France has been identified as the second-largest start-up “ecosystem” on the continent. The claim was made in an article on the site Maddyness, which also posited that Paris was set to become a ‘boomtown’ for investment in artificial intelligence (AI). Hugo Borensztein, co-founder and CEO of AI platform Omi, who was interviewed for the piece,…
MEPs have voted to adopt a new voluntary standard over the use of the ‘European Green Bond’ label. According to the European Parliament, the regulation – adopted by 418 votes in favour, with 79 against and 72 abstentions – lays down uniform standards for issuers who wish to use the designation ‘European green bond’ or…
Financial institutions are increasingly embracing a ‘digital revolution’, according to analysis by global fintech group Broadridge. The report, Digital Transformation Enters a New Phase – Here’s What Comes Next, found more than half of participants saying digital transformation was the most-important strategic initiative for their company, with almost three-quarters (71%) suggesting AI had changed how…
Berlin-based firm Upvest has signed a partnership with BlackRock to open up Europe’s investment landscape to retail investors. Upvest said BlackRock had participated in its €30m 2023 funding round alongside existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners, HV Capital, Earlybird, Notion Capital, ABN Amro Ventures and 10x Capital. The company added that its Investment API helps institutions…
Increasingly tight regulatory regimes around Europe are making the landscape around foreign direct investment (FDI) harder to navigate. That is the view posited by law firm Ashurst in its newly released Foreign Investment in Europe: A World of Opportunity report, looking at the new and various hurdles that have been put in place. “In recent…
Venture capital (VC) money flowing into Europe has “skyrocketed” in recent years, according to Invest Europe, formerly the European Private Equity & Venture Capital Association. The body’s Venture Capital: Fuelling Innovation Report found venture capitalists had invested more than €96bn in almost 27,000 European companies over the last decade, with €18bn of that coming in…
A framework for classifying organisations, funds and indices as sustainable investments – by Laura Miller Clarity AI has launched a sustainable investment index and ETF methodology, which aligns with the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). According to the sustainability technology platform, the methodology will help index and ETF providers build, define and market products falling…
Europe is in danger of falling behind the US and China in the field of climate-related technology, a report from Allianz has warned. According to Climate tech – the missing piece in the net-zero puzzle, public investment will not be enough to meet a growing gap, with “significant private investment” necessary alongside a common EU…
The Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH) has predicted Germany’s GDP will fall by 0.6 percentage points over 2023, a sharp revision to previous predictions. One of the most-prominent economic organisations on the continent, the IWH has called its new forecast a “strong downward revision” of 0.9 percentage points. It cited a slower recovery in…
Finnish firm Valmet has signed a €175m loan agreement with the EIB to support its efforts to finance technologies that replace fossil fuels with renewables. According to the company, the financing aims to enhance the resource and energy efficiency as well as the performance of Valmet’s technology, promote the use of recyclable raw materials and…
EU president Ursula von der Leyen has suggested the trading bloc’s sustainable development goals (SDGs) have been set back by the current economic and geopolitical climate. The remarks came during her speech at the 2023 Sustainable Development Goals Summit, which was held over two days in New York. Von der Leyen said that a “cascade…
The parent company of Ark Investment Management, Ark Invest, has acquired specialist ETF issuer Rize ETF from AssetCo. Rize ETF, which was founded in 2019, will be renamed Ark Invest Europe as part of the transaction, and will be positioned as a separate arm of Ark Invest. The firm’s purchase from UK asset management firm AssetCo,…
