Analysis of investment landscape in Europe in 2023.

Affinity published an 2023 Investment Benchmark Report: European edition. Here are the key takeaways from the report:

1) Unicorn birth rate drops 80% in Germany, 55% in UK and 45% in France. Investment decline is significant in in Netherlands (over 50%), Germany, Sweden, Norway and Lithuania (~40%), UK dropped 20%.

2) Countries like Ireland, Italy, and Croatia saw positive growth during this time period. Croatia stands out with an impressive 400% YoY growth in investment, and the emergence of its first unicorns in 2022. One important contributing factor is Croatia’s talent pool.

3) The Nordic countries, including Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland, are currently experiencing a startup boom. In 2022, a year of global recalibration, Nordic countries demonstrated resilience and achieved their second-highest year for VC funding, indicating the sustained growth of the region's startup ecosystem.

4) Industry overview:

- Fintech remains the top industry for investment in Europe, especially in the U.K. and France.
- The energy industry has flourished in the region, with $34.6B raised across 1,388 deals in 2022. This was primarily driven by the European Green Deal and the need for clean energy solutions.
- The Russia-Ukraine conflict caused investors to shift capital investment to traditional and renewable energy companies.
- Security has shown more resilience than others in 2022, showing strong seed stage investment, and a solid talent pool across the region. Europe is building up its digital sovereignty with efforts like the European Cybersecurity Investment Platform

EUVC made a satirical yet to the point review of the analysis done by Affinity identifying several important trends to be noted.

1) Will Croatia sustain the same increase in 2023? Or will the Netherlands and Germany have their VC economy shrink another 50-40% in 2023? Likely not.

2) While 2022 was a challenging year for Fintech industry, Europe’s fintech industry is growing at a rapid pace. In fact, London now ties with the Bay Area as the top global hub for fintech startups, having received a $9.7B in investment in 2022.

3) Climate tech is another area where Europe made significant strides having raised 42% of all climate tech dollars and growing 26% faster than the U.S. year-over-year.

4) The top VC firms in the Southern region of Europe (countries like Italy, Croatia, Greece, and Spain) have grown their networks rapidly with an impressive 251% in network size from H1 to H2 of 2022

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#report #investmentbenchmarkreport2023 #eu #europeanfundingtrends

The European Council adopted the 11th package of economic and individual sanctions against Russia.

This package allows imposing restrictions on third-country entities that are involved in the circumvention of trade restrictions.

Armenian startups should be aware of this to avoid unnecessary risks as Armenia has close economic ties with Russia.

https://t.me/threenstartups

#eu #sanctions #riskmanagement

The Ministry of High-Tech Industry of Armenia initiated Space Camp 2023 - a free scientific and educational bootcamp that will be held in Dilijan on August 6-12, 2023.

Youth of 14-17 ages from Armenia and the Diaspora interested are welcome to apply to participate in the camp.

The selection of the participants will be done through an online test which will include questions from Astronomy, Logic and English Language (Basic Knowledge).

Up to 100 applicants will get the opportunity to participate in the program.

The participation in bootcamp is free.

Application deadline is June 26, 2023.

Application form is available in Armenian and English.

See more details here: https://hightech.gov.am/2023/06/19/space-camp-2023/

https://t.me/threenstartups

#mhti #spacecamp2023 #event

Startup Grind Yerevan organizes as panel discussion on science commercialization.

The panel will be moderated by Suzanna Shamakhyan, VP of Strategic Programming at FAST.

The panelists are:
- Marina Aghayan, Co-Founder & CEO of AIP Scientific
- Art Ghazaryan, Co-Founder of BioCentric.ai
- Yana Aznavour, Founder of Endometrics

The panelists will discover where is the line when science becomes actionable and can be transformed into a business venture. They will discuss why science and its commercialization are so important for Armenia and what are the best practices of this complex agenda in the world.

Date: July 3, 2023
Location: PMI Science R&D Center Armenia
Book your spot here.

https://t.me/threenstartups

#startupgrindyerevan #event #sciencecommercialization

During AI Conf Armenia 2023, Krisp announced an upcoming release of its revolutionizing solution called Accent Localization.

Krisp's AI-powered Accent Localization technology utilizes real-time inflection changes to help customers understand agents better by dynamically changing agents' accents into the customer's natively understood accent.

Learn more and subscribe to get early access to the solution here.

https://t.me/threenstartups

#krisp #accentlocalization #newrelease #earlyaccess #successstory

BANA Angels are organizing the next #TalkAround on quantum computing.

The event will be held on June 29 at 7:30 PM (GMT+4) at the Factory Innovation Hub (65/5 Halabyan St, Yerevan 0078).

