Sifted

🏭 Leading European industrial family offices such as Viessmann Generations Group are leaning into Climate Tech VC and backing 2150 💶 We have already closed almost €200m for Fund II (which is 75% of the size of Fund I) and more on the way with support from previous and new institutional investors including Augustinus Fonden Novo Holdings EIFO Carbon Equity and $17.5bn US pension fund Church Pension Group 📰 Sifted has the news on Fund II: https://lnkd.in/eVRUXqxC 🌱 The new Fund has already led or co-led three investments into AtmosZero Mission Zero Technologies and METYCLE and like with Fund I, we will build a portfolio of 20+ across North America and Europe 📚 The thesis remains the same, research-led identification of solutions to the greatest challenges of the urban environment to help make cities and its citizens more efficient, resilient and sustainable 🔠 While our core focus remains on Series A, our initial check size range continues to be €3-15m to help impactful technologies scale with a healthy reserve ratio to continue backing our founders Thank you to our amazing Limited Partners for your support, and thank you to the founders who allow us to partner with them on this mission! #VentureCapital #ClimateTech #SustainableCities #Gigacorns 👏 👏 to the Team: Christian Hernandez Gallardo Christian Jølck Jacob Bro Nicole Florack Derek Brooks Peter Hirsch Mikkel Bülow-Lehnsby Rahul Parekh Alexander Kielland Jil Lindau, CFA ESG Max Blanshard Shahnaz Khan Margarita Skarkou Christian Højdevang Gemma Shepherd

At TECHARENA a month back, I joined a side event with Kry's Johannes Schildt and EU politician Arba Kokalari talking about the importance of startups lobbying politicians. And lobbying at the EU level is something that scaleups are getting more into. Ride-hailing scaleup Bolt has about 50 employees working on regulations in a lobbying capacity. Data centre scaleup evroc, hybrid plane manufacturer Heart Aerospace and carbon accounting startup Greenly are among the many companies working the corridors of Brussels. So perhaps it's not strange that Swedish impact hub Norrsken, with coworking places in Stockholm, Barcelona and Kigali, is now launching a house in Brussels. As Willem Vriesendorp cofounder of Norrsken House Brussels put it: “By bringing impact entrepreneurship into the policy conversation, we can ensure that the EU remains a leader in sustainable innovation — not just in ambition, but in execution.” So how much capital and time is it worth to spend on lobbying activities? I'm keen to hear what you think.

🇪🇺 Why fragmentation in Europe is holding back its startups — and how to fix it 🛠️ The EU likes to sell the continent as one single market but for startups it often doesn’t feel that way. European startups must instead wade through the rules and regulations of each individual country before they can even start doing business. And once they've done so, the headaches continue: different currencies, tax systems and cultural differences all take time and money to navigate. 📚 Understand how fragmentation impacts international expansion and how to overcome these challenges with J.P. Morgan: https://lnkd.in/evkt8vJG

Sifted just published a piece on 12 CFO tech stack startups to watch, featuring picks from VCs across Europe. Tom Mendoza, Partner, EQT Ventures, highlighted Atlar, Solvimon, and Light (non portfolio) -- three companies shaping the future of finance infrastructure. Atlar is tackling treasury automation as the foundation for finance operations, Solvimon is rethinking billing and monetization for fintech and SaaS, and Light is building a next-generation ERP system designed to automate and simplify financial operations for tech-first and multinational companies. Excited to see how these teams redefine the CFO stack. Read more, link in comments! 👇

NEW: Defence tech has taken centre stage in recent weeks, and one of Europe's largest — and best-funded — defence startups, Helsing, has raised from big European and US VCs in recent years. It's received more than $820m, per PitchBook data, and hit a roughly €5bn valuation. But which investors own the most shares of the startup? I dug into a recent filing to find out. More on Sifted https://lnkd.in/dnZw_V6m

Who better to shed light on the tough realities of scaling and growth than the people who have done it themselves? Every year, #SiftedSummit brings together an exceptional lineup of world-class founders, investors and operators - ready to drop game-changing advice and success strategies. Swipe through to see some of the past powerhouse speakers! 🌟🎤 🔥 Super early bird tickets are LIVE! Secure yours now before they’re gone > https://lnkd.in/eTQ_jp_h Don’t miss your chance to connect in person with the visionaries shaping Europe’s tech future. 🚀 #startupeurope #technetworking #startups

Buy now, close later? 💳 IPO-bound Klarna is closing three overseas offices in a cost-cutting push. On Friday the company filed to go public on the New York Stock Exchange and plans to close offices in Amsterdam, Mannheim and Columbus — which once served as it's launch pad for its U.S. expansion. “As part of our strategic decision to drive operational efficiency, leverage Al and reduce administrative costs in our business, we have decided to reduce the size of our office space,” CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski said. The filings also reveal that Klarna reduced its staff numbers from 5,527 employees in 2022 to 3,422 employees by the end of last year. 📖 Explore the full article by Tom Matsuda: https://lnkd.in/ezVqZqCR

Scaling tech companies is a major challenge for European players. With IQM Quantum Computers we are on a strong track to be a global leader in quantum! We are selling our products globally, have an ambitious tech roadmap for error-correction, and the best team in place to execute our plans. Thanks Miriam Partington for this great article in Sifted about our ambitions and journey: https://lnkd.in/dNZ8gbxa Sylwia Barthel de Weydenthal (she/her) Mikko Välimäki Juha Vartiainen Inés De Vega Tomi Riipinen Juha Vartiainen Blair Robertson Andreas Theer Michael Bruce, MCIPR Milja Kalliosaari Jouni Flyktman

Excited to have contributed to Sifted's list of FemTech startups to watch alongside some great investors from EQT Life Sciences, Sandwater, Sie Ventures, Fund F and more 🚀 Women's health isn't a niche, it's a massive and underserved market opportunity. Particularly given women control the vast majority of consumer spend (70%+ depending on which sources you're looking at), it's a blue ocean ready for conquering. The companies at the helm of this are tackling long-overlooked challenges and I'm excited to share some of the startups I've been tracking in this space. Thank you Maya for involving me! If you want to see my top picks, link in the comments below 👇

Startup NÜWIEL GmbH provides electric mobility solutions for cities —known as ‘the world’s first eTrailer’. ⚡️ The startup is part of Morgan Stanley’s startup accelerator programme —Inclusive & Sustainable Ventures (MSISV) and its founder and CEO, Natalia Tomiyama, says that the accelerator solidified her goals, even when the economic landscape was challenging. In a challenging economic climate, mentorship can make the difference between failing or scaling. Applications for MSISV’s 2025 cohort are now extended until March 31. Learn more about Morgan Stanley Inclusive & Sustainable Ventures and how to apply at morganstanley.com/ventures. Read more on MSISV here ▶️ https://lnkd.in/e2YGm8iz