VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Courts in Berlin and Hamburg upheld bans on online transportation service Uber on Friday, saying the company did not comply with German laws on the carriage of passengers.

Know what a "Wearable" is? Most top tech executives would struggle to define it. Now they're hoping that Apple will do it for them.

Berlin has banned car service Uber, which allows users to summon a ride on their smartphone, for not offering drivers and vehicles licensed to carry passengers, or full insurance cover, the German capital said.

Citymapper has raised USD10 million Series A funding round led by Balderton Capital and other investors including Index Ventures, Greylock Partners and Connect Ventures.

Berlin, Germany-based digital toy maker Toywheel has launched its first app which integrates the physical world with the digital world to create an interactive playground for children.

Berlin, Germany-based car sharing startup CiteeCar landed $10 million in its Series A funding round led by Mangrove Capital Expansion to expand in Germany and in selected international cities.

Berlin, Germany-based social reading app Readmill confirmed that San Francisco, US-based cloud storage giant Dropbox acqui-hired it for $8 million in combined stock and cash, with plans to shut it down later.

Berlin, Germany-based price comparison website PricePanda launched in Thailand after raising $3 million from Tengelmann Group, as part of its campaign to expand to South Asian countries.

Berlin, Germany-based startup TVSmiles picked up $7 million in a Series A funding round led by Ventech to expand the reach of its loyalty program for its second-screen app beyond Germany.

Berlin-based recruiting software startup softgarden merged with job ad media planning service 1000jobboersen.de for an undisclosed amount to form a giant Recruiting-as-a-Service provider called softgarden E-Recruiting.

Berlin, Germany-based solar energy startup Changers closed $1.5 million in a Series A funding round led by state-backed fund BFB Frühphasenfonds Brandenburg to turn solar power creation into a rewarding game.

With the pipeline of talent for startups slowly drying out, Startup Institute Managing Director Andrew Hoag asks if career accelerators could provide the answer to the dearth of skills needed in these fast-growing companies in his VentureVillage post.

San Francisco, California-based mobile video advertising startup Vungle snagged $17 million in a Series B funding round led by Thomvest Ventures to build monetization tools for developers of mobile apps.

Sunnyvale, US-based GPS app maker Telenav acquired Berlin, Germany-based navigation startup Skobbler in a deal valued at approximately $24 million in a combination of cash and common stock.

Starting February 27, London-based co-working space Rainmaking Loft will be opening 80 desks within a 1,000-square-meter office space in Berlin to provide startups with links between the Berlin and London tech markets.