Every week we present the latest startup, tech, and innovation news from around the world. Here are this week"e;s top stories. >>
Photo credit: Ethernity Chain
#1 Leo Messi Launches His Time Machine NFT Collection
Lionel Messi launches The Messi Time Machine Collection as Argentina advances in the World Cup. The soccer star is giving fans the opportunity to live the next-gen NFT experience in the “Messiverse” through the Ethernity chain.
Artist Victor Mosquera designed the exclusive NFTs to honor Messi’s historic career. Each series is inspired by an event in the soccer player’s lifetime. It starts in Germany in 2006 – the year the world first saw Messi’s greatness on an international stage at his World Cup debut – and ends with Messi in Qatar for 2022 the world cup.
Photo credit: VivaTech
#2 IRIS Raises a New €150M, Early-Stage Fund
IRIS Capital, a leading VC firm and VivaTech Alumni, announces the closing of its new €150M early-stage fund dedicated to Seed and Series A startups in tech across France, Germany, and other European markets.
The new fund is already being mobilized with lead investments in Spinergie, a Maritime Market Intelligence startup based in France, and Helu, a financial reporting and controlling company based in Austria.
Photo credit: Iris Capital
#3 Younited Becomes France’s 29th Unicorn
Younited raises €60M to become the 29th French unicorn. The fintech startup, specializing in credit for consumers, is now valued at €1.1B and has its eyes set on continuing development in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Germany.
We are so proud to have welcomed the VivaTech Alumni in both 2018 and 2019, and can"e;t wait to see their journey accelerate. With French President, Emmanuel Macron’s goal of reaching 100 French unicorns by 2030, it’s safe to say FrenchTech is on track.
Photo credit: Investopedia
#4 Brazil Passes Law to Legalize Crypto as Payment Method
Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies has passed a law that allows cryptocurrencies to be used as a method of payment. While the South-American country didn’t make crypto a legal tender, this law is a significant milestone for crypto in Brazil. The new crypto law will also require exchanges to make a clear distinction between company and user funds, in the hopes of avoiding another incident like the FTX collapse.
Photo credit: Einride
#5 Einride raises 00M in New Financing Round
Einride, an autonomous and electric truck company, raises $500M in equity and debt. The Stockholm-based startup launched in 2016 and expanded to Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg just in 2022. They are looking to expand into new global markets with the new financing, with their eyes set on the US.
One operator can oversee two of Einride’s cabless self-driving cargo trucks at a time, decreasing the costs and efficiencies of transport for companies. We got to experience this VivaTech Alumni’s zero-emission freight mobility tech in 2021.
That’s it for this time. We’ll see you in a week for the next roundup!
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