The battle forming in the European fintech scene

It’s no secret: Venture capitalists have grown bullish about Europe. 

In the first quarter of the year, startups in the region raised about $21.4 billion, up 130% compared to the amount raised in the same period a year prior, according to data from Crunchbase. For comparison, funding to startups globally grew 94% in the same time frame.

On Tuesday, another startup added to Europe’s venture pile. As investors pile into Europe, Mollie, an Amsterdam-based fintech startup, raised $800 million in funding that values it at $6.5 billion. Blackstone Growth led the round and was joined by investors including EQT Growth, General Atlantic, HMI Capital, Alkeon Capital, and TCV.

The round is worth noting because investors seem to especially see promise in the region’s digital finance-related startups: Buy-now-pay-later fintech, Klarna is now the most valuable startup in Europe with a valuation of $45.6 billion, while Checkout.com takes home silver with a $15 billion price tag, per CBInsights. And while third place currently goes to Celonis, a software company valued at $11 billion, neo-bank operator Revolut is threatening to push the company down a notch with Bloomberg reporting that it plans to raise funding at a $20 billion valuation.

And while the company is not Europe-based, in a nod to the promise it sees in the region, payments giant Stripe has heavily emphasized its push into Europe as part of its growth strategy: “We’re investing a ton more in Europe this year, particularly in Ireland,” John Collison, co-founder of Stripe, said in a statement back in March.

So will Mollie and Stripe end up going head-to-head? In an interview with CNBC, Mollie CEO Shane Happach says the company is differentiated in the customers it targets from players like Adyen and Checkout.com, saying the company is focused on smaller businesses in Europe. But it’s worth noting that Stripe had its start, at least stateside, not with the giants, but by selling developers within startups and tech companies. To that point, Mollie executives have said it is trying to win by creating a product that is more tailored to the local population. 

In short, while Stripe may be all the rage in Silicon Valley, there are no shortage of companies looking to compete even against its glittering reputation.

SOHO HOUSE IPO: The company behind the Soho House membership clubs has filed for an IPO in New York. Membership Collective Group, which claims about 119,000 members, has never been profitable in its 25-year history. And the pandemic left its mark on the company: In the fiscal year ending Jan. 2021, revenue fell from $642 million to $384.4 million while losses grew 79% to $228.5 million.

Lucinda Shen
Twitter: @shenlucinda
Email: lucinda.shen@fortune.com

VENTURE DEALS

- Transmit Security, a Tel Aviv-based passwordless authentication company, raised $543 million in Series A funding, valuing it at $2.2 billion. Insight Partners and General Atlantic led the round and was joined by investors including Cyberstarts, Geodesic, SYN Ventures, Vintage, and Artisanal Ventures. 

- Insilico Medicine, a Hong Kong-based company using A.I. to discover medicines, raised $255 million in Series C funding. Warburg Pincus led the round and was joined by investors including Qiming Venture Partners, Pavilion Capital, Eight Roads Ventures, Lilly Asia Ventures, Sinovation Ventures, BOLD Capital Partners, and Formic Ventures.

- Forto, a Berlin-based supply chain solution, raised $240 million valuing it at $1.2 billion. SoftBank's Vision Fund 2 led the round and was joined by investors including Citi Ventures and G Squared, and was joined by investors including Northzone, Inven Capital, Cherry Ventures, and Unbound.

- G2, a Chicago-based software marketplace, raised $157 million in Series D funding. Permira growth fund, Emergence, Accel, IVP, Hubspot Ventures and Salesforce Ventures invested.

- GoStudent, an Austria-based online tutoring platform, raised €205 million ($244 million) in Series C funding. DST Global led the round and was joined by investors including SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Tencent, Dragoneer, Coatue, Left Lane Capital, and DN Capital.

- Stronghold Digital Mining, a Pennsylvania-based cryptocurrency mining company, raised $105 million. in funding. Investors included MG Capital and Greg Beard.

- CommerceIQ, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based consumer brands analysis company, raised $60 million in Series C funding. Insight Partners led the round and was joined by investors including Trinity Ventures, Shasta Ventures, and Madrona Venture Group. 

- Songtradr, a Los Angeles-based music licensing marketplace, raised $50 million in Series D funding. Investors included Regal, Aware Super, Perennial, Argo Greencape, and CEO of Wisetech Global, Richard White.

- Lenz Therapeutics, a San Diego, Calfi.-based-based biopharmaceutical company focused on presbyopia, raised $47 million in Series A funding. Investors included Versant Ventures and RA Capital Management.

- Cleerly, a New York-based heart disease tech maker, raised $43 million in Series B funding. Vensana Capital led the round and was joined by investors including LRVHealth, New Leaf Venture Partners, DigiTx Partners, the American College of Cardiology, and Cigna Ventures.

- DataRails, an Israel-based maker of software for small-to-medium-sized business accounting, raised $25 million in extended Series A funding. Investors included Zeev Ventures, Vertex Ventures Israel, Innovation Endeavors and Vintage Investment Partners.

- Aeroseal, a Dayton, Oh.-based climate tech company, raised $22 million in Series A funding. Breakthrough Energy Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including Energy Impact Partners and Building Ventures.

- Equinom, an Israel-based plant nutrition company, raised $20 million in Series C funding. Phoenix led the round and was joined by investors including Fortissimo, BASF Venture Capital, Trendlines, and Maverick. 

- MAJORITY, a Houston-based banking service for migrants, raised $19 million in seed funding. Valar

Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including Avid Ventures and Heartcore Capital.

- Via, a San Francisco Bay Area-based mobile commerce startup raised $15 million in Series A funding led by Footwork.

- Ubco, a New Zealand-based electric utility bike startup, raised $10 million. Seven Peak Ventures, Nuance Capital and TPK Holdings invested.

