These were the 10 biggest European tech stories this week

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These were the 10 biggest European tech stories this week

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This week, Tech.eu tracked 14 technology M&A transactions and 65 tech funding deals totaling €200 million (about $211 million) in Europe, Turkey and Israel.

Here’s an overview of the 10 biggest European tech news items for this week:

1) Apple has acquired Tel Aviv, Israel-based Realface, a machine learning startup whose facial recognition technology can be used to authenticate users.

2) Shares in Rocket Internet fell as much as 14 percent on Thursday after major investor Kinnevik sold half its stake in the German e-commerce company as the two increasingly becoming competitors.

3) The British hardware giant ARM has acquired the Swedish company Mistbase, which develops digital wireless communications solutions for IoT. The purchase price of the deal was not disclosed.

4) Berlin-based venture capital firm Project A has closed its second fund of €140 million with a follow up vehicle of €40 million expected to close soon.

5) Magic Leap, the augmented reality startup that has raised $1.4 billion in funding, has acquired the 3D division of Dacuda, a computer vision startup based out of Zurich.

6) Monzo, one of a number of so-called “challenger” banks in the UK aiming to re-invent the current account, has closed a new funding round, raising £19.5 million from Thrive Capital, Passion Capital and Orange Digital Ventures, the venture arm of telco Orange.

7) MakieLab, a London-based startup that 3D printed and sold custom dolls, has shuttered, with a partial exit to Disney.

8) The UK’s POD Point, a provider of electric car charging stations, is raising £9 million in fresh funding to fund its expansion across Europe. The funding is a mix of VC investment and equity crowdfunding.

9) Financial services giant Deutsche Börse Group has joined the €131.5 million Digital Growth Fund I from Munich-based Digital+ Partners.

10) Israeli VAT recovery company VATBox has raised $20 million from Target Global Fund, existing investor Viola Private Equity and other private investors. The company plans to use the new funding to expand internationally.

Bonus link: A record €37 billion in European VC-backed exits in 2016. Is it enough? (Dealroom)

This post originally appeared on Tech.eu. 

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via VentureBeat http://venturebeat.com

February 24, 2017 at 05:46PM