Automation Hero picks up $14.5 million led by Atomico

Automation Hero, formerly SalesHero, has secured $14.5 million in new funding led by Atomico, with participation by Baidu Ventures and Cherry Ventures. As part of the deal, Atomico principal Ben Blume will join the company’s board of directors. The automation startup launched in 2017 as SalesHero, giving sales orgs a simple way to automate back-office […]

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More Atomico promotions sees three new Partners at the European VC firm

Atomico, the European venture capital firm founded by Skype’s Niklas Zennström, sometimes feels like it’s on a perpetual hiring and promotions spree, even if a number of partners have also departed over the years. Most recently, in November Sophia Bendz, the former Spotify Global Director of Marketing, promoted to Partner. Bendz had already spent two […]

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Clutter confirms SoftBank-led $200M investment for its on-demand storage service

There’s plenty of speculation right now around apparently disgruntled investors in SoftBank’s Vision Fund, but the drum continues to beat and the checks continue to be written. The latest deal for the $100 billion mega-fund is Clutter, an on-demand storage company that pulled in $200 million in new financing for growth. Eagled-eyed viewers will recall that […]

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AI chip startup Graphcore closes $200M Series D, adds BMW and Microsoft as strategic investors

UK AI chip startup Graphcore has announced a $200 million Series D round today that’s jointly led by an existing investor, European VC Atomico, along with new investor Sofina, an investment holding firm. Graphcore says the Series D values the company at $1.7M. We’ve confirmed the valuation is $1.5M before including the new capital raised. We’re also […]

View More AI chip startup Graphcore closes $200M Series D, adds BMW and Microsoft as strategic investors

AI chip startup Graphcore closes $200M Series D, adds BMW and Microsoft as strategic investors

UK AI chip startup Graphcore has announced a $200 million Series D round today that’s jointly led by an existing investor, European VC Atomico, along with new investor Sofina, an investment holding firm. Graphcore says the Series D values the company at $1.7M. We’ve confirmed the valuation is $1.5M before including the new capital raised. We’re also […]

View More AI chip startup Graphcore closes $200M Series D, adds BMW and Microsoft as strategic investors

Q&A with Diversity VC’s Check Warner on newly launched Diversity & Inclusion guide for tech companies

If the last few years has seen a growing consensus that the tech industry has a diversity and inclusion problem, then what is clearly needed next are practical solutions. While most people agree that building a diverse and inclusive company culture is easier to achieve the earlier you set out to do so, for startups […]

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Atomico’s fourth “State of the European Tech” report highlights lots of rosy numbers, but also a discrimination problem

For the fourth year in a year, the global venture firm Atomico has produced a “State of European Tech Report” and the again this year, there’s plenty for the firm — and Europe broadly — to crow about. According to the report, total investment in European startups reached $23 billion this year. That’s one-fourth the […]

View More Atomico’s fourth “State of the European Tech” report highlights lots of rosy numbers, but also a discrimination problem

Atomico unveils Angel Programme to ‘activate’ the next generation of European investors

Atomico, the London-based venture capital firm co-founded by Skype founder Niklas Zennström, has launched a new program to find, mentor and back the next generation of angel investors across various hubs in the European tech startup ecosystem. Dubbed the Atomico Angel Programme, and unveiled on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin, the new initiative is headed […]

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Skype co-founder snags $105M for fintech lending venture in Southeast Asia

A fintech whale quietly going about its business in Southeast Asia has come out from under the radar after Oriente, a Hong Kong-based business headed by Skype’s first employee, announced that it has raised a whopping $105 million. It may not be well known at this point, but the company has some serious street cred. Oriente […]

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Pitching a $99 tax advisory service for the masses, Visor has raised $9 million

The only sure things in this life, according to Ben Franklin, are death and taxes. And a new startup called Visor has just raised $9 million in financing to make one of them as painless as possible. Unlike Nectome, Visor won’t kill anyone, but it may ring the death knell for the high end tax advisors that most […]

View More Pitching a $99 tax advisory service for the masses, Visor has raised $9 million

Electric flying taxi service Lilium poaches key hires from Audi, Airbus

Lilium, the developer of a new, electric, vertical take-off and landing vehicle for a novel flying taxi service, has poached some pretty big former executives from Airbus and Audi as it builds out its technology and gets ready to bring its service to market. Mirko Reuter, the former head of automated driving at Audi, has […]

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Atomico’s Yann de Vries joins flying taxi company Lilium as VP Corporate Development

Perhaps the one downside to building a venture capital firm filled with operational experience is that you can’t always keep an operator out of the action for too long. Or so it seems, if the latest VC move at London-based Atomico is anything to go by. Atomico Partner Yann de Vries — who led investments […]

View More Atomico’s Yann de Vries joins flying taxi company Lilium as VP Corporate Development