Money Buzz! Europa

Tag: startup

  • Waterdrop has reached over 1 million customers worldwide

    Waterdrop has reached over 1 million customers worldwide

    To date, Waterdrop sold more than 200 million reusable products, Microdrinks, and containers to more than 1 million consumers worldwide.

    The Austrian start-up created Microdrinks (cubes with natural flavours and water-soluble plant and fruit extract).

    Waterdrop is present worldwide in 12 markets, 11 markets in Europe (Germany, Austria, UK, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Czechia, Slovakia, Poland, Romania), and the US.

    Recently, the company launched two new varieties of Microtea drinks, an organic product made from natural ingredients and pure tea extract.

    The products are available online and complement the existing range of four flavours. Each cube dissolves in 400-600 ml of hot water, at the recommended temperature of 60 degrees.

    For EU customers, cold microdrinks prices start at EUR 8,90 per 12 pcs and EUR 7,90 per 12 pcs for microtea.

  • Romanian startup Humans attracts a round of financing of USD 9 million

    Romanian startup Humans attracts a round of financing of USD 9 million

    Humans, a Romanian deep tech start-up, announced the drawing of a 9 million dollars financing through the private sale of cryptocurrency.

    Among the main investors are the entrepreneur Răzvan Munteanu, one of the most active investors in the blockchain area and Elrond Research.

    The announcement comes shortly after the company announced the launch of a world-leading technology called Proof-of-Human. 

    It validates that there is a person behind every decision of the AI and uses blockchain technology to encapsulate each AI in an NFT (token non-fungible).

    Humans is a platform that integrates data and technology to generate unique AI models and use them as an API (application programming interface) by the business community.

    Thus, technology allows application developers to use AI models by paying rights fairly to both those who provide technology and data.

  • Romanian platform Global Database targets EUR 1.4 million on SeedBlink

    Romanian platform Global Database targets EUR 1.4 million on SeedBlink

    Global Database, an aggregator of private and public company information, aims to obtain a funding of 1.4 million euros on the crowdfunding platform SeedBlink.

    SeedBlink campaign started today, August 26, the round being supported by two private investors with experience in IT.

    Funds will be used to develop the solution, invest in marketing and hire sales specialists for the US and the UK.

    The company is to sell a package of up to 10% of the shares, being valued at €17 million.

    Information about over 120 million companies, structured and aggregated from 195 countries

    Global Database gathers information from over 120 million companies worldwide, providing structured and up-to-date data.

    The platform includes contact details about companies, financial reports, who are the final beneficiaries, credit risk information, daily alerts.

    Most of the information is gathered from official sources, combined with public sources and partnerships with strategic data providers to provide an overview of companies globally.

    The platform offers public information to over 350.000 users/month and has over 100 active corporate clients.

    Global Database was created in 2015 by Nicolae Buldumac, a specialist with ten years of experience in sales&marketing in Great Britain and Vitalie Aremescu, a specialist with 13 years of experience in IT in the Republic of Moldova.

    The company has clients including American Express, Dupont, Vodafone, British Council, WWF, Salesforce, SAP, Edendred, 3M, Embassy of Canada, Embassy of Spain, Getty Images.

    For this year, the company estimates revenues of $ 1.2 million compared to $ 0.7 million last year.

    By 2020, Global Database has grown organically from year to year, with no foreign investment. The project was funded exclusively by the founders.

  • PROCESIO publicly launches its process automation platform

    PROCESIO publicly launches its process automation platform

    PROCESIO publicly launches today its process automation platform based on Low/No-Code technology.

    Technical and non-technical professionals can choose between a free plan or a subscription-based plan and immediately start building integrations and automation processes.

    Each plan comes with a 14-day testing period. The subscription value ranges between 600 and 6000 euro/ year according to the client’s business needs.

    Users have the opportunity to create prototypes, test and implement automated processes within the platform, in a fast and flexible way.

    PROCESIO is an integration Platform as a Service, developed by Ringhel, which provides a fast and scalable alternative to classic coding, by using a Low/No-Code approach.

    The technology is for organizations and individuals that want to integrate applications and process data, but more efficiently and faster – up to 5x faster.

