Hi Sifted reader,
Being a VC is no easy feat, and that's something the European Commission has had to learn the hard way. With delayed payments and poor communication, the EU's startup fund looks like it's in troubled waters. So can it get back on its feet?
And there's some exciting Siftedverse news too: super early-bird tickets for the Sifted Summit are on sale today! Click here to bag yours now.
Plus... - Gorillas-owned Street Fleet set to shut down
- How will the recession impact revenue-based financing?
- New Unconventional Ventures fund to back underrepresented founders
— Sophie, editorial assistant & Tom, digital editor |
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Gorillas-owned rider platform Street Fleet lays off 100+ riders and is set to shut down |
Speedy grocery delivery is in the firing line again. This time, Gorillas-owned Street Fleet.
What's happened?
- Workers have accused the Berlin-based rider platform of failing to pay wages on time or provide health insurance. - The more than 100 riders it employs have also been told that the company is closing at the end of the month, leaving many of them jobless.
- The unpaid wages have left some riders approaching destitution, and many worry they won’t be able to find another job. In response, riders took to the streets to protest last weekend.
Here’s the inside story. |
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Account takeover fraud is just one of the scams currently rife across the globe — but could open banking be the answer? Find out in our latest video mythbusting cybercrime scams, in partnership with TrueLayer.
Watch now to wise up. |
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Inside the EU's stalling startup investment scheme |
Over the past few years, the European Commission has been developing its first scheme to invest directly in the continent’s most promising deeptech startups.
But although hundreds of companies have been selected for equity funding, few have received any money yet. So what went wrong?
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What would a recession mean for revenue-based financing startups?
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Last year, revenue-based financing providers received $671m from VCs for their promise of "founder friendly" alternative financing.
Lending to startups is about to get a whole lot riskier though, as RBF providers are exposed to interest rate fluctuations and forced to rely on their clients having strong revenue figures.
So what's next for Europe's RBF startups? |
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Unconventional Ventures launches €30m fund to invest in underrepresented founders |
92% of capital invested in Nordic startups goes to all-male founding teams, but Unconventional Ventures wants to change this.
Its new €30m fund is looking to back founders from a range of marginalised backgrounds, including women, people of colour, immigrants and LGBT+ people.
Here’s everything you need to know. |
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📗 New evergreen impact tech fund launches. Millionaire entrepreneur brothers Fabian and Ferry Heilemann have announced that Pirate Impact — their family office — is evolving into an evergreen impact tech firm called AENU. It has €100m to invest in startups from seed to IPO and beyond, and will write cheques between €500k and €5m for startups based in the EU and US.
🌙 Climentum launches climate fund. Climentum has announced the first close of a fund targeting a total of €150m to back moonshot sustainability startups and green technologies, such as hydrogen planes. Climentum aims to focus its investments on the six sectors that are the "highest emitting globally": renewables, agriculture, manufacturing, construction, transport and waste — and won’t be backing software startups.
🖥️ Oxford Quantum Circuits raises £38m Series A round and plans to use the money to accelerate its R&D and expand into the Asia-Pacific region. Its quantum computing-as-a-service (QCaaS) model aims to put quantum computing at the fingertips of businesses worldwide.
🚀 Is Europe already losing the quantum race? A new report by BCG estimates that quantum computing could create between $450bn and 850bn of value over the next 15 to 30 years. However, Europe is at risk of failing to secure a leadership position in the quantum race, which could result in continued dependency on the US and China.
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What would you like to read about in the next email? |
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