VC Angle Weekly Briefing #24: Bending Spoons Raises $710M at $11B Valuation While Germany and the Netherlands Make New Heavy Investments
VC Angle Weekly Update #24
Hey - welcome to the twenty-fourth edition of VC Angle Weekly Updates! As always, we're keeping tabs on what actually matters across 🇪🇺 European tech. If something broke the news this week and it's worth your time, it's probably below. Scroll on for the deals, roles, reads, and events you'll want on your radar.
In This Edition:
Bending Spoons raises again + acquires AOL
Monzo CEO steps down
New big investments from Germany and the Netherlands
Spray and pray proves to be superior to focused portfolios?
📰 What Happened This Week
Milan-based Bending Spoons raised $710 million at an $11 billion pre-money valuation, led by accounts advised T. Rowe Price. The company also secured a $2.8 billion debt package. Valuation jumped from $2.55 billion in February 2024—a 4.3x increase in under a year.
Bending Spoons operates a fascinating PE-style rollup model: acquire struggling tech brands, overhaul technology, optimize monetization, and hold forever. Portfolio includes WeTransfer, Evernote, Vimeo (pending), AOL (announced day before raise), Meetup, and StreamYard.
Combined reach: 300 million monthly active users, 10 million paying customers including most Fortune 500 companies. Capital funds further acquisitions and AI development. The company is viewed as a potential US IPO candidate.
Germany launches €18B High-Tech Agenda targeting six key technologies
Germany unveiled an €18 billion strategy to achieve leadership in AI, quantum technologies, microelectronics, biotechnology, nuclear fusion, and climate-neutral transport by 2029. Chancellor Friedrich Merz framed it as existential: preventing the US and China from “determining the technological future on their own.”
The approach is milestone-driven rather than grant-based. For startups, the plan doubles the WIN Initiative to €25 billion for VC investment and proposes a state-backed Germany Fund. Government commits as “anchor customer” for deep tech commercialization.
TS Anil is leaving the top role he took from cofounder Tom Blomfield in 2020. Monzo now counts more than 13 million customers and £16.6 billion in deposits.
He will be succeeded by Diana Layfield, a former Google executive who spent nearly a decade at the company. Leadership change comes as Monzo prepares for a potential IPO.
Reports suggest a listing could value Monzo at up to £6 billion, though some analysts question that figure. The handover is framed as planned succession to keep momentum.
Netherlands launches ChipNL Competence Centre to boost semiconductor sector
The ChipNL Competence Centre launched in Eindhoven to strengthen Dutch semiconductor innovation. Partners include Brainport Development, ChipTech Twente, imec the Netherlands, TNO, and Eindhoven University of Technology. Funding comes from the European Union and Netherlands Enterprise Agency.
The Centre provides access to European pilot lines for testing chip solutions, implements talent programs, and offers financing support. Focus areas: semiconductor manufacturing equipment, chip design for automotive and medical technology, heterogeneous integration for AI and 5G systems, and photonics and quantum technology.
“By connecting companies, knowledge institutions and regions, we create better access to talent, facilities and funding,”
said Vincent Karremans, Minister of Economic Affairs.
🔍 Reads & Reports
European tech earnings beat expectations in Q3, with the MSCI Europe Technology index delivering 16% EPS growth—well above pre-season expectations of 4.2%. Tech outperformed all sectors including communication services, industrials, and financials.
AI investment is driving the outperformance. ASML saw orders for sophisticated chipmaking machines jump as AI infrastructure spending accelerated. Dutch rival BE Semiconductor also reported a surge in orders and profit, buoyed by AI-related demand from Asia.
Despite supply chain disruption and US-China tensions, AI is positioned as a “significant tailwind” for 2026 and beyond, with analysts revising estimates higher. Nokia and Ericsson beat expectations driven by AI and cloud clients.
Diversified seed portfolios beat concentrated bets in Equidam simulations
A modeled $50 million seed fund generates higher fund-level MOIC (multiple on invested capital) when it spreads $40 million across 100 checks of $0.4 million rather than 20 checks of $2 million. The diversified portfolio posts a mean MOIC of 2.6x and a median of 2.5x, compared with 2.1x and 1.9x for the concentrated approach. Capital preservation is also more reliable. The probability of returning at least 1x is 99.7% for diversification versus 81.9% for concentration.
The setup assumes post-dilution ownership of 2.46% for the diversified portfolio and 10% for the concentrated one. Outcomes are simulated using a discrete power-law exit mix often cited in VC studies. The metric is MOIC at the fund level with initial checks only.
The edge for concentration appears only in the extreme right tail. Top 5% outcomes are slightly higher for concentrated funds. For most managers, the model implies that wider portfolios deliver more consistent results.
💶 Where Funds Went (Or Will Go)
Startups
🇸🇪 Cellcolabs $12M -> industrial-scale MSC production
🇪🇸 Adaptam Therapeutics €3M -> cancer immunotherapies
🇬🇧 Steven.com eight‑figure round -> creator platform by Steven Bartlett at €365M valuation, London
🇸🇪 Grasp $7M Series A -> AI to automate IB/consulting tasks
🇩🇰 Formalize €30M Series B -> compliance solutions across Europe
🇧🇪 AmphiStar €2.5M (SPRIND) -> circular biosurfactants
🇵🇱🇺🇸 SalesPatriot $5M -> defence procurement modernisation + EU expansion
🇳🇱 Dott $70M Series B extension -> e‑bike expansion (round now $150M total)
🇫🇷 Primaa €7M -> AI software for histology/cancer pathology
🇫🇷 FAKTUS €56M -> neobank for construction SMEs (9M equity, up to 47M debt)
🇸🇪 Legora $150M Series C -> legaltech platform
🇩🇪 Q.ANT undisclosed add‑on (total funding $80M) -> photonic quantum tech
🇧🇬 EnduroSat $104M -> advanced small satellites
🇫🇷 Altrove $10M -> AI‑designed alternatives to critical materials
🇮🇹 Bending Spoons $710M -> growth capital following AOL deal
🇫🇮 Nokia $1B strategic investment -> AI partnership with Nvidia
🤝 M&A
🇸🇪 Nordic Capital → 🇬🇧 BMLL → acquisition alongside management; Optiver remains minority shareholder
🇩🇰 Evertrace → 🇩🇪 Morphais → acqui-hire for VC sourcing AI
🇮🇹 Bending Spoons → 🇺🇸 AOL → revival/scale play by acquisitive software group
🇳🇱 Main Capital → 🇫🇷 Shippingbo → growth investment to accelerate next phase
Investors
🇺🇸 Sequoia Capital launched two early‑stage funds with European focus
🇳🇱 Builders → €3M top‑up → venture studio to launch next‑gen AI companies
💼 Open Roles
Expansion → Visiting Analyst in Paris, France. Apply here.
Pléiade Venture → Investment Manager in Paris, France. Apply here.
OneRagtime → Analyst in Paris, France. Apply here.
Curiosity VC → VC Principal in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Apply here.
Norrsken Launcher → Investment Analyst in Stockholm, Sweden. Apply here.
👋 That’s a wrap for this week.
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