDot pulls in $80M led led by Vietnam’s VinFast
StoreDot, the Israeli next-generation battery technology startup touting an “extreme fast charging” (XFC) battery for electric vehicles, has secured the first close of its latest funding round led