• GERMANY – HTGF and New Commercial Room invest in SciEngines

High-Tech Gründerfonds and New Commercial Room have invested an undisclosed sum in software business SciEngine

• FRANCE – Sofinnova Partners leads EUR 3.3m investment in Celsius

Sofinnova Partners, a leading European venture capital firm, announced that it has invested EUR2.2 million in Celsius X VI II, a French-Swiss firm developing unique mobile phones based on high complexity mechanics. Sofinnova’s investment is joined by AGF Private Equity’s EUR500,000 and a further EUR600,000 from business angels bringing the total funding to EUR3.3 million. Jean Schmitt, Managing Partner at Sofinnova Partners will also join the Celsius X VI II management board.

• GERMANY – Hasso Plattner Ventures co-invests in RIB Software

Venture firm Hasso Plattner Ventures and listed software company SAP AG have invested in software provider RIB Software AG

• SWEDEN – FlatFrog gains €12.5M in funding

Financial investor Invus and strategic backer Promethan have co-led a financing round for technology business FlatFrog Labratories, in which existing investor Sunstone Capital also participated. ( Press release )

• GERMANY – Triangle and ERP invest EUR 2.5m in TakWak

Triangle Venture Capital and ERP Startfonds have invested in TakWak, a spinout from FG Microtec, in a funding round worth EUR 2.5m

• UK – YFM invests £120,000 into New Net Technologies

YFM, alongside management, has invested £120,000 into software company New Net Technologies in a second round of financing for the business

• GERMANY – Acton Capital Partners acquires stake in mytheresa

Acton Capital Partners has acquired a minority stake in luxury online retailer mytheresa through an undisclosed investment

• UK – Bestport in £4.5m round for Intela

Bestport Ventures has led an investment in internet marketing company Intela, committing a little over £3m in a round totalling £4

• GERMANY – Seventure and DuMont invest EUR 2m in Tradoria

Seventure Partners and DuMont Venture have invested EUR 2m in e-commerce solutions company Tradoria, in a series-B funding round

• FRANCE – Alven invests EUR 500,000 in QuelleEnergie

Alven Capital has invested EUR 500,000 in online energy consultancy QuelleEnergie, alongside business angels who have supported the company since its formation in 2008

• GERMANY – HTGF provides seed funding for Raumfeld

High-Tech Gründerfonds has provided seed funding for hi-fi systems maker Raumfeld GmbH

• FRANCE – EdRIP invests EUR 2.5m in Smile

Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners has backed Smile, an open source solutions company, with EUR 2.5m

• FRANCE – Aster Capital receives EUR 70m for maiden fund

Alstom and Schneider Electric, the electricity companies, are launching a joint venture capital fund, Aster Capital, targeting start-up company in the energy and environmental sector

• GERMANY – Earlybird leads EUR 3m round for EBS Technology

Earlybird has led a EUR 3m investment in medical device business EBS Technology GmbH, together with BC Brandenburg Capital

• FRANCE – I-Source supports eYeka

I-Source has invested an undisclosed amount into eYeka, a company which a provides online video and image service applications

• FRANCE – I-Source invests EUR 2m in Mobigard

I-Source, alongside Direct Energie and Bouygues Telecom Initiatives, has provided software business Mobigard with a EUR 2m investment

• UK – The Aspire Fund invests in TalentPuzzle

Capital for Enterprise’s The Aspire Fund has invested an undisclosed amount into TalentPuzzle, an online recruitment platform, alongside Venrex Investment Managemnet and two angel investors

• FRANCE – Highland CP and Endeavour provide Spartoo with EUR 12m

Highland Capital Partners and Endeavour Vision have led a EUR 12m Series-B round of financing of Online shoe distributor Spartoo

• GERMANY – JCMB and IBB back online learning portal sofatutor

JCMB Beteiligungs and IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft have invested an undisclosed sum in online learning portal sofatutor

• FINLAND – Inventure and Nexit in EUR 3m round for Rightware

Venture investors Inventure and Nexit Ventures have co-led a EUR 3m financing round for software company Rightware

• UK – Maven’s Capital for Enterprise invests £650,000 into Qire

Maven Capital Partners, through its Capital for Enterprise Fund, has invested £650,000 into Qire, a provider of intelligent voice messaging solutions

• DENMARK – ViaVenture backs Adform

Danish venture fund Via Venture Partners has invested in online marketing platform provider Adform

• UK – WHEB Ventures invests in PassivSystems

WHEB Ventures has invested an undisclosed amount into home energy management company PassivSystems

• SPAIN – Debaeque takes 10% in BuyVip

Venture firm Debaeque has invested an undisclosed sum in online private buyers club BuyVip, acquiring a 10% stake in the business

