Mike Butcher, Author at TechCrunch

European investors grab the popcorn for the new ‘series’ of OpenAI, but are fearful of the fallout

Mike Butcher — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 01:04:18 +0000

With the OpenAI saga playing out across the pond, the European tech community has been waiting for the latest updates as if a new series of “Succession” was about to drop. Indeed, events have at times resembled some Greek tragedy about the Gods fighting it out, atop Mount Olympus, while us mere mortals watch on. […]

UK-based Ooodles raises $12M to scale up its device-leasing services

Mike Butcher — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 09:00:26 +0000

While refurbished device marketplaces like Back Market have raised substantial amounts in funding (Back Market reached a $5.7B valuation last year after a D round) and Raylo in the UK provides leases for electronics (it’s raised raised $180.6M from the likes of Octopus Ventures and Channel 4 Ventures), the device leasing services for small businesses […]

Lidl owner and Bosch Ventures co-lead $500M Series B into German AI startup Aleph Alpha

Mike Butcher — Mon, 06 Nov 2023 14:08:53 +0000

German AI startup Aleph Alpha has raised a Series B funding round of $500 million from a consortium of seven new investors, as well as existing investors from previous rounds. Founded in 2019, Aleph Alpha’s funding may be dwarfed by that of Microsoft-backed OpenAI ($11.3 billion), but the startup makes great play of the fact […]

Lab-grown leather scales up as Gozen raises $3.3M from Happiness Capital, SOSV and others

Mike Butcher — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 07:01:30 +0000

Whether we like it or not, the leather industry significantly contributes to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and global waste generation. The current methods used to fulfil the increasing demand for leather involve a fairly simple, and completely unsustainable solution: simply raising more livestock (which contribute about 14% of global greenhouse gas emissions). However, there are […]

Oxolo bags €13M for generative AI-driven video platform which can optimize engagement on the fly

Mike Butcher — Tue, 24 Oct 2023 07:01:53 +0000

Much has been made of AI-powered videos that can either make a real person speak different words or other languages, or generate a synthetic person that can speak on-demand. A few years ago former football star David Beckham helped push the idea into the mainstream via a video from Synthesia, where he spoke different languages […]

Hoxton Ventures shoots for the big time, luring Bryan Gartner from Khosla Ventures

Mike Butcher — Tue, 17 Oct 2023 12:40:10 +0000

Everyone more or less agrees that 2023 is going to be effectively written off in VC-land. The feeding frenzy of the last few years has left everyone with more than a little indigestion: valuations have flattened or crashed; exits are rarely on the seller’s terms; and few want second helpings, let alone dessert or another […]

General Catalyst and European early-stage fund La Famiglia ‘join forces’ to invest in European startups

Mike Butcher — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 11:00:15 +0000

In a move that will help cement the incursion of U.S.-based VCs into the European ecosystem, General Catalyst and La Famiglia have announced they are, in their words, “joining forces.” That’s the PR spin, but to all intents and purposes, the two operations are engaging in a merger, where La Famiglia becomes the Seed investing […]

Palestine’s growing tech industry has been literally blown apart by the war between Israel and Hamas

Mike Butcher — Sat, 14 Oct 2023 07:46:27 +0000

Gaza, despite being one of the most economically challenged regions in the world, has ironically always been a tech hub — not only for Palestine and Palestinians, but also for the world: International companies have, for many years, sought out a presence there to collaborate with talented tech freelancers and the startups that gradually emerged […]

Tradeshift co-founder accused of sexual assault by company, allegations he denies

Mike Butcher — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 09:07:47 +0000

Tradeshift, a late-stage fintech startup that has raised over $1 billion in venture and debt, has dismissed its co-founder Christian Lanng, citing “serious allegations of sexual assault and harassment” and “gross misconduct on multiple grounds,” according to a company statement posted on Tuesday. Lanng has vehemently denied the allegations. Tradeshift appointed former chief revenue officer […]

AI revolutionizing MRI scans — a Munich startup banked $32M to scan eggs, and says humans are next

Mike Butcher — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 07:01:23 +0000

Germany, France and Italy are among the countries which last year enacted laws to stop the practice of culling male day-old chicks, because, as they do not lay eggs, they are considered surplus to requirements. This was not just because of the waste created but also out of animal welfare and ethical considerations. The laws […]

‘Be optimistic and innovate’  — The legacy of Cowboy founder and e-bike pioneer Karim Slaoui, who has passed away

