🔥 N26 dials up telco, TikTok goes long, Kuiper launches, EWOR bags €60M...
Inside/VC Weekly #16
Hey – Jannis here,
Happy Monday! ☕️ Let’s kick off the week with a sharp 5-minute briefing on the most important startup, AI, and VC news you don’t want to miss.
🔥 These are the 5 most important things:Revolut and N26 take on telcos with mobile plans (🇬🇧)
Amazon puts first Kuiper satellites into orbit to challenge Starlink (🇺🇸)
TikTok rolls out 60-minute videos to compete with YouTube (🇺🇸)
Sevdesk quietly sold for €400M in one of Germany’s biggest startup exits (🇩🇪)
Brainteaser: IPOs are the new waiting game (📉→📈)
Here’s what’s happening:
Weekly Spotlight:
Revolut and N26 take on telcos with mobile plans (🇬🇧)
Who said that telco is boring and dead? Here's why it isn't:
When banks start selling phone contracts, you know the bundling wars are heating up. Revolut just launched a full-blown mobile plan in Germany: unlimited data, EU roaming, and calls/SMS flat — all for €12.50/month. It’s not just a gimmick either. The company claims eSIMs are already their most-used non-financial product.
Meanwhile, N26 is rolling out its own offer this spring, hoping to win over price-conscious users in Germany, where mobile plans still cost more than in most of Europe. Both fintechs are betting on telco as a sticky layer — more retention, more revenue, fewer churned users. Banking and connectivity, all in one app.
Inside/VC Shorts
📰 News Shorts:
India Halts Trade With Pakistan Amid Rising Kashmir Tensions (🇮🇳)
Following a deadly attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir that left 26 people dead, India has suspended all imports from Pakistan, citing “national security and public order.” Trade between the two countries had already plunged — dropping from $2.86M to just $420K year-over-year.
Pakistan responded by test-firing a 450 km-range ballistic missile, while cross-border skirmishes have intensified. Both sides have imposed airspace and trade restrictions, expelled diplomats, and issued stark warnings. With tensions at their highest in years, analysts fear the long-standing Kashmir conflict may spiral into open (and nuclear) escalation.
🚀 Startup Shorts:
Amazon puts first Kuiper satellites into orbit to challenge Starlink (🇺🇸)
Amazon has officially kicked off deployment of its Project Kuiper satellite network, sending the first 27 operational satellites into orbit. The broader plan includes a fleet of over 3,200 satellites, aimed at providing global internet coverage and challenging SpaceX’s Starlink, which already operates around 7,000 units.
To meet regulatory requirements, 1,600 Kuiper satellites must be active by mid-2026. Amazon has pre-booked launch capacity across Blue Origin and SpaceX, signaling that Kuiper is a strategic infrastructure priority instead of an experiment.
TikTok rolls out 60-minute videos to compete with YouTube (🇺🇸)
TikTok is extending its format to support videos up to 60 minutes, pushing further into YouTube territory. The feature, now rolling out beyond test groups, opens the door for unboxings, tutorials, and full-length series.
It’s part of a long-term shift from 15-second clips to a full-spectrum video platform. Longer videos mean new ad formats, more creator monetization, and higher platform retention. For brands, it offers fresh space for mid-rolls and sponsored content.
Waymo teams up with Toyota to bring self-driving to consumers (🇺🇸/🇯🇵)
Waymo is no longer just about robo-taxis. The Alphabet-owned company has partnered with Toyota to develop a consumer-ready self-driving car platform. Unlike earlier rollouts in cities like San Francisco and Austin, this effort aims at personal ownership, not just fleet services.
Toyota brings the hardware and safety systems, Waymo delivers the autonomy stack. No timelines yet — but if this works, it could finally take autonomous driving out of the pilot zone and into everyday driveways.
