Author: EU_Startups Online News

Urban mobility startup Zoov raises €5.25 million to roll out its e-bikes throughout France

With all the hype surrounding e-scooters in recent months, we’ve almost forgotten about their close cousin, e-bikes. French startup Zoov is an electric bike sharing service offering another clean mobility option for cities.

The startup has announced that it is raising €6 million in Series A funding led by daphni, C4 Ventures and Road Ventures. BNP Paribas Développement and the Banque des Territoires have also participated in the funding round.

Founded in 2017, Zoov lets people book an electric bike at any time of day, using GPS to guide them to their destination. The startup offers ultra-compact stations in the densest areas, requiring neither public investment nor civil engineering.

With the funding, Zoov plans to launch in four cities throughout France following a five-month trial with 200 e-bikes in the Saclay neighbourhood of Paris, in collaboration with local communities and around 20 companies. The startup will also pursue its product development plan by expanding its team of ..

Munich-based digital car subscription startup Cluno raises €25 million in Series B funding

Based in Munich, Cluno is a digital car subscription service that provides drivers with an alternative to buying their own car, and allows the entire process of booking a car to be carried out via an app.

Founded in 2017, Cluno has already raised €32 million in less than one year, and has just raised a Series B round of €25 million, which it will use to accelerate its expansion and enhance its technology. The latest round was led by Valar Ventures, along with existing investors Acton Capital Partners and Atlantic Labs.

Cluno launched its app for iOS on October 31st, 2018, and its Android app just launched in early 2019.

Cluno’s subscription model for car ownership lets consumers drive their own car without buying it. In just three minutes, users can digitally book a car in the app for an all-inclusive, monthly subscription fee and get it delivered to their desired location. In contrast to purchasing, financing or leasing a car, there is no long-term commitment – the minimum contract..

Paris-based digital car rental service Virtuo raises €20 million Series B to roll out across Europe

Parisian startup Virtuo is the first player on its market to offer 100% paperless car rental services, eliminating rental desks through a mobile app.

Founded in 2016, the startup has just raised €20 million in Series B funding led by Iris Capital with participation from RAISE Ventures and Balderton Capital. With operations in France, Belgium and the UK, Virtuo has raised almost €30 million to date to digitise the car rental industry across Europe.

Virtuo is a next-generation car rental service, with a fleet of connected vehicles accessible 24/7 through its app. Through its fully digital rental process, customers can book, pick up and return vehicles freely – using scanned copy of their driving licenses and digital keys in any of Virtuo’s 30 rental stations located in city centres, rail stations and airports in France, Belgium and the UK.

The new funding round will support the startup’s growth in the markets where it already operates: France, Belgium, and the UK. The company also pla..

Munich-based IoT transportation startup KONUX raises €11.5 million with backing from Alibaba

Munich-based transportation startup KONUX offers IoT industrial solutions for the rail industry. It combines smart sensors and AI-based analytics to make trains more punctual, while improving network capacity through predictive maintenance planning and the optimisation of railway utilisation.

Founded in 2014, KONUX was named one of the most innovative scale-ups worldwide by the World Economic Forum. The startup has just raised €11.5 million in an extension of its Series B round, bringing the total amount raised in the round since last year to €29 million, and the total raised to date by the startup to €44 million. The Series B round was backed by existing investors New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Upbeat Ventures, MIG AG, and new investor Alibaba Group.

With the new funding and backing from Alibaba Group, KONUX plans to expand internationally, especially in China.

“With the new investments, adding to the $20 million we raised ten months ago, we have an even stronger financial positi..

Connected car startup wejo raises €91 million in Series B funding led by GM

Based in Chester, UK, wejo is a connected car startup that delivers intelligent insights for car manufacturers, insurers, and service providers through an automotive data exchange platform. The startup currently tracks over 7 million vehicles in over 180 countries (curating over 78 billion miles of data) and anticipates that 28 million cars will be on its platform by 2020.

Founded in 2014, wejo has just received an investment of €91 million in a Series B round led by General Motors, including an in-kind contribution worth more than €60 million, for a 35% stake in the company. This follows on a €13 million Series A round raised in 2018, and the Series B round now puts wejo’s valuation at €244 million.

“This strategic partnership with GM represents a major step forward for wejo and puts us at the forefront of the connected car revolution,” said Richard Barlow, CEO of wejo. “It’s a statement of intent from one of the biggest car manufacturers in the world. Connected car data is of enorm..

Berlin-based startup German Autolabs raises €7 million for Chris, its AI voice assistant for cars

Berlin-based deep tech startup German Autolabs recently created Chris, the world’s first voice AI enabled digital assistant for in-car usage. The startup has now announced a funding round of €7 million, led by new investors nbr Tech Ventures, VC Fonds Technologie Berlin, and coparion, along with existing investor Target Partners.

Chris, which was launched in the European market in late 2018, is a digital co-driver, and has already established the world’s largest fleet of connected and voice AI enabled devices in cars on the streets today. Chris enables drivers to safely operate their Android phones using voice and gestures while driving, including messaging, navigation, calls and music.

“Why is ‘Chris’ so important?”, asked the leading automotive industry analyst Roger C. Lanctot. “Because the A-Team (Amazon, Alphabet, Apple, Alibaba) has made it clear to automakers that they won’t be segregating or shielding vehicle-based digital assistant users from broader customer aggregation act..