The Latest from Mike Butcher
AI-driven energy startup Octopus hits $2B mark after $200M investment from Tokyo Gas
You’ve heard of challenger banks? Now meet the challenger energy suppliers. The U.K.’s Octopus Energy has attained a $2.06 billion valuation (£1.5 billion) after attracting a $200 million (£150
After lockdowns boost gaming marketplace Eneba, it raises $8M from Practica and InReach
Eneba, a marketplace for gamers that sells games and other products, has raised an $8 million round of funding from Practica Capital and InReach Ventures. The funding is described as a “combinat
Lockheed Martin acquires rocket engine maker Aerojet Rocketdyne for $4.4B as space heats up
Lockheed Martin (LM), the U.S.’s largest defence contractor, will acquire Aerojet Rocketdyne (AR), a rocket engine and missile manufacturer, for $4.4 billion including debt and net cash, giving the
Foresight raises $15M for its construction workers’ compensation platform
When an accident on a building site resulted in the death of their friend, the founders of Safesite were inspired to launch the platform to digitize safety programs for construction. The data from tha
Umba, a digital bank for emerging markets, raises $2M Seed funding to expand across Africa
Umba, a digital bank for emerging markets and aiming first at Africa, has secured a $2 million seed funding round from new investors including Lachy Groom, ex-Head of Issuing at Stripe; Ludlow Venture
Poland’s GeneMe secures €5.2M seed funding for its rapid COVID-19 test
GeneMe, Poland-based biotechnology company with a COVID-19 test, has secured a €5.2 million round of seed funding led by Robin Tombs, co-founder of Yoti and previously of Gamesys, and other angel in
Walnut raises $3.5M from Ron Conway and others to stop remote sales pitches breaking
Amid the rise of remote selling due to the pandemic, Walnut, billing itself as a “Wix for Sales teams,” has raised $3.5 million from SV Angel (Ron and Topher Conway) and A.Capital by Ronny
Magdrive secures seed funding for new propulsion system which could take us to the stars
A startup with a new type of spacecraft propulsion system could make the interplanetary travel seen in “Star Trek” a reality. Magdrive has just closed a £1.4 million seed round led by Fou
OpenSensors secures $4M for air-monitoring platform which allows offices to be more COVID-safe
Today, the acute asthma attack of a primary school-aged girl in February 2013 was ruled by a U.K. court to be due to air pollution. It is thought to be the first ruling of its kind in the world. Only
Iceland’s Controlant, with $50M backing, emerges as key player in Cold Chain for COVID-19 vaccine
A startup hailing from far-flung Iceland is emerging as one of the key players in the race to distribute one of the key coronavirus vaccines around the world. Controlant — which has a unique real-ti
Data privacy startup eXate raises £2.3M seed led by Outward VC
Accessing and sharing data is a complicated issue for large businesses, and doing this in a secure, compliant way is a problem for many. London-based data software firm eXate is attacking this problem
Edtech boom continues as IntellectoKids raises $3M from Allrise Capital and others
The rush to capitalize on the shift to online learning, post-pandemic, continues. IntellectoKids, a developer of educational apps for children aged 3 to 7 years, has raised $3 million in a Series A fi
Cosmos Video — a ‘Club Penguin for adults’ to socialise and work — raises $2.6M from LocalGlobe
All over the world startups are piling into the space marked “virtual interaction and collaboration”. What if a startup created a sort of “Club Penguin for adults”? Step forward Cosmos
JetBrains presses go on its Space project management platform for developers
With Slack being acquired by Salesforce for $28 billion, the world of collaborative tools for teams is on fire right now. Notion is super hot and last year Frame.io raised $50 million and Microsoft ha
Solactive, a German fintech, takes a $60.4M growth investment from Summit Partners
German fintech Solactive, a technology-enabled provider of indices and index solutions to the global financial services industry, has taken a $60.4 million / €50 million minority investment from gro
GetAccept raises $20M Series B, led by Bessemer, to expand its sales platform for SMBs
Last year all-in-one digital sales platform GetAccept raised a $7 million Series A funding round. The platform, which wraps in video, live chat, proposal design, document tracking and e-signatures, ha
Wikifactory has raised $4.5M for its ‘GitHub for hardware’ to make almost anything remotely
Karl Marx famously argued in “Das Kapital” that to achieve freedom from the slavery of capitalism, the worker must own the means of production. Perhaps that day is edging closer. Today Wik
Ada Ventures closes first fund at $50M, investing in diverse founders tackling society’s problems
A year ago this week Ada Ventures — a UK/Europe focused VC with an ‘impact twist’ aiming to invest in diverse founders tacking societal problems — launched on stage at Techcrunch Disrupt.
Bristol entrepreneur who exited for up to $800M doubles-down on the city with deep-tech incubator and VC fund
Harry Destecroix co-founded Ziylo while studying for his PhD at the University of Bristol. Ziylo, a university spin-out company, developed a synthetic molecule that binds to glucose in blood. Four yea
Eco-conscious car subscription platform finn.auto raises $24.2M, with White Star and Zalando founders
Finn.auto — which allows people to subscribe to their car instead of owning it, and offsetting their CO₂ emissions — has raised a $24.2 million / €20 million Series A funding round. White Star