    With this solution users are able to: test as they build, visually debug, visually build data models, eliminate redundant code and easily extend the platform’s functionality.

    PROCESIO has raised so far investments of more than 1 million euros.

  • Yellow.Menu cloud restaurant aims to triple its turnover in 2021

    Yellow.Menu cloud restaurant aims to triple its turnover in 2021

    Yellow.Menu, the cloud restaurant with delivery in Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca, has exceeded the 300 orders/day milestone.

    Moreover, it launches a series of virtual brands, dishes and set menus created by Yellow chefs and intended for delivery on partner platforms.

    Yellow.Menu aims to create at least 4 such virtual brands by the end of the year, generating 35-40% of the total business.

    In the first half of this year, the cloud restaurant recorded a turnover of almost 600 thousand euros, 52% higher than the same period last year.

    What is Yellow.Menu

    Designed as an online restaurant with a dynamic menu that changes daily, Yellow.Menu delivers meals through its own network of couriers anywhere in Bucharest and Cluj.

    In the first half of this year, Yellow.Menu turnover exceeded 550.000 euros, over 50% higher than last year.

    Even more, the average value of the order increased by 15% compared to similar period from 2020, up to 95 lei.

    The company aims to increase the daily number of orders by at least 40% compared to the end of the year currently and top reach up to 1.5 million euros turnover in 2021.

  • European Union boasts more than 80.000 startups

    European Union boasts more than 80.000 startups

    EU27 boasts more than 80.000 startups, of which 51 are unicorns. The investments raised by European startups totalled 41 billion US dollars in 2020, up from USD 36,6 billion US in 2019. 

    It has been reported that during Q1 2021 27 innovative European companies got a valuation of more than 1 billion US dollars, based on their latest funding round.

    However, a closer look reveals that only 7 of them are indeed present in the EU27 and committed to remain there after the funding round, which paints a much bleaker picture.

    In the same period, the US produced 67 new unicorns.

  • Techcelerator launched Scale Match, the first regional matchathon

    Techcelerator launched Scale Match, the first regional matchathon

    Techcelerator expands in South-East Europe by launching Scale Match, the first regional matchathon.

    Scale Match aims to facilitate the access of high-tech startups to strategic partners in the region and investments.

    The program targets companies that develop solutions in Fintech, eHealth, companies that integrate artificial intelligence, and developers of SaaS solutions that are in the Market Ready phase.

    To be eligible, startups must have internationally scalable solutions, a sustainable business model, and an ambitious team.

    The applications are open here, until April 13, 2021, and the results will be announced on April 19, 2021.

    Up to 40 startups will be selected to enter the matchmaking program.

    Scale Match will take place online, through one-on-one sessions with investors and strategic partners.

    The program aims at companies from Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Georgia, Armenia, Turkey, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia, Serbia, Greece, Moldova.

  • Romanian startup SuperOkay closes 400K EUR investment

    Romanian startup SuperOkay closes 400K EUR investment

    SuperOkay, a UK-based startup with Romanian founders receives 400K EUR investment to grow their digital agency-client collaboration and contract management platform.

    The investment round was led by Bulgarian venture capital fund Eleven Ventures and joined by Roca X and several UK business angels.

    SuperOkay is an app that helps digital agencies, software studios and freelancers better manage their sales, workflow, and scope changes so as to increase clarity and profits.

    The company was founded by two Romanian diaspora in late-2018.

    Today, more than 60 agencies are already using the product in beta, as the team conducts rich conversations to deeply understand, improve and refine their client collaboration process.

  • Benefito Mobile, targets 150,000 euros on SeedBlink

    Benefito Mobile, targets 150,000 euros on SeedBlink

    Benefito Mobile, a virtual mobile operator (MVNO), targets 150,000 euros on SeedBlink. The listing will take place on Tuesday, January 26.

    In exchange for this funding, the founders of Benefito Mobile will sell 10,000 shares representing 5.3% of the capital.

    The investment will finance the launch in the second quarter of 2021 of the first prepaid card in Romania through which customers receive mobile credit when purchasing products and services.

