Amsterdam-based hospitality tech platform Mews has raised €255 million (about $300 million) in a Series D funding round as it pushes deeper into automation and AI-powered workflows for hotels around the world.  The round was led by EQT Growth with new participation from Atomico and HarbourVest Partners, alongside existing backers including Kinnevik, Battery Ventures and Tiger Global. The investment values the company at roughly $2.5 billion.  Founded in 2012 by Richard Valtr and Matt Welle, Mews builds a cloud-native “operating system” for hotels  software that ties together reservations, check-ins, housekeeping, payments and more in one platform.  Its technology is designed…

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For decades, access to high-quality deal flow and sophisticated M&A infrastructure has been largely designed for well-connected investors and industry giants. Small businesses and independent founders, particularly those operating outside English-speaking markets, may often find the barriers even higher. Language, geography, and limited access to networks could mean that opportunity stops at the border.  Amidst this trend, Flippa, a platform for buying and selling digital businesses, is rewriting the script and dismantling those barriers. Under the leadership of CEO Blake Hutchison, the company has connected buyers and sellers across continents, linguistic differences, and price points, closing deals from $100,000 up…

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Paris-based fintech Pennylane has just pulled off one of Europe’s most noteworthy funding rounds of the year, announcing €175 million in new capital to accelerate its push into artificial intelligence and expand its footprint across the continent. The round was led by growth investor TCV, with participation from Blackstone Growth and a group of existing backers that includes Sequoia Capital, DST Global, CapitalG and Meritech Capital.  What makes this raise stand out isn’t just the size of the cheque, though €175 million is hard to ignore in a selective funding market, but the strategic timing and purpose behind it. Pennylane…

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In October 2021, the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn interpreted the first movement of Beethoven’s 10th unfinished symphony, which was completed with the use of artificial intelligence. A team of computer scientists, music historians, musicologists, and composers developed the ‘Beethoven AI’ to analyze Beethoven’s music style and life, using the sketches he left behind of the 10th symphony, plus works from other composers that had a notable influence on his life, such as Johann Sebastian Bach, to generate pieces that reflect what he would have composed. Beethoven AI, as others AI composition programs, produces music in the same way ChatGPT produces outcomes.…

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As Europe races into the AI era, its policymakers are laying new pipes for the continent’s digital future. The European Commission’s proposed Digital Networks Act (DNA) promises to rewire the EU’s telecom landscape, with big implications for artificial intelligence infrastructure, connectivity equity, and the startup ecosystem.  Exposed as part of a broader push to make Europe “fit for the Digital Age,” the draft law aims to modernize how networks are built and regulated, from 5G towers in rural villages to fiber links between data centers.  I have to say it’s a bold vision of a more connected, innovative Europe, but…

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