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Meet the first wave of speakers & enter your startup for The Europas Awards, 25 June

Excitement for The Europas Awards for European Tech Startups is heating up. Here is the first wave of speakers and judges — with more coming!

The Awards — which have been running for over 10 years — will be held on 25 June 2020 in London, U.K. on the front lawn of the Geffrye Museum in Hoxton, London — creating a fantastic and fun garden-party atmosphere in the heart of London’s tech startup scene.

TechCrunch is once more the exclusive media sponsor of the awards and conference, alongside The Pathfounder.

The application form to enter is here.

We’re scouting for the top late-stage seed and Series A startups in 22 categories.

You can nominate a startup, accelerator or venture investor that you think deserves to be recognized for their achievements in the last 12 months.

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS: 25 March 2020

For the 2020 awards, we’ve overhauled the categories to a set that we believe better reflects the range of innovation, diversity and ambition we see in the European startups being built and launched today. This year we are particularly looking at startups that are able to address the SDGs/Globals Boals.

The Europas Awards
The Europas Awards results are based on voting by experts, experienced founders, hand-picked investors and the industry itself.

But the key to it is that there are no “off-limits areas” at The Europas, so attendees can mingle easily with VIPs.

Timeline of The Europas Awards deadlines:

Submissions now open!
25 March 2020 – Submissions close
14 April – Public voting begins
25 April – Public voting ends
8 June – Shortlist Announced
25 June – Awards evening, winners announced

Amazing networking

We’re also shaking up the awards dinner itself. There are more opportunities to network. Our awards ceremony this year will be in the setting of a garden/lawn party, where you’ll be able to meet and mingle more easily, with free-flowing drinks and a wide selection of street food (including vegetarian/vegan). The ceremony itself will last less than 45 minutes, with the rest of the time dedicated to networking. If you’d like to talk about sponsoring or exhibiting, please contact Claire Dobson on claire@thepathfounder.com

Instead of thousands and thousands of people, think of a great summer event with the most interesting and useful people in the industry, including key investors and leading entrepreneurs.

The Europas Awards have been going for the last 10 years, and we’re the only independent and editorially driven event to recognise the European tech startup scene. The winners have been featured in Reuters, Bloomberg, VentureBeat, Forbes, Tech.eu, The Memo, Smart Company, CNET, many others — and of course, TechCrunch.

• No secret VIP rooms, which means you get to interact with the speakers

• Key founders and investors attending

• Journalists from major tech titles, newspapers and business broadcasters

The Pathfounder Afternoon Workshops
In the afternoon prior to the awards we will be holding a special, premium content event, The Pathfounder, designed be a “fast download” into the London tech scene for European founders looking to raise money or re-locate to London. Sessions include “How to Craft Your Story”; “Term Sheets”; “Building a Shareholding Structure”; Investor Panel; Meet the Press; and a session from former Europas winners. Followed by the awards and after-party!

The Europas “Diversity Pass”
We’d like to encourage more diversity in tech! That’s why we’ve set aside a block of free tickets to ensure that pre-seed female and BAME founders are represented at The Europas. This limited tranche of free tickets ensures that we include more women and people of colour who are specifically “pre-seed” or “seed-stage” tech startup founders. If you are a women/BAME founder, apply here for a chance to be considered for one of the limited free diversity passes to the event.

Meet some of our first speakers and judges:


Anne Boden
CEO
Starling Bank
Anne Boden is founder and CEO of Starling Bank, a fast-growing U.K. digital bank targeting millions of users who live their lives on their phones. After a distinguished career in senior leadership at some of the world’s best-known financial heavyweights, she set out to build her own mobile bank from scratch in 2014. Today, Starling has opened more than one million current accounts for individuals and small businesses and raised hundreds of millions of pounds in backing. Anne was awarded an MBE for services to financial technology in 2018.