In the first part of the event,m Hrant Gharibyan, PhD, Co-Founder & CEO at BlueQubit, will deliver a keynote speech on the latest advancements in quantum computing, featuring cutting-edge devices by industry leaders like Google and IBM, as well as innovations by emerging players such as PsiQuantum and IonQ.

The keynote speech will be followed by a fireside chat entitled “Quantum Leap: Decoding the Future of Computing”. Hrant Gharibyan and Hakob Avetisyan, Lecturer at AUA, will discuss the potential timeline for full-scale quantum adoption, providing a comprehensive perspective on the future of quantum computing.

Reserve your spot now: https://shorturl.at/bgtvy

https://t.me/threenstartups

#banaangels #businessangels #talkaround #quantumcomputing #techevents #startups #tech #event #networking

Lucky Carrot has launched a public investment campaign on Republic. Everyone can invest in Lucky Carrot starting from $150.

Lucky Carrot calls for community support to share the campaign and invite as many supporters as possible.

All the necessary details about Lucky Carrot's current milestones, future plans, and investments are available here.

https://t.me/threenstartups

#luckycarrot #publicoffering #successstory

Great opportunity for the startup community in Armenia to learn from the Fab5, Silicon Valley's senior executives and top experts: Lusine Yeghiazaryan, Christine Soussa, Alex Saghatelian, Laura Dirtadian, and Ara Dirtadian about enterprise sales, pricing and go to market strategy and much more.

The event will happen on June 30 at 10:00 am (GMT+4) at Ground Zero - Specialty Coffee (1 Martiros Saryan St, Yerevan).

Book your spot here: https://lnkd.in/dxEUwyta

P.S. Thanks to Karén for sharing the news with the community!

https://t.me/threenstartups

#community #engineering #innovation #management #technology #compliance #finance #sales #investment #risk #bank #startups #ecosystem #strategicvalueventures #coffee #expertise #executives #opportunity #strategy #berkeleyskydeck

The deadline to apply to Sevan Startup Summit is June 30. There is still some time left to apply to this event!

Don't miss your chance to take part in this multinational festival of startup culture!

Application deadline: June 30
Apply here: https://www.f6s.com/sevan-startup-summit-2023/apply

https://t.me/threenstartups

#sss23 #sevanstartupsummit2023 #connect #learn #win #havefun

The official opening of the InnoIjevan hub will take place today giving a start to a series of events happening from June 30 to July 2.

The first day of the festival will be the official opening ceremony with the participation of the EU, international, state and private structures, as well as panel discussions under the title "State-Private Dialogue".

On July 1 and 2, Ijevan will become the center of Armenia's innovation with a series of lectures, master classes and panel discussions about IT and entrepreneurship.

Book your spot here: bit.ly/45Rox0a

The InnoIjevan project is implemented by the Ijevan Municipality, UATE and COWO with funding from the EU.

https://t.me/threenstartups

#innoijevan #cowo #uate #eu #innovationhub #regionaldevelopment #event #networking

Picsart unveiled its new AI GIF maker product.

The GIF generator works this way: you enter a text prompt saying for example 'SpongeBob SquarePants looks despondent crying with his head in his hands on a dried-up seabed because he has lost all faith in humanity", and the AI model will generate a GIF that may or may not resemble that concept.

https://t.me/threenstartups

#picsart #successstory #productannouncement

STAN angels announced about investment in Saima a revolutionary video speed solution.

Saima developed an AI technology to dynamically adjust the speed of video content, tailoring it to individual listening paces. Saima's solution revolutionizes video watching by providing a customized experience that enhances comprehension and memorization.

Saima is a graduate of Berkeley's SkyDeck Acceleration program.

Congrats to STAN Angels and the startup on this achievement.

https://t.me/threenstartups

#saima #investment #stan #angelinvestment #successstory

It is time to sum up the past quarter. Despite a decline in investment rounds the quarter was quite intense in Armenian ecosystem. Let's see what happened.

Armenia's Startup Ecosystem Ranking Grew!

According to StartupBlink's Global Startup Ecosystem Index report for 2023, Armenia climbed three spots to the 57th position globally. Yerevan has displayed an upward trajectory, leaping an impressive 23 spots to claim the 221st rank globally. Read more here.

Around $1M worth of investment rounds were announced:

1) Formula VC Invested 200K USD in Wirestock.
2) BANA Angels invested an undisclosed amount of capital in 10Web.
3) Hexact raised over $350K on a crowdfunding platform Start Engine.
4) STAN Angels invested an undisclosed amount of capital in BrandLens.
5) BANA Angels invested $170K in ViralMango.
6) Formula VC invested $250K in 10Web.
7) STAN announced an undisclosed amount of angel investment in Saima.

