The past week can best be summed up in one word: strategy.
The headlines were filled with reveals and announcements of high-profile partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions.
Nokia acquired digital health company Withings for a reported $191 million, signaling the former mobile giant’s bid to enter the health-focused connected devices market.
In film and television, cable provider Comcast is reportedly aiming to buy DreamWorks for a sum north of $3 billion. DVR company TiVo and entertainment metadata company Rovi will merge in a deal worth $1.1 billion.
On the partnership front, Google is working with Volvo and bringing together rivals Uber and Lyft to start a self-driving car coalition. The lobby group will advise lawmakers on how self-driving cars should be implemented and policed.
Facebook is reportedly developing a standalone camera app, further entrenching the company’s investment in mobile video following the launch of Facebook Live. It is also restructuring its capital arrangement by adding a new class of stock, a move designed to allow Mark Zuckerberg to continue to lead the company.
At Index we gather tech coverage into one platform for tech enthusiasts to keep up with the news and access that data. In this series, we fill you in at the start of every week on what’s been happening in tech.
A look at the big picture
In the past week, Index logged 246 funding events from 31 different countries. The top 10 countries from North America and Europe in terms of number of rounds can be seen below:
North America
This week in North America there were 144 investments made at a total of $2.18 billion in capital deployment. Peer-to-peer solar marketplace Mosaic took home the largest round at $200 million from DZ Bank and Green Bank. Check out the breakdown in series in North America below:
Europe
Europe saw 61 funding rounds for a total of $760 million. Paris based car sharing app Drivy hauled in an impressive Series C round at $32 million led by Cathay Innovation and Nokia Growth Partners. Below you can see the breakdown of rounds for the week.
A look back
In this section we look back at the past eight weeks and compare Angel and Seed level rounds, and Series A rounds in both regions. The charts show the fluctuations in average capital volume of the rounds.
Last week’s must-reads
Google is starting its own hardware division to handle Nexus and other gadgets [The Next Web]
How Uber conquered London [The Guardian]
Apple is about to post its first quarterly revenue decline since 2003 [Re/code]
Microsoft is turning DNA into the ultimate storage device [The Next Web]
BMW to Let Car Owners Rent Out Vehicles Like `Airbnb on Wheels` [Bloomberg]
Amazon Web Services is approaching a $10 billion-a-year business [Re/code]
Why a pharma giant paid $10 billion for a startup no one’s heard of [Business Insider]
Why Facebook Is Killing It—Even When Nobody Else Is [Wired]
Google is reportedly building an awesome all-in-one travel app called Trips [The Next Web]
Tune in next week for another update on the state of tech. If you can’t wait that long, consider signing up to the Index.co newsletter to get the week’s hottest tech news straight in your inbox!
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