5 European Startups That Google Should Fund
Google recently announced that it will begin investing in European startups. The company’s venture fund, Google Ventures, already assists local startups, including Flatiron Health (the oncology industry’s first cloud-based data platform) and SynapDx (which is working on a blood test for early Autism detection). Now the company has set its sights on a new market.
Google hasn’t announced which companies it will support, but it pointed to three of the biggest — Spotify, SoundCloud and Supercell — as examples of the innovation born in Europe.
Can Google find the next big European startup? The following 5 companies Google might want to consider on its journey for the next big thing:
1. Evrythng
Evrythng might be the ultimate answer to the ongoing “Internet of Things” debate that startups keep talking about. Instead of linking specific products to Wi-Fi or 4G, Evrythng wants to connect everything to the Internet. This includes (but is not limited to) cameras, lights, bikes, pill bottles, washing machines and a plethora of other items. Those items could then, in theory, have a digital profile on social networks, just like humans (and pets).
2. EyeEm
Berlin-based EyeEm has been referred to as the Instagram of Europe. The young startup developed a photo community and marketplace, which is accessible via the free EyeEm app.
EyeEm may not have achieved the record-breaking growth of Instagram (not yet at least), but the company is growing fast and currently serves users in more than 150 countries worldwide.
Best of all, users can actually make money with EyeEm. The company will pay users a fee whenever their images are sold.
3. Babbel
Praised by the New York Times and The Economist, Babbel is an online language learning tool. The site isn’t as new as other startups (it was founded in 2007), but it continues to win startup awards and raise new funds.
4. Telegram
Telegram might be the next WhatsApp. If it is, Facebook is likely to take notice.
In the meantime, Google Ventures might want to examine Telegram’s massive growth. The app reached 35 million monthly users last March. More than half of them use the app every day, amounting to more than eight billion messages received each month. That may be small potatoes compared to WhatsApp, but Telegram is relatively new. In time, it could become the next big thing.
5. Indoor Atlas
Indoor Atlas could be described as Google Maps for indoor locations. While Google has already attempted to map the interiors of select environments, Indoor Atlas wants to map interiors all over the world using smartphones and the Earth’s magnetic field.
Indoor Atlas is not only the kind of startup that Google should invest in — it might also be the type Google should acquire.
http://www.benzinga.com/startups/14/07/4729466/5-european-startups-that-google-should-fund