Yazar: IŞIL AKPINAR

Fintech startup Payt has received a 55 million euro investment from Partech's growth fund. This investment was described as a “strategic partnership”. Netherlands-based Payt automates invoice management, payment tracking and sending reminders to debtors with its AI-powered solution. The startup's smart debt management software helps companies collect their receivables while saving 80% of the time they spend on account management.

Arjun Pillai, who served as chief data officer at ZoomInfo until last year, is on the move to launch his third startup. The serial entrepreneur, who had previously founded and sold two startups, launched a new company called DocketAI after the launch of ChatGPT. DocketAI offers an AI solution that quickly answers technical questions and prepares documents such as requests for proposals (RFPs) to help sales engineers use their time more efficiently.

Addionics, a developer of battery technologies, raised $39 million in a Series B round led by General Motors (GM) and Deep Insight. Scania and Traton, a Swedish truck manufacturer owned by Volkswagen, also participated in the round.

Swedish energy technology startup Greenely has successfully closed a Series A funding round of EUR 8 million (approximately $8.7 million) to expand its energy management platform. The funding will enable Greenely to expand into neighboring Nordic countries and serve more households.

Egypt-based fintech unicorn MNT-Halan is on a path of consolidation. The startup, which offers microfinance and payment solutions, has raised $157.5 million in funding and is using some of that money to acquire Tam Finans, a fintech company to expand into Turkey. Tam Finans provides financing to micro-businesses and SMEs. It currently operates 39 branches in 26 cities across Turkey and claims a 40% market share in the country. The combined entity's loan portfolio after this deal will be “just under $1 billion”, according to Mounir Nakhla, CEO of MNT-Halan. 

Autonomous vehicle software startup Applied Intuition has closed a $300 million secondary sale after raising $250 million in just four months. This is another sign of how hot the investment climate for AI companies is. In the second round of funding, new investors such as Fidelity Management & Research Company joined existing investors. The company's investors include Lux Capital's Bilal Zuberi, Elad Gil, Andreessen Horowitz and Mary Meeker's growth fund Bond. The round allowed current and former employees and early backers to sell shares.

M-Based, a biotech startup focused on developing sustainable materials, received support from Hatcher+, Sente Ventures and Fark Labs in a pre-seed investment round. Financial details of the investment were not shared with the press.

Bunch, a startup that helps VCs manage funds with its operating system, co-founded by Levent Altunel, has raised $15.5 million in a Series A round led by FinTech Collective. In addition to existing investors Cherry Ventures and Motive Ventures, Broadhaven Ventures, TinyVC and a large group of angel investors also participated in this investment round. 

Hop Health, an innovative healthcare platform that brings doctors and patients together across the globe, has raised $1 million in an investment round led by MADA VC. This investment will be used to strengthen the Turkish market and grow in the global market. Hop Health aims to increase its effectiveness in both local and global markets by providing digital transformation in the field of health tourism. 

Spanish startup Exoticca has completed a €60 million Series D investment round for its tour packages platform. The round was led by Quadrille Capital and contributed to Exoticca raising more than €120 million in total capital.