Investment News – March 2021

Investment News – March 2021 As described in our latest blog post, 2020 was a successful year for European Venture Capital (VC), and our portfolio companies are performing well. Cognism, Bolt, and Eat Just received significant funding from strong partners, while Beekeeper acquired the workflow platform provider Lua and launches their startup accelerator. News from the world of alternative investments True or false? 5 Myths about alternatives Does the term ‘alternative investment’ just include hedge funds and private equity? Is the usually higher illiquidity of alternatives necessarily bad for investors? Do alternatives increase the investment risk? Most market observers agree that alternative investments have become an essential portfolio component. Nevertheless, there are still numerous myths surrounding alternatives. In this March 2021 blog post, we debunk five myths about alternative investments. Retrospective on European Venture Capital in 2020 In summary, Venture Capital (VC) had a good year in Europe in 2020. Despite a slow first quarter due to COVID-19, many investors quickly pivoted to industries that were pandemic-proof and to new opportunities induced by the COVID-19 crisis. The pandemic also led many existing and non-traditional investors to invest more money with VC firms. In most places, VC firms and other stakeholders had little difficulty adjusting to remote working conditions. Powerful technologies allowed firms to continue to deliver capital to growth-ready companies. To learn more about the developments in VC in 2020, read our latest blog post. Deal News: How some of our portfolio companies are doing AI startup Cognism raises 12 million USD

The London-based AI startup Cognism is “on a mission to drive the next evolution of sales and marketing technology.” In the five years since it was founded, Cognism has grown to become a leading B2B data provider in Europe. According to a press release by Cognism, the AI company has now raised 12 million USD in a funding round led by AXA Venture Partners. Contact us now to learn more about our Venture Capital opportunities. Bolt received strategic funding to expand business in emerging markets

The Estonian transportation network company Bolt – mostly known as an Uber competitor – is building an on-demand network of services to transport people, food, and other items in cars, scooters, or bikes across Europe and Africa. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a division of the World Bank, is investing 20 million EUR in Bolt to open more services across Eastern Europe and Africa. The tech news platform “Techcrunch” writes that “funding from the IFC is a significant endorsement of a company.” Bolt is part of our Next-Gen (Pre-IPO) Winners portfolio. At Stableton, we aim to provide access to exclusive late-stage venture and pre-IPO deals. Find out more about investing in the leading companies before they go public. Beekeeper acquires workflow platform Lua and launches an accelerator program

The Zurich-based startup Beekeeper acquires Lua (originally named Whispr), a platform connecting frontline teams and streamlining workflows. As announced in the Beekeeper blog, Beekeeper and Lua will use their combined expertise to digitize manual, paper-based processes. Frontline teams worldwide will benefit from access to a collaboration platform, allowing them to orchestrate their work in an agile way. The acquisition of Lua is not the only good news from Beekeeper this month: after successfully collaborating with multiple startups, Beekeeper has now launched an official accelerator program. “The key for us is: who solves problems for our customer base in an innovative way and who offers real added value to our customers,” Beekeeper CEO Flavio Pfaffhauser is quoted in an article about the new accelerator program; written by the startup platform “Startupticker.” Eat Just raised $200 million in new financing as consumer demand surges for alternative proteins

Plant-based food startup Eat Just Inc. raised $200 million in new financing as consumer demand surges for alternative proteins. The round was led by Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund and includes co-investors such as Charlesbank Capital Partners and Vulcan Capital. Furthermore, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund and Charlesbank Capital will join the company’s board. Eat Just is part of our Next-Gen (Pre-IPO) Winners portfolio. At Stableton, we aim to provide access to exclusive late-stage venture and pre-IPO deals. Find out more about investing in the leading companies before they go public.