Author Archives: Mike Butcher

In 2020, Warsaw’s startup ecosystem is ‘a place to observe carefully’

Posted on by

If you listed the trends that have captured the attention of 20 Warsaw-focused investors who replied to our recent surveys, automation/AI, enterprise SaaS, cleantech, health, remote work and the sharing economy would top the list. These VCs said they are seeking opportunities in the “digital twin” space, proptech and expanded blockchain tokenization inside industries. Investors […] Continue reading In 2020, Warsaw’s startup ecosystem is ‘a place to observe carefully’→

12 Paris-based VCs look at the state of their city

Posted on by

Four years after the Great Recession, France’s newly elected socialist president François Hollande raised taxes and increased regulations on founder-led startups. The subsequent flight of entrepreneurs to places like London and Silicon Valley portrayed France as a tough place to launch a company. By 2016, France’s national statistics bureau estimated that about three million native-born […] Continue reading 12 Paris-based VCs look at the state of their city→

As the pandemic creates supply chain chaos, Craft raises $10M to apply some intelligence

Posted on by

During the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chains have suddenly become hot. Who knew that would ever happen? The race to secure PPE, ventilators and minor things like food was and still is an enormous issue. But perhaps, predictably, the world of “supply chain software” could use some updating. Most of the platforms are deployed “empty” and […] Continue reading As the pandemic creates supply chain chaos, Craft raises $10M to apply some intelligence→

Sourcing software provider Keelvar raises $18M from Elephant and Mosaic

Posted on by

It was perhaps not until the COVID-19 pandemic hit the planet that most of us had ever heard or uttered the phrase “supply chain”. But in a global economy that had become drunk and lazy on ‘just in time ordering’ and similar, the threat to supply chains of things like, oh, food, from that pesky […] Continue reading Sourcing software provider Keelvar raises $18M from Elephant and Mosaic→

GitGuardian raises $12M to help developers write more secure code and ‘fix’GitHub leaks

Posted on by

Data breaches that could cause millions of dollars in potential damages have been the bane of the life of many a company. What’s required is a great deal of real-time monitoring. The problem is that this world has become incredibly complex. A SANS Institute survey found half of company data breaches were the result of […] Continue reading GitGuardian raises $12M to help developers write more secure code and ‘fix’GitHub leaks→

Meet the first judges for The Europas Awards (27 June) and enter your startup now!

Posted on by

I’m excited to announce that The Europas Awards for European Tech Startups is really shaping up! The awards will be held on 27 June 2019, in London, UK on the front lawn of the Geffrye Museum in Hoxton, London — creating a fantastic and fun, garden party atmosphere in the heart of London’s tech startup […] Continue reading Meet the first judges for The Europas Awards (27 June) and enter your startup now!→

Leapwork raises $10M for its easy process automation platform, plans US expansion

Posted on by

Most work involving computers is highly repetitive, which is why companies regularly have developers write code to automate repetitive tasks. But that process is not very scalable. Ideally, individuals across an entire business would be able to create automated tasks, not just developers. This problem has created a new category called process automation. Startups in […] Continue reading Leapwork raises $10M for its easy process automation platform, plans US expansion→

Blockchain startups woo enterprises with a private chain audit trail

Posted on by

By placing all the information about services or complex manufacturing and assembly processes on a private, permissioned blockchain, the idea is that a company can create an “immutable” audit trail of data. When you think about it, currently this involves a labor-intensive combination of paper and networks. But initial trials with private blockchains in the […] Continue reading Blockchain startups woo enterprises with a private chain audit trail→

Hotel management platform Mews closes €6m Series A

Posted on by

Before we automate hotels with AI and robots (which will almost certainly happen) the first wave of this revolution will be brought by the software that runs hotels with humans. Thus it is that Mews, the hotel property management platform, has closed a €6m Series A funding round. The round was led by Notion.vc Capital, […] Continue reading Hotel management platform Mews closes €6m Series A→

More speakers, panels at The Europas, and how to get your ticket free

Posted on by

The Europas Unconference & Awards is back on 3 July in London and we’re excited to announce more speakers and panel sessions as the event takes shape. Crypto and Blockchain will be a major theme this year, and we’re bringing together many of the key players. TechCrunch is once again the key media partner, and […] Continue reading More speakers, panels at The Europas, and how to get your ticket free→