• UK – Bridges leads £1m round for Call Britannia

Bridges Ventures, via its Social Entrepeneurs Fund, has led a £1m investment in customer contact centre business Call Britannia, alongside Big Issue Invest, management and the government’s Future Jobs Fund

• GERMANY – Balderton Capital leads EUR 5m wooga funding

Balderton Capital has led a EUR 5m investment in social gaming company wooga

• Meidlinger Partners holds $15m first close of cleantech fund

Meidlinger Partners has reached a first closing of its cleantech fund, Meidlinger Partners Sustainable Investments, on $15m

• UK – NorthStar leads £800,000 Cogenta funding

NorthStar Equity Investors (NSEI) has led an £800,000 investment into software company Cogenta Systems, alongside Hotspur Capital Partners

• UK – Orkos Capital et al. invest EUR 9m into Muzicall

Orkos Capital, Veddis Ventures and GP Bullhound have invested EUR 9m into ringback tone service provider Muzicall, alongside existing backers BlueRun Ventures and Thule Investments

• UK – Octopus launches £25m Titan VCT 4 fund

Octopus Investments has announced the launch of Octopus Titan VCT 4, a new vehicle designed to invest in early stage UK companies with a target of £25m

• ROMANIA – 3TS Capital Partners back InternetCorp

3TS Capital Partners has acquired a minority stake in Romanian online media company InternetCorp

• UK – Atlas et al invest $20m into picoChip

Atlas Venture, Highland Capital Partners, Pond Venture Partners and Scottish Equity Partners have invested $20m into wireless infrastructure company picoChip, alongside Rothschild, AT&T, Intel and Samsung, in a Series E funding round

• SWEDEN – Chalmers back NemaLabs with further SEK 5m

Chalmers Innovation Seed Fund is backing software business Nema Labs with SEK 5m in a funding round raising a total of SEK 10m for the company’s internationalisation

• UK – ePlanet invests over £1m into eCommera

ePlanet Ventures has invested in e-commerce service provider eCommera in a deal valued at £1m.

• AUSTRIA – Pontis leads $3.5m round for Xendex

Pontis Capital and a group of business angels have invested in games developer Xendex, in a financing round worth $3.5M

• UK – DN Capital invests in Apsmart

DN Capital has invested an undisclosed amount into smartphone company Apsmart

• GERMANY – HTFG and MAZ invest in MobileBits

High-Tech Gründerfonds and Maz level one have invested an undisclosed sum in software company MobileBits

• UK – Dawn Capital invests in series A round for Manic Monkey

Dawn Capital has invested an undisclosed amount into 3D animation specialist Manic Monkey in a series-A round of financing

• GERMANY – Crédit Agricole et al. invest in Upside Shopping

Crédit Agricole (CA) Private Equity has participated in an undisclosed financing round for internet business Upside Shopping, alongside seed investors Rocket Internet GmbH and existing backers

• UK – Beringea invests £1m into TH_NK

Beringea, via its ProVen VCT fund, has made a £1m investment into digital agency TH_NK

• UK – Entrepreneurs launch new venture fund

A syndicate of technology entrepreneurs have launched a new London-based venture fund, The Founders Club, open only to investors that are founders or chief executives of start up companies

This is a post I recently wrote for TechCrunch Europe. They did some major editing on it.

Rome-based iWikiPhone, a social network for iPhone users where they can discover, share and discuss the best apps, has closed a €250k round of funding. The money comes from a number of private investors and also from Egolab, a Rome based company specializing in online media. Egolab has provided 100k of funding by way of services and a cash investment in return for 20% equity in the company.
With 100,000 apps available from the iPhone App store, finding the good ones is becoming increasingly difficult. iWikiPhone’s answer is that the best way to discover the most interesting and relevant apps for Apple’s smartphone is through recommendations from friends and from knowing which apps your friends are actually using.
The most interesting part, however, is that they also plan to crowdsource ideas for new iPhone apps from the iWikiPhone community. Users will be able to suggest apps and make money. The “idea owner” will be paid $500 and a share of revenue generated through selling the app in the iPhone App Store, which of course is how iWikiPhone plans to make money too.

Luca Di Persio, one of the founding partners of Egolab, was immediately enticed by the concept: “…among the most important things that characterizes today’s online environment is collaboration, and with that, the ability to overcome traditional barriers of communication by bringing together those who have the ideas and those who can execute these ideas”, says Di Persio.

iWikiPhone was founded in June this year by the former CTO of start-up dooyoo.com, Luca Di Cesare, 40. Since leaving Dooyoo, Luca has worked as a DoubleClick consultant at Google, and after reading Wikinomics he was inspired to launch iWikiPhone.

I’ve embedded a video below that explains how the service works.

IT-focused vehicle Notion Capital has led an undisclosed investment into mobile voice solutions provider Cellcrypt, alongside existing investors.

Cellcrypt provides end-to-end, real-time encryption to protect conversations from being compromised without the need for specialised equipment or expensive new infrastructure. Their product, available for Windows Mobile and Nokia phones, is now supporting Blackberries too.
Notion Capital, the investment firm set up by founders and senior executives from successful internet security company MessageLabs which was sold to Symantec in 2008 for $695M, took part in the round alongside former investors. The additional funding will be used to further expand Cellcrypt’s international presence, following the recent opening of its US office.

“We are really excited to invest in Cellcrypt, as a company with ground-breaking technology and a compelling proposition in a currently under-served market” said Stephen Chandler, partner at Notion Capital. “Traditionally, high security voice calling has only been available using specialised military-specification equipment, but Cellcrypt now makes this easily accessible to all with no impact on service performance.”
Stephen Chandler, a founding partner at Notion Capital and former President, EMEA and CFO at MessageLabs, will join the Cellcrypt Board.

Chandler continued, “Cellcrypt is ahead of the market in delivering unmatched voice call quality, international calling capability and high reliability across wireless networks, using standard devices and infrastructure. We believe that Cellcrypt is well placed to lead this fast growing market and that we have highly relevant skills and experience across the Notion team to help them to execute successfully.”

“Most governments and corporates now secure their email – voice is the last unsecured data service,” said Simon Bransfield-Garth, CEO at Cellcrypt. “Cellcrypt has demonstrated product leadership and this funding supports the company’s growth internationally from the Americas, across Europe to the Middle East and Asia. I am delighted to welcome Stephen to the Board of Cellcrypt and look forward to working closely with him and the other industry experts at Notion Capital to benefit from their unique combination of knowledge and experience in this sector.”

Wellington Partners invested €8 Millions in München-based Experteer, the leading european career services website listing jobs with a minimun salary of €60k.

Experteer CEO Christian Göttsch explains: “Experteer is an unrivaled career service for professionals and executives throughout Europe. What we offer includes clear added value in connection with professional and executive positions, discreet contact with executive search consultants and the Experteer Career Matching technology. Thanks to the new round of financing, we will now be able to further expand our leading role in this fast-growing market.”

The company was founded in 2006, it now covers 8 countries, 4.800 companies and lists more than 50.000 job offers. The investment, part of the Wellington Partners Ventures III Fund is expected to broaden Experteer’s international expansion.

Wellington General Partner Eric Archambeau notes: “Since our first investment in March 2007, the Experteer management team has impressed us with the way it smoothly and swiftly instituted its ambitious business plan. Within the space of only a few quarters, they have succeeded in convincing more than 850,000 members as well as over 4,800 headhunters. We are highly confident that they will now take their story to next stage and expand their market leadership in Europe and beyond.”

The guys over at Intruders TV have an excellent interview with SoundCloud founder Alexander Ljung, on how he raised €2.5 Millions. We covered the story recently, and here is the explanation.

Another round of investment for Newcaste-based startup Quick.tv which just raised another £335.000 to further develop its clickable video technology and market its product.
The company provides professional web video publishers the ability to inject interactivity into videos with a quick click, drag, and drop.

‘Online video has gone from being a consumer driven entertainment experience to a fundamental feature of any website. It’s now recognised by businesses across all sectors as an effective marketing tool.’ Nick Bell, founder and commercial director, says.

The fresh cash will mostly be used for a marketing campaign, in occasion of the new product launch.

The round was led by North Star Equity Investors which already backed Quick.tv in 2006 with proof of concept funding of £60,000 and again in 2007 with £500,000 from its Co-Investment Fund.

Update:We got information from Quick.tv that the round was closed on December 08.

High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) has invested EUR 500,000 into software prototyping company RapidRabb GmbH in a first round of financing.

The startup, a finalist at the Red Herring 100 Europe Award, provides an interesting product that gives business and developers the tools for rapid prototyping of software interfaces and easy-to-lear graphic specifications, early-stage testing and efficient communication.

RapidRabb was founded in 2008 by a young group of designers, developers and economists. It is based in Berlin, Germany.

The High-Tech Gruunderfonds invests venture capital in young and promising technology companies who turn scientific results into economic success, they have a volume of about 272 Milion Euros available. Investors of this Public Private Partnership are the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology of Germany, the KfW Bankengruppe, as well as the combinations BASF, Deutsche Telekom, Siemens, Robert Bosch, Daimler, and Carl Zeiss.