3 acquisition deals, regional expansion, partnership and product launch announcements:

1) The Crowdfunding Formula acquired Gadget Flow.
2) Intelinair announced its acquisition of Aker Technologies, Inc.
3) FOX 11 Los Angeles filmed a story about Robin the Robot's success story in Los Angeles.
4) Onex announced the launching of its services in Georgia.
5) Instigate signed a contract with microelectronics manufacturer giant Microchip Technology Inc. to sell 100% of its subsidiary Instigate Semiconductor.
6) Scylla announced a partnership between Konica Minolta and Scylla AI around a Visual Gun detection solution.
7) BANA Angels celebrated its 6th anniversary.
9) ViralMango team was shortlisted for the finals of the 2023 Influencer Marketing Awards.
10) Meruzhan Danielyan announced about launching of a new startup - Octopulse AI that will help growth teams to streamline the activation, conversion, and retention of their customers. Meruzhan co-founded the startup with Ravi Kiran, who led the development of LinkedIn's internal Growth platform called Air Traffic Controller (ATC).
11) Krisp announced an upcoming release of its Accent Localization, an AI-powered technology to change agents' accents into the customer's natively understood accent.
12) Picsart unveiled its new AI GIF maker product.

6 Product Hunt Campaigns

1) iMed Cloud - Copilot for Beauty Service Providers
2) Octopulse AI - a platform to help growth teams solve the activation, conversion, and retention problems they face.
3) RestoGPT - AI that turns any restaurant menu into a full food delivery app.
4) Softr Universe - a new medium for discovering, sharing, and using templates created by the Softr community. Became #1 Product of the Day on June 8, 2023.
5) HopShop allows you to find any clothing that you're looking for in a second.
6) Softr for Google Sheets to turn your spreadsheets into powerful and beautiful custom software - portals, internal tools, and more. Became #1 Product of the Day on April 19, 2023.

10+ Tech Events:

1) HyeTech India tech trip share-out & networking.
2) INNO Armenia 2023 - National Innovation & Entrepreneurship Week.
3) Startup Grind Yerevan - How to Stay Hungry and Foolish: Yandex’s Approach to Diversification
4) LIT Academy & BANA Angels - Meeting Investor Expectations: Building High-Performing Tech Teams
5) Azarian Growth Academy - How Generative AI is Shaping the Way We Work and Create.
6) BANA Angels - Generative AI in Practice: Challenges and Opportunities.
7) AI Conf Armenia 2023 - AI Revolution & Career
8) BarCamp Yerevan 2023 was held on June 24-25!
9) Azuro EVM Meetup in Yerevan on June 30.
10) Ask Me Anything with Senior Executives from Silicon Valley event on June 30th.
11) Opening of InnoIjevan innovation hub in Ijevan organized by Ijevan Municipality, COWO and UATE.

https://t.me/threenstartups

#capitalraiserecap #successstory #investment

A kind reminder about this event. If you are doing a deep-tech startup you should think of participating in this event.

Marina Aghayan, is the Co-Founder & CEO of AIP Scientific, a team is of world-class experts in the end-to-end process of implant production. The company provides modeling, mechanical reliability evaluation, optimization and fabrication of the implants with very unique and complex shapes.

Yana Aznavour, is the Founder & CEO Endometrics, a startup that develops a new genomic biomarker for the early detection of endometriosis. Yana has 10 years of experience in the endometriosis field, combining clinical management, surgical treatment, and molecular research. She has published several peer-reviewed papers and is the youngest recipient of the Jordan Phillips Award for the best research in minimally invasive gynecology by the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists.

Art Ghazaryan, is the Co-Founder & CEO of Ympakt, a boutique venture studio and impact-focused research lab. Ympakt's portfolio teams are dedicated to building purpose-driven startups that create both profit and positive change in the world. Art has a remarkable entrepreneurial experience having founded and managed four successful startups with a strong presence in Armenia in various fields, including image processing, music education, biotech, aerial analytics, social ventures, and photography.

The event will be moderated by Suzanna Shamakhyan, the VP of Strategic Programming at FAST. Legal expert by education, enthusiast of public activism and a co-founder of Armenian chapter of European Youth Parliament, expert in educational reforms who has been implementing a number of strategic programs in Armenia aiming to reshape Armenian educational landscape to ensure increased quality of education in schools, improved capacity of universities and ensure jump in the number of scientific researches.

Date: July 3, 2023
Location: PMI Science R&D Center Armenia
Book your spot here.

https://t.me/threenstartups

#startupgrindyerevan #event #sciencecommercialization

Key takeaways I managed to capture from this event. Big thanks to Karén for organizing the event and another big thanks to the amazing panelists.

Areg Manvelyan, a Senior Data Specialist at LEGO Group will give a talk on “Enabling Self-Service BI at the LEGO Group ”.

The talk is open to the public and will take place at the Bleachers area of TUMO Yerevan, at 19:30.

Areg will share insights into how an unimaginable amount of data is used everyday, how he uses reports to measure behavior and improve self-service business intelligence, and how numbers and a massive team play a big role in bringing joy to millions of children and adults around the world!

Book your spot here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/senior-data-specialist-of-lego-on-self-service-bi-at-the-lego-group-tickets-668726638377?aff=erelexpmlt

https://t.me/threenstartups

#tumo #lego #meetup #event #networking #data #businessintelligence

Join ProductPeople Armenia on July 8, at 3 PM at Cowo Workspace to discover product management, PM interviews and learn how to power your startup with PM skills.

But that's not all: network with like-minded professionals with a glass of exquisite wine courtesy of Tushpa Wine Factory.

Register now here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/product-management-unpacked-interviews-insights-entrepreneurship-tickets-667042300477?aff=erelexpmlt

https://t.me/threenstartups

#productpeoplearmenia #meetup #event #networking #data #pm

The call for applications for the Neruzh 4.0 Diaspora Tech Startup Program is open now!

The program is implemented by the Ministry of High-Tech Industry aiming to support economic and startup ecosystem development in Armenia and encourage the Diaspora Startup Founders to repatriate to Armenia.

Up to 40 teams from all over the world founded by Diaspora Armenians will be invited to Dilijan to pass a 6-day soft-landing program.

The program will have a pitching component and 3 teams selected by the jury will be granted with grants of about $100K, $77K and $50K for the implementation of the idea presented in the framework of the event.

Application deadline is August 3, 2023.
Apply here: https://gust.com/programs/neruzh-4-0-diaspora-tech-startup-program

For more details please visit here: https://hightech.gov.am/2023/07/04/neruzh-2023/

https://t.me/threenstartups

#mhti #neruzh #neruzh4 #neruzh23 #acceleration #softlanding #diaspora #grant #funding

Cognaize raised $18M to build a better LLM for the finance sector, one that keeps humans in the loop.

Argonautic Ventures is leading the round with Metaplanet and other unnamed investors also participating. Cognaize is not disclosing its valuation except to confirm that it is in range of hundreds of millions.

Cognaize is founded by serial entrepreneur Vahe Andonians, who previously founded another fintech that provided analytics and risk management around credit investments that was eventually acquired by Moody’s.

The CEO of Cognaize is Al Eisaian, a serial entrepreneur with exits to companies like VMware.

Cognaize is headquartered in New York and has offices in Germany and Armenia.

Congratulations to the startup and its investors on achieving this milestone!

https://t.me/threenstartups

#cognaize #investment #successstory

"Sail Towards Success: Sevan Startup Summit 2023 Sets Course"

The chances are very low that you haven’t yet heard about the Sevan Startup Summit, but if somehow you missed the largest tech ecosystem event of Armenia, let us give you a brief overview.

The interest that Sevan Startup Summit 2023 has received from local and international communities is astonishing. Over 470 Armenian and international startups have applied to participate in the event’s Starter and Booster Programs that will be run by a Silicon Valley based accelerator and some of the most notable Silicon Valley startup mentors, and pitch their ideas to over 10 VC investors that will be attending SSS.

Whether you are from the tech or business ecosystems or you just want to meet exciting people and be exposed to innovative ideas and lots of fun, hurry up to get your tickets. The count down for the SSS launch has begun, and you can purchase SSS tickets under the events section of the Telcell Wallet.

The 7 days of the summit which will be held from July 23 to July 29 will be filled with experience and expertise sharing, networking, panel discussions and talks by esteemed individuals.

Sevan Startup Summit is the first outdoor campsite-based informal business event that fosters intensive deal-making and brings together entrepreneurs, angel investors, venture capitalists, and others willing to join their peers in an intimate setting to think, act, and transform their environment via entrepreneurship.

Since 2018, the Summit also ventured overseas to host its first international summits in the United Arab Emirates and India to enlarge its geography and broaden towards the global seaside.

Over the past 8 years, Seaside Startup Summit has already been held 8 times, with the upcoming one being the second summit of 2023 (first 2023 summit titled Seaside Startup Summit Holidays India Vizag took place in February).

The biggest summit was held in Armenia in July 2019 with more than 10,000 participants from 45 countries of the world.

https://t.me/threenstartups

#sss23 #sevanstartupsummit2023 #connect #learn #win #havefun