Good news from around Europe
Alimentation Couche-Tard buys Żabka chain for $8.6B. What is known about the deal? The Canadian convenience store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard is buying 100% of the Polish Żabka Group for $8.6 billion. The company announced this. For the Canadian company, this will be the largest acquisition in its history. Deal details
Russian missile destroyed the drone factory of US company Terminal Autonomy in Kyiv — Guardian A Russian ballistic missile destroyed a drone factory in Kyiv that belongs to the American company Terminal Autonomy. The Guardian reports. This is the first likely case in which a US-owned enterprise has been targeted
Blossom Capital is dipping into defence. Here’s what the VC is looking for Powered by WPeMatico https://sifted.eu/articles/blossom-capital-invest-defence-tech-startups
What the CEO of Irish unicorn Tines learned from its AI overhaul Powered by WPeMatico https://sifted.eu/articles/tines-interview
222 spinouts, €4.9bn raised: Europe’s top universities for spinout funding in H1 2026 Powered by WPeMatico https://sifted.eu/articles/222-spinouts-e4-9b-raised-europes-top-universities-for-spinout-funding-in-h1-2026
The European startups racing to power the AI boom, mapped Powered by WPeMatico https://sifted.eu/articles/ai-energy-generation-market-map
OpenAI reportedly finds evidence that more of its agents ran amok OpenAI has reportedly found evidence of additional agent misbehavior as it looks into the incident that occurred with Hugging Face. Powered by WPeMatico https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/31/openai-reportedly-finds-evidence-that-more-of-its-agents-ran-amok/
Rivian spinoff Also to start delivering e-bikes after months of delays Also has big plans beyond the TM-B. The startup mostly refers to itself as a “vehicle” company and has plans to make four-wheel pedal-assist cargo vehicles for Amazon. Powered by WPeMatico https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/31/rivian-spinoff-also-to-start-delivering-e-bikes-after-months-of-delays/
Silicon Valley loves young founders. Until it doesn’t. AI tools have democratized the opportunity to build, shortening the timelines of success and enabling more young people to start successful companies without stepping foot inside a Big Tech company. Powered by WPeMatico https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/31/build-in-public-fail-in-public-what-its-like-to-be-a-founder-under-20-right-now/
India is starting to pay for apps, not just download them India’s app market generated a record $345 million in Q2. Powered by WPeMatico https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/31/india-is-starting-to-pay-for-apps-not-just-download-them/