    How Benefito Mobile works

    The Benefito Mobile card represents a premiere for the telecom and retail fields in Romania. Through this card, online and offline retailers will offer different benefits such as recharging their mobile phone credit.

    Free credit becomes a reward for customer loyalty – so people who buy more from partner retailers receive more benefits for the money they spent.

    Benefito Mobile collaborates with Bonusway and Cashback World, international cashback platforms that have partnerships with hundreds of retailers,

    Another differentiator for the Romanian market is the pricing method, which is in lei and not in the euro.

    Virtual mobile operators (MVNOs) do not have their mobile network, using a traditional mobile operator’s infrastructure.

    Benefito Mobile uses the Telekom Romania Mobile Communications network, through Veridian, which is connected to the Telekom Romania Mobile network as an MVNO Aggregator (MVNA)

    The launch of Benefito Mobile comes in the context in which virtual mobile operators have developed for over ten years in Western Europe, representing, depending on the country, between 10% and 40% of mobile users.

    The management of Benefito Mobile expects to reach a share of 2-3% of the mobile market by the end of 2025.

  • Austrian digital platform enables fans to chat live with their favorite stars

    Austrian digital platform enables fans to chat live with their favorite stars

    Meet your Star is the world’s first digital platform that enables fans to chat live with their favorite stars and talents via one-on-one video connections.

    The platform creates a split-screen video recording of each conversation between a user and star, which the user can share on social media once the star releases the video. 

    Hollywood attorney Patrick Knapp-Schwarzenegger, whose clients include Nicolas Cage, Jason Statham and Jackie Chan as well as his uncle Arnold Schwarzenegger, joined Meet your Star as partner and investor.

    Meet your Star launched with a focus on German-speaking stars in Europe, a 100-million-person market. The US rollout is set to begin early next year.

    A veteran in the entertainment industry, Meet your Star’s founder Georg Kindel’s previous projects include a decade-long partnership with former world leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mikhail Gorbachev.

    Each video chat supports a charitable organization

    Part of the proceeds generated by each video chat and video shoutout will be donated to a charitable organization chosen by the star.

    The star also decides which percentage of their fee they wish to donate (minimum 10%). 

  • Italian startup Vikey raised €800K new investment round

    Italian startup Vikey raised €800K new investment round

    Vikey has closed €800K in a new investment round with the participation of CDP Venture Capital Sgr – Fondo Nazionale Innovazione – through the AccelerOra! Program – Italian Angels for Growth (IAG), LVenture Group, and other business angels.

    With this new capital increase, the startup’s total funding rises to €1.6 million.

    Using Vikey’s contactless technology, hosts can accept all reservations (even last minute), increasing the occupancy rate, while saving time and costs, if compared to traditional check-in procedure.

    Vikey has developed a hardware and software solution for hotels and apartments intended for hospitality use, to open the accommodation’s door directly via smartphone.

    Their system manages all aspects of check-in and check-out, including sending documents and paying for upselling services.

    Vikey has recently signed national and international partnerships with major players in the hotel and alternative hospitality sectors, such as Altido (owner of 1,800 real estate properties, which is now affiliated with Vikey in 25 European cities).

  • Rockstart launches a €21m fund to invest in energy startups

    Rockstart launches a €21m fund to invest in energy startups

    Rockstart, one of Europe’s first accelerators, launches its second Fund of € 21m to invest in energy startups.

    The Rockstart Energy Fund aims to invest in energy startups in Europe with a primary focus in the Netherlands. The Energy fund is the second fund launched by Rockstart after the 2019 launch of the Rockstart Agrifood Fund.

    Rockstart has been active in the Energy domain since 2014. The company has a 75% follow-on funding rate from its latest Energy accelerator, with €5.2m raised by portfolio companies within 1.5 years.

    The Rockstart Energy Fund is launched with the participation of an institutional investor, family offices, and business angels.

    The main investors in the fund are the Dutch pension fund ABP, De Hoge Dennen Capital, investment companies and several prominent angel investors from The Netherlands and Germany. The fund is supported by the seed capital scheme from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO).