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Can companies issue stakes in their success without using shares or options? This startup thinks so
So-called “stakeholder capitalism” has not had the most illustrious of histories. Yes, there have been “Walmart Associates” who were able to own stock in the company, or “
More venture funds are betting on Central and Eastern Europe
Startup founders in Central and Eastern Europe will soon have more dry powder to chase.
Ready Player Me, a platform to build dynamic cross-game avatars for virtual worlds, raises $56M led by a16z
Last week, Mark Zuckerberg was roundly mocked for the bad graphics in his preview of a new expansion of Horizon Worlds, Meta’s metaverse effort. His quick response promising better avatars for t
Malwarebytes lays off 125 employees citing ‘strategic reorg’
Cybersecurity giant Malwarebytes has laid off 125 employees, or about 14% of its global workforce. News of the layoffs began circulating on LinkedIn last week, with former employees sharing that they
UK’s Magical Mushroom Company uses mycelium to replace plastic packaging
Global plastic waste has more than doubled, and 40% of that waste comes from packaging. Luckily there is no shortage of sustainable packaging startups in Europe. Just take a look: Circleback (Germany)
Montonio is building the payment and checkout solution to rule them all
Meet Montonio, an e-commerce checkout solution created by a small startup based in Tallinn, Estonia. The company just raised a $12 million Series A funding round (€11 million) led by Index Ventures.
Glia raises $45M at a $1B+ valuation for an AI-based CRM that lets agents get hands-on to help
The world continues to shift more of its customer service needs online, and those building tools to help manage that demand are seeing their stars rise as a result. In the latest development, Glia 
Tech talent flees Russia as Western sanctions bite
Russia is seeing an exodus of entrepreneurs, computer programmers and other educated middle-class citizens as Western sanctions and political instability make it impossible to run an international bus
Starship Technologies picks up €50M from the EU’s investment arm to expand its fleet of autonomous delivery robots
Starship Technologies, one of the bigger names in the world of autonomous delivery robots — those little caboose-like, boxy delivery vehicles that self-drive around cities — has been on a
Bolt raises $709M at an $8.4B valuation to expand its transportation and food delivery super app
Economies of scale are an essential cornerstone for on-demand companies, and to that end one of the hopefuls in the space has raised a big round to grow its business. Bolt — the startup and app
Woola raises €2.5M seed led by Future Ventures to replace bubble wrap with wool
Some 55 billion parcels are shipped in bubble wrap every year. Plastic bubble wrap is reliant on fossil fuels and 98% of plastic packaging is single-use. You can imagine the adverse environmental impa
Spotify’s new Podcast Subscriptions expand to global markets
Just a few months after launching support for podcast subscriptions to U.S. creators, Spotify today is making the service available to creators in global markets. The company says the service, which a
Grocery delivery startup Membo is hungry to build a Europe-wide, local food producer network
Estonia-based Membo — which is backed by Y Combinator and will be presenting at the incubator’s Summer 2021 Demo Day next week — is aiming to take a slice of the premium end of groce
White-label SaaS shipping startup Outvio closes $3M round led by Change Ventures
Outvio offers online stores of any size a post-purchase shipping setup, which seeks to replicate an Amazon-style experience where customers can also return packages.
Emerging as an Eastern powerhouse, Earlybird Digital East Fund launches new $242M fund
Earlybird Digital East Fund — a fund associated with Germany’s Earlybird VC, but operating separately — has launched a €200 million ($242 million) successor fund. The fund’s focus will remai
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
Warren gets $1.4 million to help local cloud infrastructure providers compete against Amazon and other giants
Started as a side project by its founders, Warren is now helping regional cloud infrastructure service providers compete against Amazon, Microsoft, IBM, Google and other tech giants. Based in Tallinn,
Facebook Dating launches in Europe after 9-month+ delay over privacy concerns
Facebook’s dating bolt-on to its eponymous social networking service has finally launched in Europe, more than nine months after an earlier launch plan was derailed at the last minute over priva
‘The Real Facebook Oversight Board’ launches to counter Facebook’s ‘Oversight Board’
Today a group of academics, researchers and civil rights leaders go live on with ‘The Real Facebook Oversight Board’ which is designed to criticize and discuss the role of the platform in the upco
UK eyeing switch to Apple-Google API for coronavirus contacts tracing — report
The UK may be rethinking its decision to shun Apple and Google’s API for its national coronavirus contacts tracing app, according to the Financial Times, which reported yesterday that the govern