Nate Lanxon (Speaker)
Editor and Tech Correspondent
Bloomberg
Nate is an editor and tech correspondent for Bloomberg, based in London. For over a decade, he has particularly focused on the consumer technology sector, and the trends shaping the global industry. Previous to this, he was senior editor at Bloomberg Media and was head of digital editorial for Bloomberg.com in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Nate has held numerous roles across the most respected titles in tech, including stints as editor of WIRED.co.uk, editor-in-chief of Ars Technica UK and senior editor at CBS-owned CNET. Nate launched his professional career as a journalist by founding a small tech and gaming website called Tech’s Message, which is now the name of his weekly technology podcast hosted at natelanxon.com.


Tania Boler
CEO and founder
Elvie
/> Tania is an internationally recognized women’s health expert and has held leadership positions for various global NGOs and the United Nations. Passionate about challenging taboo women’s issues, Tania founded Elvie in 2013, partnering with Alexander Asseily to create a global hub of connected health and lifestyle products for women.


Kieran O’Neill
CEO and co-founder
Thread
Thread makes it easy for guys to dress well. They combine expert stylists with powerful AI to recommend the perfect clothes for each person. Thread is used by more than 1 million men in the U.K., and has raised $35 million from top investors, including Balderton Capital, the founders of DeepMind and the billionaire former owner of Warner Music. Prior to Thread, Kieran founded one of the first video sharing websites at age 15 and sold it for $1.25 million at age 19. He was then CEO and co-founder of Playfire, the largest social network for gamers, which he grew to 1.5 million customers before being acquired in 2012. He’s a member of the Forbes, Drapers and Financial Times 30 Under 30 lists.


Clare Jones
Chief Commercial Officer
what3words
Clare is the chief commercial officer of what3words; prior to this, her background was in the development and growth of social enterprises and in impact investment. Clare was featured in the 2019 Forbes 30 under 30 list for technology and is involved with London companies tackling social/environmental challenges. Clare also volunteers with the Streetlink project, doing health outreach work with vulnerable women in South London.


Luca Bocchio
Principal
Accel
Luca Bocchio joined Accel in 2018 and focuses on consumer internet, fintech and software businesses. Luca led Accel’s investment in Luko, Bryter and Brumbrum. Luca also helped lead Accel’s investment and ongoing work in Sennder. Prior to Accel, Luca was with H14, where he invested in global early and growth-stage opportunities, such as Deliveroo, GetYourGuide, Flixbus, SumUp and SecretEscapes. Luca previously advised technology, industrial and consumer companies on strategy with Bain & Co. in Europe and Asia. Luca is from Italy and graduated from LIUC University.


Bernhard Niesner
CEO and c-founder
busuu
/> Bernhard co-founded busuu in 2008 following an MBA project and has since led the company to become the world’s largest community for language learning, with more than 90 million users across the globe. Before starting busuu, Bernhard worked as a consultant at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. He graduated summa cum laude in International Business from the Vienna University of Economics and Business and holds an MBA with honours from IE Business School. Bernhard is an active mentor and business angel in the startup community and an advisor to the Austrian Government on education affairs. Bernhard recently received the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2018 UK Awards in the Disruptor category.


Chris Morton
CEO and founder
Lyst
Chris is the founder and CEO of Lyst, the world’s biggest fashion search platform used by 104 million shoppers each year. Including over 6 million products from brands including Burberry, Fendi, Gucci, Prada and Saint Laurent, Lyst offers shoppers convenience and unparalleled choice in one place. Launched in London in 2010, Lyst’s investors include LVMH, 14W, Balderton and Accel Partners. Prior to founding Lyst, Chris was an investor at Benchmark Capital and Balderton Capital in London, focusing on the early-stage consumer internet space. He holds an MA in physics and philosophy from Cambridge University.


Husayn Kassai
CEO and co-founder
Onfido
/> Husayn Kassai is the Onfido CEO and co-founder. Onfido helps businesses digitally onboard users by verifying any government ID and comparing it with the person’s facial biometrics. Founded in 2012, Onfido has grown to a team of 300 across SF, NYC and London; received over $100 million in funding from Salesforce, Microsoft and others; and works with over 1,500 fintech, banking and marketplace clients globally. Husayn is a WEF Tech Pioneer; a Forbes Contributor; and Forbes’ “30 Under 30”. He has a BA in economics and management from Keble College, Oxford.

