With 1M€ from Elaia Partners, Sensorly launches its new mobile app and website
Independent, crowdsourced mobile coverage maps makes the pulse of any geek speed up. Sensorly has tackled this challenge by creating an app that seamlessly, and in the background, records your location, your network strength, and sends it anonymized to the gigantic database that Sensorly has created out of all that data. Why do consumers install […]
Intro’s, investment sweetspots, NDAs (or not): How to pitch me
I consider myself really fortunate to work as a VC. It feeds my ego to think I’m smart, but the truth is that my smarts come mainly from exposure in high volumes to truly smart people, i.e. you, the entrepreneurs. My purported wisdom derives mainly from the catbird seat my job affords me to witness […]
Youboox raises €1.1 Million led by Atlas Editions to become the Spotify of eBooks
On the back of raising funds via media-for-equity fund 5M Ventures earlier this year, Youboox have raised €1.1 Million from Atlas Editions, according to Frenchweb. Founded by Vincent Daubry, Helen Merillion & Fabien Sauleman, Youboox’s goal has been to provide an alternative way for casual book-readers to consume eBooks, namely through a freemium model similar to Spotify. The […]
Here we go: Criteo files its IPO, could be trading as early as October
Criteo has filed its public IPO documents with the SEC, meaning the IPO could be no more than a month away. The announcement, first picked up by AllThingsD’s Peter Kafka, comes as no surprise – the IPO has been long awaited, and with the company’s acquisition of mobile adTech company AD-X in July, it was […]
On the back of a successful first fund, Serena Capital announces a second €100 Million fund
Serena Capital has announced this week that it has closed its second fund at 100 Million €, which is plans to invest in 15-18 companies with investment ranges between €4-8 Million. Having recently invested with its first fund in Sequans Communications, which IPO-ed on the NYSE in 2011, as well as in industry leaders like […]
Vivendi’s SFR spinoff & company restructure announcement fails to inspire shareholders.
In the past weeks the European Telco industry hasn’t been short of big news. After Vodafone Group Plc. agreed to sell its U.S. wireless business, and Microsoft Corp acquired Nokia’s Devices and Services division, the long-expected overhaul of Vivendi’s structure has taken a further step towards a more competitive group. Vivendi will divest in SFR […]
Breaking: Talent management solution TalentSoft raises €15 Million from Highland Capital Partners
French startup Talentsoft will announce this week a €15 Million round of funding from Highland Capital Partners, according to l’Opinion’s Hugo Sedouramane (Update: article here in French). Founded in 2007, the talent management solution has already raised €4 Million from Seventure Partners, Alto Invest & others, and opened an office earlier this year in Benelux. Talentsoft already […]
Google launches a price comparison service for car insurance in France
In Mountain View, Google launched on Monday a price comparison service for insurances in France. No spectacular press release this time, on the contrary the website is currently in beta. To access it, you need to enter that url or to enter the right keywords on Google. For now, users can get price comparisons for only […]
Carla Bruni in hot water over 400K€ in presidential funds spent on a single web site
Since the end of Nicolas Sarkozy’s presidency last year, he’s been in hot water over a variety of accusations regarding use of government funds, corruption, and all the usual attacks that come from opposing parties. In France, Presidents can not be tried during their presidency – this same rule once led a former consul named […]
Vivendi off-loading 85% of its stake in Activision
Vivendi announced today that it would be selling 85% of its stake in Activision at a 10% discount back to the videogame giant and its management. It’s thought that the move is to help Vivendi generate the cash it needs to pay down its debts, refocus its business on other core entertainment activities, and stay […]