In today’s fast-moving world, keeping up with the latest news can be a challenge.
With so many headlines competing for our attention, it’s easy to miss important stories that impact our lives and the world around us.
So we’ve put together a quick recap of some of the big news you might have missed this week.
Social First Raises €3.8M in Seed Funding to Redefine Social Gaming
Helsinki-based game studio Social First has secured $4.2 million (about €3.8 million) in a seed funding round led by Nordic venture capital firm Crowberry Capital, with participation from Business Finland, the Finnish government agency for innovation funding.
Social First was founded in late 2021 by industry veterans Kim Soares and Miko Cajera with the aim of redefining social gaming with a new kind of cross-platform social MMO.
Ecopals, 4 million euros to develop sustainable road construction materials
Ecopals, headquartered in Berlin, specializes in sustainable road construction materials.
The Germany-based company aims to make the recycling industry a source of modern road construction.
One of their flagship products, Ecoflakes, is a high-performance asphalt additive made from recycled plastic.
This material effectively replaces virgin plastics and bitumen derived from crude oil, extending the life of asphalt and reducing CO2 emissions during road construction by up to 20%.
Recently, the company secured 4 million euros in funding from new investors including MHI Group, Après-demain SA and Companisto.
Eleport acquires TurboVolt
Eleport, the public charging network for electric vehicles (EVs) in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), announced expansion into Croatia and Slovenia through the strategic acquisition of TurboVolt.
With this, Eleport now covers six countries in the region.
The first phase of Eleport’s expansion includes the launch of 17 high-power EV charging hubs in Supernova and SES shopping centres in Croatia and Slovenia.
Each hub will feature up to 12 user-friendly fast chargers, delivering up to 300kW of power per socket. The initial hubs in Croatia will be opened in Zadar and Zagreb, while the first Slovenian hub will be launched in Ljubljana.
ACE Alternatives Secures Investment from Bob Kneip
ACE Alternatives, a European alternative asset fund services provider, announced it has secured a seven-figure seed round investment from Bob Kneip, who joins its advisory board as Chairman.
This investment will help ACE expand into new markets (Luxembourg and Ireland) and strengthen its technology offering.
ACE Alternatives specializes in venture capital, private equity, funds of funds, and private real estate.
ACE provides tailored solutions for fund administration, compliance and regulation, tax and accounting, investor onboarding, and ESG requirements, leveraging technology-driven processes and extensive industry experience.
EQT acquires majority stake in Acronis
EQT announced that it has acquired a majority stake in Acronis, a cybersecurity and data protection platform for managed service providers and enterprise IT departments.
The company said existing investors, including founders, management, funds and accounts managed by CVC, Springcoast and BlackRock Private Equity Partners, would remain as significant minority shareholders.
Acronis is a cyber protection company that provides natively integrated cybersecurity, data protection, and endpoint management to managed service providers (MSPs), small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), and enterprise IT departments.
The company’s solutions are highly efficient and designed to identify, prevent, detect, respond, remediate and recover from modern cyber threats with minimal downtime, ensuring data integrity and business continuity.
MixRift Secures €1.4M to Develop Mixed Reality Titles
MixRift, a mixed reality (MR) gaming startup, has secured $1.6 million (€1.4 million) in a pre-seed investment round from investors including Outsized Ventures, Underline Ventures, and SOSV.
The gaming startup will use the funding to accelerate its efforts to develop and launch mixed reality titles.
MIXRIFT is a game studio that aims to design fun and immersive experiences that everyone can relate to, bridging the gap between the virtual and real worlds.
Clearbank Receives Banking License from European Central Bank
ClearBank, a leading provider of advanced payments infrastructure for financial institutions, has announced its expansion into the European market.
Recently founded, ClearBank Europe NV is licensed by the European Central Bank and supervised by the Dutch Central Bank.
ClearBank’s European headquarters are located in Amsterdam. The Netherlands was chosen for its strong economy, thriving fintech market, and robust and innovative regulatory environment.
ClearBank is investing a total of more than €70 million in its European operations and plans to hire 60 new employees over the next five years.