Read more: https://techcrunch.com/2020/02/26/meet-the-first-wave-of-speakers-enter-your-startup-for-the-europas-awards-25-june/

Dating.com Group acquiresDil Mil app for South Asian expats as dating apps consolidate

Following the recent news about the Badoo and Bumble and Badoo exit there is more consolidation in the dating app space. It seems many dating apps are running for the exits ahead of the launch of dating on Facebook.

The Dating.com Group – an investment of SDVentures – has acquired Dil Mil, a San Francisco-based dating app for expats from India and other South Asian countries. The acquisition was via a combination of cash and Dating.com Group stock. According to Dating.com, the deal values the company at up to $50 million.

CEO and founder KJ Dhaliwal will continue to manage the company and will join Dating.com Group’s M&A and Strategy committees, as well as the Dating.com Group Advisory Board.

Dil Mil has effectively become the ‘Tinder for South Asians’, has over 1 million users in the US, UK, & Canada, and has spread its influence both via the app, as well as events, music, and art. It’s run campaigns with Bollywood superstars like Shilpa Shetty, “Love is” with leading South Asian influencers, and events like the Sessions Music Festival in New York City.

The portfolio of Dating.com Group already includes numerous brands including Dating.com, DateMyAge, LovingA, Tubit, AnastasiaDate, ChinaLove and others.

Dhaliwal said in a statement: “When we started Dil Mil, our vision was to empower the world to find love. I’m glad Dil Mil can continue to realize this vision with the support of Dating.com Group. As the dating app market becomes more competitive with companies like Facebook entering, we wanted to partner with a strong strategic player in this space.”

The idea for Dil Mil came to him after he realized his friends and family were having a hard time finding partners. He saw an opportunity to build a modern, reliable, safe platform specifically for South Asians to connect with each other. Existing methods like arranged marriages were outdated, while services offered by other apps were just not culturally appropriate.

Maria Sullivan (Vice President of Dating.com Group & Board Director at Dil Mil) commented: “Dating.com Group sees great potential in Indian and other South Asian markets. Dil Mil’s small yet talented team managed to build the leading company in its niche. The team will continue to manage the company while Dating.com Group will provide additional resources to help Dil Mil grow further. Dating.com Group plans to continue to acquire successful companies in the social discovery space.”

On average, Indians have the highest family income and postgraduate education ratio among foreign-born populations in America. The Indian diaspora is the largest in the world (30 million people). Continued growth is also expected since India is on pace to have the world’s largest population, surpassing China around 2027.

Read more: https://techcrunch.com/2019/11/25/dating-com-acquires-dil-mil-app-for-south-asian-expats-as-dating-apps-consolidate/

The EU will reportedly investigate Apple following anti-competition complaint from Spotify

The spat between Spotify and Apple is going to be the focus on a new investigation from the EU, according to a report from the FT.

The paper reported today that the European Commission (EC), the EU’s regulatory body, plans to launch a competition inquiry around Spotify’s claim that the iPhone-maker uses its position as the gatekeeper of the App Store to “deliberately disadvantage other app developers.”

In a complaint filed to the EC in March, Spotify said Apple has “tilted the playing field” by operating iOS, the platform, and the App Store for distribution, as well as its own Spotify rival, Apple Music.

In particular, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has said that Apple “locks” developers and their platform, which includes a 30 percent cut of in-app spending. Ek also claimed Apple Music has unfair advantages over rivals like Spotify, while he expressed concern that Apple controls communication between users and app publishers, “including placing unfair restrictions on marketing and promotions that benefit consumers.”

Spotify’s announcement was unprecedented — Ek claimed many other developers feel the same way, but do not want to upset Apple by speaking up. The EU is sure to tap into that silent base if the investigation does indeed go ahead as the FT claims.

Apple bit back at Spotify’s claims, but its response was more a rebuttal — or alternative angle — on those complaints. Apple did not directly address any of the demands that Spotify put forward, and those include alternative payment options (as offered in the Google Play store) and equal treatment for Apple apps and those from third-parties like Spotify.