Mike Butcher — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 08:29:51 +0000

Cowboy, the e-bike startup that creates innovative electric bikes for city riders, has announced that Karim Slaoui, co-founder (pictured above, right), has passed away. Karim stepped down from the board and the day-to-day running of Cowboy last year. His co-founders Adrien Roose and Tanguy Goretti issued the following joint statement: It is with deep sadness that […]

Generative AI removing background noise from recordings is just one of the new tools for podcasters

Mike Butcher — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 14:51:05 +0000

Yes, there are clear concerns about AI’s potential for auto-generating disinformation. But as a tool for creatives to better create, AI is having its moment. And the AI-driven tools designed to assist creators in producing their podcast are clearly on a roll. Podcastle, a full-service podcasting platform which we covered when it raised $7 million […]

Open banking led to a fintech boom — as Brite raises $60M, account-to-account payment grows

Mike Butcher — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 07:01:30 +0000

The move toward open banking payments, especially in the EU, effectively kicked-off the fintech boom. Open banking standards meant that fintech startups could create wallets and effectively become banks, or at least “neo banks,” in practical day-to-day terms. Digital wallets are now the leading payment method globally in e-commerce, with a 49% share, according to […]

Two large equity funds launched this week. What gives?

Mike Butcher — Fri, 29 Sep 2023 17:08:11 +0000

Two large equity funds came out of the gate this week. So, what gives? Earlier this year we covered how Liquidity Group, a growth-stage debt financier, raised $40 million and launched a $250 million debt fund for tech companies. Backers included Apollo (private equity, and Yahoo! owner) and MUFG (a Japanese bank). Liquidity is an […]

New research: Vast majority of VC-backed UK startups do nothing on climate emissions

Mike Butcher — Wed, 27 Sep 2023 07:30:59 +0000

Some 76% of the top 500 VC-backed U.K. startups have done nothing to either measure or offset their carbon emissions, according to new research shared exclusively with TechCrunch. In total, these companies have raised $40 billion in VC funding. Furthermore, of the VCs looked at, the highest only scored 37 out of a possible 100 […]

Defense AI startup Helsing breaks the record for European AI, raising a $223M Series B

Mike Butcher — Thu, 14 Sep 2023 13:06:53 +0000

Helsing, a “Defense AI” startup backed by Spotify founder Daniel Ek which had previously raised €102.5 million, has today pulled in another €209 million ($223 million) in a Series B funding round led by General Catalyst. Swedish heavy industry and defense group Saab is joining as a strategic investor, deepening what was previously an existing […]

UK deep tech gets another boost with new $100M SCVC fund out of Bristol

Mike Butcher — Thu, 14 Sep 2023 07:01:35 +0000

Europe has far too few VCs created by former founders, or “operators” as the industry often likes to call them. Yes, Atomico has Niklas Zennström. Firstminute Capital has Brent Hoberman. More recently Plural was created by Taavet Hinrikus (ex-Wise), Sten Tamkivi (ex-Teleport) and Ian Hogarth (ex-Songkick). But that “operator-turned-VC” list quickly runs out across the […]

Connect Ventures hits $80M for its next fund, says the Bear market means ‘Product is back, baby!’

Mike Butcher — Tue, 05 Sep 2023 12:53:37 +0000

Tempus fugit, as Virgil once put it. It was a full 11 years ago that I first noted the appearance of Connect Ventures, one of the early “new kids on the block” amongst the nascent clutch of European tech VCs in that relatively early era. Back then, Connect was one of the few product-focused VCs […]

Nordic-based Unconventional Ventures nears €30M fund close to back diverse European teams

Mike Butcher — Mon, 04 Sep 2023 17:23:31 +0000

As has been pointed out many, many times, lack of diversity is an ongoing problem in the tech startup and VC landscape. It’s a fact that’s long been recognised in the U.S., and it’s of equal concern in Europe. Zoom in on the Nordics region, and the lack of diversity sadly becomes even more acute. […]

Communication using thought alone? Unbabel unveils AI project to give us superhuman capabilities

Mike Butcher — Fri, 18 Aug 2023 11:40:12 +0000

Sitting in a meeting room in a startup office in Lisbon, I silently typed a question only the person opposite would know the answer to. What kind of coffee had I asked for when I’d arrived at the office? A short moment later, without even moving or opening his mouth, the reply came back via […]