Airbnb announced new functionalities including car rentals, grocery delivery through Instacart partnership, airport transfers via Welcome Pickups, baggage storage through Bounce, boutique hotel integration in 20 cities (including Paris, London, Madrid, Rome, New York), FIFA 2026 World Cup experiences, and AI-powered features for trip planning and customer support in 11 languages.
Qivalis, a consortium of European banks based in Amsterdam, has expanded to 37 member institutions from 15 countries to develop a euro-denominated stablecoin as an alternative to dollar-dominated stablecoins. The initiative plans to launch a regulated stablecoin in the second half of 2024, subject to regulatory approval. Portuguese banks are notably absent from the project so far, though it includes major banks from Spain, France, Italy, and Nordic countries.
Limenet, a startup developing decarbonization technologies for hard-to-abate industries, partnered with Italian building materials group Fassa Bortolo on a 5 million euro co-development project for an electric kiln that reduces lime production emissions by approximately 22% compared to traditional fossil fuel methods. The deal follows a 7 million euro equity investment in Limenet by CDP Venture Capital and Fassa Bortolo in December 2025.
Hotiday, a Milan-based startup founded in 2022 by a trio of students, sublets hotel rooms and rents them to travelers. It topped the third annual Sifted 100 ranking of the 100 fastest-growing companies in Southern Europe, achieving a remarkable 1330.95% two-year revenue CAGR between 2023 and 2025. The company uses an innovative business model based on subletting rather than purchasing buildings or franchising.
Euronext, Europe’s leading continental stock exchange operator, reported strong Q1 2026 results with 16.7% net profit growth to 192.3 million euros and 15.3% revenue growth to 528.5 million euros. Equity market revenues surged 28.1% to 138.9 million euros, driven by high volatility and strong ETF growth, including contributions from the recently completed Athens Stock Exchange acquisition completed in late 2025. The company also noted benefits from the largest defense IPO in history (Czech Republic’s Czechoslovak Group) in January 2026.
D-Orbit, an Italian spacetech scaleup, collaborated with Disney Italia to send a 3D-scanned replica of the Mandalorian helmet to orbit aboard the Wayfinder mission on March 30, 2026, launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base via SpaceX’s Falcon 9 as part of the Transporter-16 mission. The helmet was deployed at approximately 510 kilometers altitude in sun-synchronous orbit and captured unique images with Earth in the background using cameras developed internally by D-Orbit.
Milan-based legal AI company Lexroom raised $50 million in Series B funding led by Left Lane Capital. The company develops AI infrastructure for legal professionals using a proprietary database of over 6 million verified legal sources. The platform is used by over 8,000 law firms and corporate legal teams globally, with plans to expand across civil law jurisdictions in Europe starting with Spain and Germany.
Commerzbank formally rejected UniCredit’s takeover bid valued at €39 billion, claiming it undervalues the bank by 5.6% and carries significant risks. The board recommended shareholders reject the stock exchange proposal, citing vague integration plans and unrealistic synergy estimates. Commerzbank is promoting its independent ‘Momentum 2030’ strategy instead.
Milan-based Cosmico, a future of work holding company, raised €12 million in Series B funding led by P101 SGR. The company operates across Italy and Spain with a network of 35,000+ digital professionals. Alongside the funding, Cosmico completed the full acquisition of Flatmates, a creator agency. The funding will support the company’s expansion strategy and planned acquisitions.
The 6th edition of IoMobility awards ceremony recognized 15+ European startups and companies innovating in mobility sector. Major winners include: Powandgo (electric vehicle charging sharing network from Brescia), ParkSmart (smart parking from Catania), Btinkeeng (public transport solutions from Trentino), Flowy (public transport ticketing from Florence), Latitudo 40 (geospatial intelligence from Naples), Ses4mo (vulnerable road users protection from Turin), among others. Awards covered categories including energy for mobility, innovative parking, public transport, MaaS, AI/data analytics, autonomous vehicles, smart roads, sustainability, and fleet management.