The EU is gaining a reputation as a tough opponent that’s reining in U.S. tech giants.

Aside from its GDPR initiative, it has a history of taking action on apparent monopolies in tech.

Google fined €1.49 billion ($1.67 billion) in March of this year over antitrust violations in search ad brokering, for example. Google was fined a record $5 billion last year over Android abuses and there have been calls to look into breaking the search company up. Inevitably, Facebook has come under the spotlight for a series of privacy concerns, particularly around elections.

Pressure from the EU has already led to the social network introduce clear terms and conditions around its use of data for advertising, while it may also change its rules limiting overseas ad spending around EU elections following concern from Brussels.

Despite what some in the U.S. may think, the EU’s competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, has said publicly that she is against breaking companies up. Instead, Vestager has pledged to regulate data access.

“To break up a company, to break up private property would be very far-reaching and you would need to have a very strong case that it would produce better results for consumers in the marketplace than what you could do with more mainstream tools. We’re dealing with private property. Businesses that are built and invested in and become successful because of their innovation,” she said in an interview at SXSW earlier this year.

Read more: https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/06/eu-will-reportedly-investigate-apple/

F1: Bernie Ecclestone ‘impossible to replace’ says ex-Ferrari chief

(CNN)Billionaire Bernie Ecclestone has led the world’s biggest motorsport for the last four decades but, at the age of 85, is it time for Formula One to look for a new driving force?

At the start of 2016, Ecclestone claimed F1 was “the worst it’s ever been” after two years of Mercedes dominance, and that he wouldn’t bother buying a ticket.
    “Sooner or later, F1 has to think how to replace Bernie,” former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo told CNN’s The Circuit ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.
    “Bernie is a fantastic person. It will be impossible and a mistake to find one man to replace him — it’s important to think of a new governance.”
    Di Montezemolo is not alone in his opinion that it is time for a sea change.
    The Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, in a statement signed by world champions Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button, has also called for the sport’s structure to be changed.
    “The drivers have come to the conclusion that the decision-making process in the sport is obsolete and ill-structured and prevents progress being made,” the drivers said in March.

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    He was thrown straight into an intoxicating world where heroic drivers such as Niki Lauda and James Hunt were driving for glory in an era when the dangers were almost as high as the speeds.
    He says the sport needs to remember its history as it strives to remain relevant in the 21st century.
    “F1 has to remain an extreme sport,” Di Montezemolo insists. “Today the cars are too slow.
    “I was totally unhappy when I heard the music of the engine was not as in the past, not because I’m nostalgic but because every sport has its ingredients. Can you imagine Italy without pasta?
    “F1 is extreme technology and extreme performance. Safety is our first goal, but you need the music of the engine, you need more contact between the public and the drivers … there are lots of ingredients.”
    Asked by CNN whether he was the right man to get F1 back on track, the 68-year-old responded: “I would be the best in the world to do this, but maybe it’s time for someone else.”

    Rome Olympics bid

    In the inner sanctum of Di Montezemolo’s office in Rome, it was clear, for now, he has enough on his plate leading the capital’s bid to host the 2024 Olympics.
    “Rome is another challenge, a different challenge” he says. “We have a competition with (Hamburg), Los Angeles, with Paris and Budapest but Rome is Rome.
    “We can count on many important ingredients, including Rome’s magic and Italy itself.
    “We want to present an event with three different ingredients; the best festival of sport, the culture and history of Rome and last but not least innovation.
    “Rome is the capital of Italy but I see in the town people who are really happy to finally to have a goal, a challenge because passion, capability to organize and the art of welcome is in our blood.”
    Golf and rugby sevens have been added to the roster at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, but could motorsport muscle its way onto the Games’ starting grid?
    “Why not, why not?” Di Montezemolo says. “To put together the Olympics tradition with very strong, innovative technology could be an intelligent possibility in the future.
    “It could be F1 or it could be something else? But motor racing is part of the modern world.”
    Who should be F1’s next head? Tell us on our Facebook page
    Get more F1 news at cnn.com/motorsport

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    Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/10/motorsport/formula-one-luca-di-montezemolo-manifesto-feature/index.html