Brainteaser: IPOs are the new waiting game (📉→📈)
Going public used to be the finish line. Now? It’s a chess move and most founders are playing defense. Stripe, Databricks, Klarna... all ready, all rich, all waiting. Why? Because the April tariff shock slammed the markets, pushed the VIX through the roof, and turned IPOs into clearance sales.
The smartest companies are holding. They’re opting for secondaries over roadshows, narrative control over pricing pressure, and timing over tradition. The result? A backlog of billion-dollar brands sitting quietly on the sidelines — fully loaded, just waiting for the right moment.
IPOs aren’t dead. They’re just delayed. And when the window reopens, expect a stampede. Until then, the public markets will remain the domain of only the boldest or the most desperate.
💸 Fundraising + Acquisition Shorts:
First Momentum Raises €35M to Back Early Deep Tech (🇩🇪)
Originally spun out of TUM, First Momentum has grown into a focused early-stage VC for technical founders. They just closed a €35M fund (nearly ten times larger than their first) to invest in deep tech across compute, energy, and industrial innovation.
The team backs startups at the earliest stages, often before there’s a product or traction, and leans on a pan-European scout network in labs and universities.
EWOR raises €60M to fund Europe’s next founders (🇪🇺)
EWOR, a Berlin-based founder platform spun out of a student project, has raised €60M to back up to 35 entrepreneurs per year — each with €500K in funding and close support. Backers include founders from SumUp, Adjust, and ProGlove, with a combined portfolio value over €12B.
EWOR focuses on deep, globally scalable tech ideas and has already helped ventures like Aspect Health, Artifact AI, and Thaleron land major follow-on rounds.
Apex raises $200M to scale satellite production for defense clients (🇺🇸)
L.A.-based Apex secured a $200M Series C to ramp up production of satellite buses, with backing from 8VC, Point72, and a16z — targeting surging demand from U.S. defense and space contractors.
Sevdesk quietly sold for €400M in one of Germany’s biggest startup exits (🇩🇪)
After years under the radar, German accounting software Sevdesk was acquired by French ERP giant Cegid for nearly €400M, according to Finance Forward. Early investors like Oliver Samwer were among the winners.
Ripple’s $5B offer for Circle (stablecoins) rejected(🇺🇸)
Ripple made a move to acquire USDC-issuer Circle for $5 billion, but the offer was declined. The deal would have been a major step in Ripple’s stablecoin strategy, but Circle wasn’t convinced. Instead, Ripple is doubling down on infrastructure, with recent acquisitions like Hidden Road and growing momentum in XRP-based custody and tokenization.
Swiss startup Aktiia rebrands to Hilo and raises €37M Series B (🇨🇭)
Neuchâtel-based Aktiia, now operating as Hilo, closed a €37M Series B led by Earlybird Health and Wellington Partners to scale its cuffless blood pressure monitoring platform. The company has now raised over €88M and secured approvals in Canada, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and the EU.
🧑💻 Career Corner: Hot VC Internships (US + EU)Internships
🇩🇪 Vorwerk Ventures - Visiting Investment Analyst (Berlin) ➤ Job desc.
🇲🇨 Monte Carlo Capital - VC Analyst Intern (Monaco) ➤ Job desc.
🇺🇸 Anthos Capital - Venture Capital Intern (Santa Monica) ➤ Job desc.
🇺🇸 Millennium Technology Value Partners - VC Analyst Intern (New York) ➤ Job desc.
🇺🇸 GreyMatter - Summer VC Analyst Intern (New York) ➤ Job desc.
🇫🇷 Partech - VC Apprentice (Paris) ➤ Job desc.
🇫🇷 Bpifrance Green Venture - VC Analyst Intern (Paris) ➤ Job desc.
🇩🇪 Signature Ventures - Investment Intern (Munich) ➤ Job desc.
That’s it for this week! 🎉 Back next Monday with fresh startup & AI insights.
If you found this valuable, hit the ♥️ — it helps more than you’d think.
Until then – stay curious,
Cheers ✌️
Thank you so much for putting all these together