These were the 10 biggest European tech stories this week

Happy Friday! This week, Tech.eu tracked 9 technology M&A transactions, one IPO and 46 tech funding deals (totaling €158 million, about $167 million) in Europe, Turkey and Israel.

Here’s an overview of the 10 biggest European tech news items for this week:

1) US-based GoDaddy, a domain name and hosting provider, said on Tuesday it would buy its European rival Host Europe Group (HEG) for €1.69 billion, including debt.

2) Europe’s largest carmaker, Volkswagen, has launched a new digital business division called MOIA to take on services such as Uber, shifting its focus beyond selling cars to catering for customers who prefer to pay for use rather than own a vehicle.

3) In related news, BMW will test autonomous vehicles in Munich next year as it seeks to keep up with ride-hailing firms … like Uber.

4) German hotel booking site Trivago updated its plans for a US IPO in a filing that came out on Monday. The company expects to price its shares between $13 to $15, a $428 million offering at the top end of the range.

5) Germany’s Lilium Aviation, a startup that develops lightweight, electric planes, has raised a €10 million Series A funding round from Atomico. The investment will help to commercialize the Lilium Jet, which is a lightweight commuter aircraft that can take off and land vertically.

6) US tech giants like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Microsoft will have to act faster to tackle online hate speech or face laws forcing them to do so, the European Commission has said.

7) Facebook has secured an e-money license in Ireland, paving the way for Messenger payments in Europe.

8) VC firm Partech Ventures has closed its newest €100 million seed fund, Partech Entrepreneur II, to invest in 80 European and US startups at seed stages.

9) eFounders has raised €5 million from 40 investors to help build eight new startups at its two startup studios in Brussels and Paris over the next two years.

10) Germany-based fintech startup N26 is expanding its business to 17 European countries, opening new locations in Spain, Italy, Greece, Ireland, and Slovakia.

Bonus link: Balderton profiled almost 15,000 employees in over 1,000 venture-backed companies in Europe, and produced a report on the ‘European Talent Landscape’ (highly recommended read)

This post originally appeared on Tech.eu. 

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