Founded in 2015, ClearBank provides services that support traditional banking, such as payment processing and clearing services. The company’s customer base includes organizations such as Coinbase, TrueLayer, and Wealthify.
Trint secures Innovate UK Smart Grant
London-based AI transcription and content creation platform Trint has announced it has been awarded an Innovate UK Smart Grant.
The grant will be used to develop Trint’s world’s first real-time multilingual transcription and translation tool.
Founded by Emmy Award-winning journalist Jeff Kaufman, Trint helps companies of all sizes transcribe, translate, and produce content for global audiences.
Trint claims to have an accuracy of up to 99% and can transcribe in over 40 languages and translate into over 50 languages.
SphingoTec raises €5 million to develop and market in vitro diagnostic (IVD) solutions
SphingoTec, headquartered in Henningsdorf, Berlin, is a commercial-stage diagnostics company focused on innovative critical care biomarkers for diagnosing, predicting and monitoring acute diseases.
The German company develops and markets in vitro diagnostic (IVD) solutions for novel, proprietary blood-based protein biomarkers.
The biomarker portfolio includes proenkephalin A 119-159 (penKid), a biomarker for assessing renal function, and biologically active adrenomedullin 1-52 (bio-ADM), a biomarker for assessing endothelial function.
This week the company raised €5 million in a Series C funding round to accelerate market development and financial growth through its innovative biomarkers.
The investment round was led by Think.Health Ventures and supported by existing investors. SphingoTec also secured support from existing investors including Brandenburg Kapital, HBM Healthcare Investments, NRW.BANK, and Wellington Partners.
Cowboys Partner with Adidas
Cowboy, a Brussels-based company specializing in the development of high-end e-bikes, has announced a partnership with adidas during the summer sports event in Paris.
The collaboration will feature a limited-edition co-branded Adidas x Cowboy bike and award-winning models available exclusively to athletes and other VIP guests at Adidas House in Paris.
Cowboy’s limited edition e-bike comes equipped with Google Maps navigation, Share My Ride, and crash detection.
Founded in 2017 by startup entrepreneurs Adrian Rous, Karim Slaoui, and Tanguy Goretti, Cowboy is on a mission to build better bikes, better yourself, and leave a better world.
YGO Trips secures €2.5 million to revolutionize travel planning
Berlin-based YGO Trips has developed its own AI technology that aims to revolutionize travel planning by integrating natural language and visual elements.
The company’s AI solutions can plan trips tailored to individual users and manage complex reservations in real time, taking into account price, availability, and user preferences.
This week, the German company secured €2.5 million in funding, led by GetAway Group. HomeToGo co-founders Dr. Patrick Andrae (CEO) and Wolfgang Heigl (CSO) and GetAway Group CEO Jan Seifried also participated in the funding.
Additionally, leading German startup investors Felix Jahn (founder and former CEO of McMakler), Ralf Usbeck, Kiana Mardi of Luci Capital, and Expedit Ventures participated in the funding round.
Revolut announces Tikkie integration.
This week Revolut announced it was integrating popular Dutch payments app Tikkie to all Dutch customers.
This integration will allow Revolut users in the Netherlands to more easily split their bills and manage payments seamlessly.
Users can enjoy more financial services and convenience by linking their Revolut account to Tikkie.
Tikkie offers a way to improve financial management. The app allows customers to split their bills and receive instant payments via messaging apps or QR codes.
Tikkie and Revolut aim to increase payment flexibility for Dutch users, provide Dutch customers with control over their finances and stress-free spending tracking, while offering fast and secure transactions.
You can check the app on both business and personal accounts.
OW Smell Made Digital secures €2.5 million to redefine the human olfactory experience
London-based OW Smell Made Digital has developed an exclusive digital platform to create and deliver scents.
Founded in 2019 by Dr. Emanuela Maggione and Professor Mariana Obrist, OW has developed proprietary technology that redefines the way humans experience smell.
The company recently raised £2.2 million (about €2.5 million) in a pre-series A funding round, of which £1.5 million came from Parkwalk Advisors and £700,000 from Innovate UK.