Gatekeeping rules
The EU unveils its plan to rein in big tech
The draft laws target the industry’s American giants. But European firms may not benefit much
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A YEAR AGO Europe was being hailed as a regulatory superpower in technology. Countries around the world copied its strict new privacy law, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), while America’s government scarcely tried to exercise any control over a fast-moving industry.
The positions have since been reversed. This autumn the European Court of Justice overturned an order from Margrethe Vestager, the EU s competition chief, for Apple to pay back 14bn of taxes to Ireland. It was a big setback for the bloc s strategy to regulate big tech. And America has found new purpose. In October Congress published a lengthy report on how to update competition law. The same month the Department of Justice launched a lawsuit against Google over alleged abuses of its monopoly in search advertising. And in December the Fe
Deals of the Week, December 4 to 11 – Growth Business roundup 11 Dec 2020
Growth Business roundup of Deals of the Week December 4 to 11, listing seed funding, venture capital and crowdfunding deal of note
Staze crowdfunds £500,000 for staycation app
Staze, the new app which puts under-occupied holiday rentals at the fingertips of last-minute bookers, has closed its first crowdfunding round at £500,000.
The £500,000 investment will enable Staze to employ a full-time team to grow its UK staycation property listings from 4,000 to 80,000 by the end of 2021, as well as launching its pan-European arm.
Investors crowd treasury management developers round with £500,000
Crowd Data Systems plans to use the capital to increase R&D, sales and marketing, as it expands its cloud-based apps into cash and treasury management.
Cleo, the AI-powered ‘financial assistant’, raises $44M Series B led by EQT Ventures
Cleo, the London-founded “financial assistant” that takes the form of an app and chatbot and now counts the U.S. as its largest market, has raised $44 million in Series B funding.
Leading the round, which I understand actually closed earlier this year, is EQT Ventures. Also participating are existing investors Balderton Capital, LocalGlobe and SBI.
They join much earlier investors such as Entrepreneur First, Taavet Hinrikus, Matt Robinson, Errol Damelin, Niklas Zennström, Alex Chesterman and Ian Hogarth all well-known names in London’s tech investment community.