- SoleSavy, a Canada-based community for sneaker lovers, raised $12.5 million in Series A funding. Bedrock Capital led the round and was joined by investors including Dapper Labs’ CEO Roham Gharegozlou, Diplo, Bessemer Ventures, and Turner Novak’s Banana Capital.

- WaitWhat, a New York City-based podcasting and digital production company, raised $12 million. Raga Partners led the round and was joined by investors including Emerson Collective, Lupa Systems, Capital One Ventures, Maywic Select Investments, GingerBread Capital, Burda Principal Investments, Cue Ball Capital, and Reid Hoffman.

- Modulous, a British design and construction startup looking to speed up the homebuilding process, raised £5 million ($7 million). Investors include Blackhorn Ventures, CEMEX Ventures and GroundBreak Ventures.

- Crediverso, an Los Angeles-based fintech focused on the Hispanic population, raised $3.1 million in seed funding. Investors included Bessemer Venture Partners, Act One Ventures, Point 72 Ventures, and Clocktower Ventures.

- Qwoted, a New York City-based platform for journalists and sources, raised $3 million in seed funding. Third Prime led the round and was joined by investors including Gaingels, Prosek Venture Partners, and Vested.

PRIVATE EQUITY

- A consortium of investors including DCP Capital and Ocean Link agreed to take 51job, a Chinese human resources company, private in a deal valuing it at $5.7 billion.

- Unifrax, backed by Clearlake Capital Group, agreed to acquire Lydall (NYSE: LDL), a Manchester, Conn.-based specialty filtration materials maker, for about $1.3 billion.

- Lone Star Global is looking to takeover Senior, U.K.-based aircraft parts supplier, for 838.8 million pounds ($1.2 billion).

- Blackstone committed $250 million toward launching a new Cambridge Mass.-based company focused on cancers using CAR T-cell therapy company alongside Intellia Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NTLA) and Cellex Cell Professionals GmbH. The company will acquire Cellex’s subsidiary GEMoaB.

Insight Partners led a $200 million investment in Saks OFF 5TH’s ecommerce business, valuing the company at approximately $1 billion. 

LLR Partners invested $70 million in Vehicle Tracking Solutions, a Commack, N.Y.-based fleet organization company. 

- American Construction Source, backed by Angeles Equity Partners and Clearlake Capital Group, acquired Tanco Lumber, a lumber business in Branson West and Forsyth, Mo. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Organon acquired Alydia Health, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based maker of medical devices, from investors including The Global Health Investment Fund. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Alliance Technical Group, backed by Align Capital Partners, acquired Horizon Air Measurement Services, a Camarillo, Calif.-based source emission testing services company. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- Godspeed Capital Management acquired Austin Brockenbrough & Associates, an architecture, engineering, and surveying company. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- H.I.G. Capital invested in Enseo, a Plano, Tx.-based customer management software maker. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

- GovExec, backed by Growth Catalyst Partners, acquiredMilitary Periscope and Government Contracting Institute, two government contractors. Financial terms weren't disclosed. 

EXITS

- J.P. Morgan Asset Management acquired Campbell Global, a Portland, Or.-based timberland management company, from BrightSphere Investment Group. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

OTHERS

- Axiata Group in Malaysia and Telenor in Norway plan to merge their Malaysia-based mobile operations, valuing it at $15 billion.

- Amazon.com acquired the option to buy 20% of Plus, a Sequoia Capital China-backed autonomous truck company, valued at about 3.3 billion, per Bloomberg.

- Uber agreed to buy the 47% stake it doesn’t already own of Cornershop, a Chilean online grocer, for about $1.4 billion.

IPOS

- Full Truck Alliance, a New York-based freight platform, raised $1.6 billion in an IPO of 82.5 million ADSs priced at $19 apiece. SoftBank and Sequoia back the firm.

- SentinelOne, a Mountain View, Calif.-based cybersecurity startup, plans to raise $928 million in an IPO of 32 million shares priced between $26 to $29 apiece. Investors include Insight Venture Partners, Tiger Global, and Third Point Ventures.

- LegalZoom.com, a Glendale, Calif,.-based provider of tech for creating legal documents, now plans to raise about $487 million in an IPO of 19.1 million shares priced between $24 to $27 apiece. Investors including Francisco Partners backs the firm.

- Xometry, a Rockville, Md.-based marketplace for on-demand manufacturing, plans to raise $275 million in an offering of 6.9 million shares priced between $38 to $42. Investors include Highland Capital Partners, T. Rowe Price Associates, and Foundry Group.

- F45 Training, an Austin-based fitness franchise, filed to raise $100 million. Mark Wahlberg, the actor, backs the firm.

- GH Research, a Ireland-based company developing treatments for depression, says it plans to raise $125 million in an offering of 8.3 million shares priced between $14 to $16. BVF Partners backs the firm.

- Blend Labs, a San Francisco-based mortgage and lending tech company, filed for an IPO. Coatue, Formation8, and General Atlantic back the firm.

- Spark Education, a Chinese K-12 online tutoring platform, filed to raise $100 million. Sequoia Capital China, GGV, and IDG back the firm.

- Alpha Teknova, a Hollister, Calif.-based maker of materials for biopharmaceutical applications, now plans to raise $75 million in an IPO of 5 million shares priced between  $14 to $16. Telegraph Hill Partners backs the firm.

SPAC

- Quanergy, a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Lidar company, will go public via merger with CITIC Capital Acquisition, a SPAC. A deal values the company at $1.4 billion.

F+FS

- TPG, the Fort Worth, Tx.-based private market investor, is targeting $5 billion for its new Rise Climate Fund, per the WSJ.