Tag: Europe

How one European VC firm is reacting to the economic crisis

Public markets around the world have been tanking for the past few weeks, and many companies simply can’t operate during a lockdown. Sheltering in place has had some terrible economic consequences, with a record number of Americans getting laid off, including many startup employees. But what is happening in Europe?…

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France is officially working on ‘Stop Covid’ contact-tracing app

France’s health minister Olivier Véran and digital minister Cédric O have officially announced that the French government is working on a smartphone app to slow the spread of coronavirus. The government is putting a stamp of approval on the Pan-European Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing (PEPP-PT) project but remains cautious about what…

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Builder.ai launches pre-packaged apps for small businesses hit by COVID-19

Last year Builder.ai raised one of Europe’s largest Series A investments at $29.5 million, led by Lakestar and Jungle Ventures, with participation from SoftBank’s DeepCore. The company’s platform, which allows for the fast-build of software and apps, has been used to create products for BBC, DiditFor, Manscore and ZikTruck. It’s…

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Move fast, make things – UK fintech’s response to the coronavirus crisis continues

The U.K.’s fintech’s response to the coronavirus pandemic so far might best be described as “move fast, [and] make things,” as multiple and sometimes impromptu teams roll out financial technology solutions to help combat the crisis. Last month, I reported on “Covid Credit,” a project that saw dozens of volunteers…

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Visa backs open banking and compliance platform Railsbank

Railsbank, the open banking and compliance platform, has picked up further investment, following the company’s $10 million Series A in September 2019. This time backing comes from Visa — a strategic investment, if you will — along with Global Brain, a venture capital firm based in Tokyo, Japan. The exact…

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Phos, the UK fintech that offers a software-only POS for smartphones, raises €1.3M

Phos, the U.K. fintech that offers a software-only PoS so that merchants can accept payments directly on their phones without the need for additional hardware, has raised €1.3 million in funding. The round was led by New Vision 3, an early-stage VC based in Bulgaria (where a part of the…

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