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Hi Sifted Reader,

The public market slowdown is weighing on startup funding in the US. But what's the picture in Europe? Our founder John Thornhill investigates. Plus... 

• Get to know Sifted's Spanish startups to watch in 2022 
• Meet Tumelo, which wants to give BlackRock's shareholders voting rights
• How to grow in the slowdown

 — Amy, fintech reporter & Amy, editor

Tech valuations got pretty astronomical last year and now — surprise surprise — they're crashing back down to earth.

But what does the public market slump in the US mean for startups raising in Europe this year?

John Thornhill speaks to VCs to find out.

For as many benefits as the cloud offers startups, there are just as many challenges — especially when it comes to budget. DoiT and Google Cloud’s new ebook explains how startups can take advantage without breaking the bank.

Get the ebook here.

You've heard of Cabify, you've heard of Glovo.

But which are the other Spanish startups and scaleups to watch over the next year? 

Our ranking has all you need to know. 

Some founders might be panicking at the news that global venture funding is slowing. 

But Laura González-Estéfani says we're returning to a more sustainable funding environment — and that's the perfect opportunity for founders to regroup. 

Here she shares her advice for founders looking to grow in a recession. 

European SaaS may not be as big as America’s — but with 65 European cities housing unicorns, and €44.7m invested in Estonia in 2021 alone, its growth is accelerating.

So how exactly is the sector evolving in Europe right now? 

SaaS founders share their thoughts. 

Do you actually know what companies your pension is invested in? Or any idea how fund managers vote at shareholder meetings on your behalf? 

If you live in the UK, your answer is likely a sheepish no. Tumelo was founded two years ago by three friends who wanted to change this. 

They've just raised a $19m Series A to fuel their mission to make things less opaque, and to give shareholders a say in company votes. And now they want to take on the biggest fund managers in the world. 

Here's how they plan to take on BlackRock. 

🦄 Paddle becomes the UK's latest unicorn. The fintech, which provides the behind-the-scenes billing payments infrastructure for SaaS companies across 200 markets, just raised a $200m equity and debt Series D, led by US investment giant KKR. It brings Paddle's valuation to $1.4bn, and its total amount raised to $293m. 

🐯 Arianee raises $21m — and gets Tiger on board. Arianee issues digital authentication certificates (NFT-style) for luxury goods in the physical world. They're irrevocable, they're used by Paris Fashion Week and it's an idea that's won Tiger Global's backing — the investment giant led the $21m Series A. 

🍭 Lollipop raises $6.1m in seed funding. Ah Lollipop, it couldn't be more zeitgeisty if it tried. Last year its founder Tom Foster-Carter, the former COO of Curve and Monzo, told us his new startup is basically the "Monzo of supermarkets". And now it's won Octopus Ventures' backing to transform our weekly shops. 

📲 Norway gets its latest unicorn with Remarkable. The Norweigan startup has confirmed its latest valuation is over $1bn, following a very mysterious round — it didn't disclose the names of the investors nor the size of the funding round. But its last raise was a $15m Series A in 2019. So that's some pretty heavy lifting...

📉 Europe has a deeptech scaling problem — according to three members of the European Innovation Council’s (EIC) ScalingUp initiative. Alejandro Tauber explores the key challenges facing the sector.  

🍃 How to fundraise in the current climate. We thought this resource from Cherry Ventures is definitely worth a share. The Berlin-based VC has shared the fundraising guidance it gave its portfolio companies — and we're here for it. 

You can hear from this incredible lineup at today’s Sifted Talks — Improvise, adapt, pivot: What to do when the product you’re building isn’t quite right.

Register now.

Amy Lewin
Editor 

Get in touch with her at amy@sifted.eu
Or tweeting at @amyrlewin

Amy O'Brien

Reporter

Get in touch with her at amyobrien@sifted.eu 
Or @Amy_EOBrien

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