europe News of 06/16/19

Where Is The EU Going On Tech And Competition Policy?

Where is the EU going on tech and competition policy? image Huge technology policy questions are looming for whoever takes the top jobs at the European Union in the coming months. Decisions that could radically reshape tech business models, reconfigure the competitive landscape and change the relationship ...

This New Honda E Detail Suggests It’S Going To Be Fun To Drive

New details keep trickling out about the Honda e, the compact electric vehicle that’s coming to market in spring 2020, from pop-out door handles and internal side view mirrors to the touchscreen display . The latest, revealed Thursday , ...

UK Government Invests $194m To Commercialize Quantum Computing

The UK government today announced a £153 million investment into efforts to commercialize quantum computing. That’s about $193 million and with additional commitments from numerous industry players, that number goes up to over $440 million. ...

Why Is Andreessen Horowitz (And Everyone Else) Investing In Latin America Now?

Investments by U.S. venture capital firms into Latin America are skyrocketing and one of the firms leading the charge into deals is none other than Silicon Valley’s Andreessen Horowitz . The firm that shook up Silicon Valley with potentially ...

Monzo, The UK Challenger Bank With Over 2 Million Users, Expands To The US

Monzo , the U.K. challenger bank with more than two million customers and a unicorn valuation to go with it, has formally announced its U.S. expansion. The tentative move — which TechCrunch exclusively reported was underway five months ...

Emma, The London-Based Money Management App, Launches In The US And Canada

Emma , the U.K. money management app (now calling itself your “best financial friend”), has launched in the United States and Canada — and is now one of a plethora of London fintechs venturing states-side. Competing banking app Cleo ...

Privacy Policies Are Still Too Horrible To Read In Full

Privacy policies are still too horrible to read in full image A year on from Europe’s flagship update to the pan-EU data protection framework the Commission has warned that too many privacy policies are still too hard to read and has urged tech companies to declutter and clarify their T&Cs. (So full ...

Zava Bags $32m To Expand Its AI-Free Telehealth Service In Europe

Zava bags $32M to expand its AI-free telehealth service in Europe image More money is being injected into the telehealth space in Europe. Zava , a long-time player that bills its online service as offering a “discreet and convenient” alternative to an in-person doctor visit, has just announced a $32 million ...

Revolut Launches In Australia As A Beta Release

Fintech startup Revolut is expanding beyond Europe for the first time. The service is going live for some users in Australia starting today. Revolut isn’t opening its doors to all customers at once. The company calls this a beta release and ...

Lifen Raises $22.7 Million For Its Healthcare Messaging Platform

Lifen raises $22.7 million for its healthcare messaging platform image French startup Lifen is raising a $22.7 million (€20 million) funding round. Partech is leading the round with Idinvest Partners and Majycc eSanté Invest also participating. Existing investors Serena and Daphni are also investing again. Most of ...

Curve, The All-Your-Cards-In-One Banking App, Introduces 1% Instant Cashback With Curve Cash

Curve, the all-your-cards-in-one banking app, introduces 1% instant cashback with Curve Cash image Curve , the London fintech that now describes itself an “over-the-top banking platform,” is unveiling a re-vamped cashback feature in a bid to draw in more customers for the premium versions of its Curve card. The company lets you ...

n26 Shares Some Metrics

Fintech startup N26 just issued an update on its main metrics. The bank now has 3.5 million customers across 24 European markets. The company is about to expand to new countries, such as the U.S. and Brazil but it sounds like the company is not ...

London’S LocalGlobe Just Closed On Two Funds Totaling $295 Million

Seven months ago, TechCrunch’s Steve O’Hear reported that LocalGlobe had begun the fundraising process for two separate funds. The London-based seed-stage venture firm was raising yet another seed-stage venture fund, O’Hear said at ...

Symphony, A Messaging App That’S Been A Hit With Wall Street, Raises $165m At A $1.4b Valuation

Slack’s rapid rise and upcoming IPO are clear signs of the ripe opportunity to be had in the field of enterprise messaging. Today, a startup that’s built a messaging product specifically for the financial services vertical is also ...

LaLiga Fined $280k For Soccer App’S Privacy Violating Spy Mode

Spanish soccer’s premier league, LaLiga, has netted itself a €250,000 (~$280k) fine for privacy violations of Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) related to its official app. As we reported a year ago , users of the ...

Funderbeam, The Funding And Trading Platform For Private Companies, Scores $4.5m Series A

Funderbeam , the funding and trading platform for private companies founded by Kaidi Ruusalepp, who was previously CEO of the Nasdaq Tallinn stock exchange, has raised $4.5 million in Series A funding. The round is led by U.K.-based Accelerated ...

Bux Raises Additional $12.5m As It Gears Up To Launch ‘Zero-Commission’ Investing App

Bux , the Amsterdam-based trading app that wants to make investing fun, has picked up an additional $12.5 million in new funding. Venture capital firms Velocity Capital and Holtzbrinck Ventures led the round, which also includes debt financing from ...

Facebook Will Not Remove Deepfakes Of Mark Zuckerberg, Kim Kardashian And Others From Instagram

Facebook will not remove the faked videos featuring Mark Zuckerberg , Kim Kardashian and President Donald Trump from Instagram, the company said in a statement. Earlier today, Vice News reported on the existence of videos created by the ...

Liberty’S Challenge To UK State Surveillance Powers Reveals Shocking Failures

A legal challenge to the UK’s controversial mass surveillance regime has revealed shocking failures by the main state intelligence agency, which has broad powers to hack computers and phones and intercept digital communications, in handling ...

Europe Publishes Common Drone Rules, Giving Operators A Year To Prepare

Europe has today published common rules for the use of drones. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) says the regulations, which will apply universally across the region, are intended to help drone operators of all stripes have a clear ...