This Week in European Tech: EQT closes €1.1 billion fund, crypto payments firm Ramp nabs $70 million, Meta buys Audio Analytic, and more

This week, our research team tracked 100 tech funding deals worth over €1 billion, and over 20 exits, M&A transactions, rumours, and related news stories across Europe.

As always, we are putting all of them together for you in a list sent in our round-up newsletter next Monday (note: the full list is for paying customers only, and also comes in the form of a handy downloadable spreadsheet).

We’ve also got some news for you: we’re already gearing up for the second edition of the Tech.eu Summit! Save the date:

Tickets are now on sale.

If you haven’t seen them yet, we’ve made all the videos from the Tech.eu Summit last May available as a playlist on our YouTube channel – enjoy!

With that said, let’s get down to business with the biggest European tech news items for the past couple of days (subscribe to our free newsletter to get this round-up in your inbox).

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>> Notable and big funding rounds

Lille, France-based marketing technology firm Positive Group, formerly known as Sarbacane, has raised $110 million in funding to boost its growth and bankroll its third acquisition in 2 years.

Denmark-based Demant, a company that covers all areas of hearing healthcare, has received a loan of €115 million from The European Investment Bank (EIB).

Osler Diagnostics, an Oxford, UK-based medical diagnostic company aiming to transform global healthcare by providing lab-quality diagnostic testing to anyone, anywhere, at any time, announced that it has raised $85 million in a Series C financing.

Polish cryptocurrency payment startup Ramp has raised $70 million in Series B funding. UAE’s Mubadala Capital and France’s Korelya Capital co-led the round.

Agriconomie, a Paris, France-based e-commerce company dedicated to farmers, secured €60 million in Series B funding.

Zurich-based workplace app that connects the non-desk workforce to operational systems and communication channels Beekeeper has raised $50 million in a Series C funding round.

Offering crème de la crème, fully digitised, design apartments, Munich-based Limehome plans expansion with a €45 million raise.

Mytraffic, a Paris, France-based provider of web analytics-grade digital intelligence to track footfall at physical addresses, has scooped up €30 million in a round led by AXA Venture Partners, the strategic investment arm of insurance firm AXA.

Silicon Valley Bank has taken a part ownership stake in Founders Forum Group for an undisclosed sum.

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>> Noteworthy acquisitions, mergers, IPOs and SPAC deals

Meta has reportedly acquired Cambridge-based sound recognition developer Audio Analytic in a deal that will inevitably be seen as reviving momentum following a dreary third quarter for the social media, ads and metaverse giant.

Next has acquired the brand, domain names and intellectual property of Made.com for £3.4 million in a prepack administration less than 18 months after the online furniture retailer floated in London at a £775 million valuation.

Sony has acquired Beyond Sports, a Dutch AI-based data analysis and visualisation company that specialises in fan engagement.

Dutch mid-market infrastructure fund manager DIF Capital Partners has acquired a majority stake in Stockholm’s developer of subsidy-free solar projects in the Nordics, Alight. As part of the agreement, DIF will invest €150 million into the company and conduct a secondary buy-out of a number of existing shareholders.

Small business and freelance B2B services platform FINOM has paid an eight-figure sum to acquire UK-based cross-border payments facilitator Kapaga to help expand in the UK and Europe.

E.GRUPPE has acquired Germany-based Control Mechatronics. This acquisition will allow E.GRUPPE to expand its product range in industrial electrical process measurement and control technology.

The US pet medical insurance provider Trupanion has acquired the Prague-based veterinary-centric insurance startup PetExpert. The amount of the transaction is not disclosed.

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>> Interesting moves from investors

There are VC firms that have firepower, then there are those that have significant firepower, and then there’s Stockholm-headquartered EQT which has just announced the final close of its third fund at €1.1 billion.

European private equity major Hg has raised $11 billion for its latest fund, Saturn 3, significantly ahead of its original $8.5 billion and making it the largest European buyout fund to close so far this year.

Bulgaria’s Invenio Partners launched a new €55 million regional private equity fund.

The Lithuanian team of the Estonian accelerator Startup Wise Guys has launched a new VC firm, FIRSTPICK. The firm plans to raise €20 million for the fund, with €15 million already committed.

Atomico has added seven more individuals to its 2022 Angel Programme cohort.

Inveready launched a new €50 million fund for biotech startups.

Bristol-headquartered Science Creates Ventures has picked up £15 million in funding from British Business Investment’s Regional Angels Programme.

The tenth cohort of Seraphim Capital’s space tech accelerator, Seraphim Space Camp, is about to get started with the help of nine startups across four continents.

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>> In other (important) news

Microsoft faces a new antitrust complaint over its cloud computing practices as trade group CISPE, whose members include Amazon, took its grievance to EU antitrust regulators on Wednesday.

The European Commission published a new regulation to streamline rental platforms’ operations and data-sharing practices across the EU’s single market, targeting the likes of Booking.com, Airbnb and Expedia.

EU antitrust regulators are drawing up charges against Facebook parent Meta over its use of customer data and the tying of its classified advertisements service to its social network.

The European Commission is to conduct an “in-depth investigation” into Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of gaming company Activision Blizzard.

Germany has blocked another Chinese acquisition of a domestic semiconductor company, in a further sign of the government’s tougher approach to protecting its high-tech sector.

Railsr, a UK-based embedded finance fintech company, is exploring options to sell its business after hiring advisers FT Partners to help it evaluate options, according to a media report.

The Spanish Parliament has given the green light to a new startups law which will bring tax benefits and other perks to entrepreneurs, remote workers and digital nomads who want to live and work in Spain.

Stockholm-based Instabox, a company that claims to transform last-mile deliveries for e-commerce, announced on Thursday that its Dutch operations Instabox Netherlands, Red je Pakketje, and their subsidiaries have declared bankruptcy.

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>> Recommended reads and listens

In 2022, Borderbridge and Tech.eu, as a key media partner, is releasing a new research report focused on analyzing the effect of media-for-equity investments from a global perspective.

Can Mastodon be the first big social network ‘Made in Europe’?

How Beetroot helps companies sustainably scale healthtech development.

Revealed: Spotify founder Daniel Ek’s secret healthtech startup

CEE tech ecosystem report: 8 new unicorns, 19 funds, and combined value of startups totalling €190 billion

Deezer’s CEO Charts a Streaming War Battle Plan

What’s Next for European Banking-as-a-Service?

GEIGER is letting small businesses and startups know that they are not alone when it comes to cybersecurity.

Inside EIT Health’s brand new Attract to Invest programme.