April 01, 2025

198. Europe Strikes Back, Biggest Fundraising Announcements in March, Elon Controls 60% of World’s Satellites, Alibaba Joins AI Race, xAI Buys X

1 hour 2 minutes

Welcome to a new type of episode of the Pursuit of Scrappiness podcast. A monthly analysis of topics we find relevant to highlight, discuss and share with you to help you become a scrappier and better version of yourself. We will be looking at events and developments in business, politics and technology from a European and particularly Baltic perspective.

On this episode we talk about:

Baltic funding news
Enefit Green going private
How Europe strikes back in space and rocket tech
Harry Stebbings’ new VC initiative
Trade wars & AI wars

1/3 Baltics' Biggest Fundraising Announcements

Walk15 secures €5M Series A at a €13M valuation, nearing 1 million users with its activity app.
Change Ventures invests €250K in Latvian energy startup EngyCell, leveraging old Tesla batteries for storage solutions.
Frankenberg Technologies raises €4M for defense tech, including mini-missiles to be tested in Ukraine.
Estonian fintech Cino lands €3.5M seed funding for its card-linking payment-splitting app.
Lithuanian startup Commody raises €0.5M pre-seed for NFT-enabled collectible car ownership.
Eesti Energia’s €1B buyout of Enefit Green shakes up the Baltic stock exchange.

2/3 Europe Strikes Back: Tech Scene Highlights

Harry Stebbings’ 20VC launches a €10M fund targeting founders under 25, backed by top European tech names.
Revolut’s valuation soars to $48B after a Schroder’s stake revaluation, a 1000x return from its 2016 crowdfunding.
Bolt acquires Danish taxi startup Vigo to enter Denmark’s regulated ride-hailing market.
Secondaries dominate 2024 exits (71%), offering liquidity to startup stakeholders.
EU set to fine Apple and Meta under the Digital Markets Act for competition and privacy violations.
German startup ISAR Aerospace tests a rocket in Norway, aiming to rival SpaceX with NATO backing.

3/3 Global & U.S. Highlights

Alibaba invests $50B in an AI model for devices like iPhones and BMWs, intensifying the global AI race.
U.S. job-switching yields only a 4.8% wage increase vs. 4.6% for stayers, signaling a shift in career strategies.
OpenAI’s $40B SoftBank investment hinges on its for-profit transition, challenged by Elon Musk’s lawsuit.
XAI acquires X (Twitter) for $33B, integrating AI with social media amid a $80B valuation for XAI.
DOGE claims $130B in savings, dwarfed by a $500B rise in U.S. government spending, raising questions about impact.

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By Uldis Teraudkalns & Janis Zeps

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