View this email in your browser

Hi Sifted Reader,

The economic slowdown has brought about uncertainty for Europeans, but how has it impacted startups? Today our community reporter Kai hears from Sifted readers across the continent on how their startups are coping. Plus...

• The top 10 early-stage Nordic investors
• Inside Europe's most valuable private HR tech company
• Top 100 B2B Soonicorns

— Sophie, editorial assistant & Tom, digital editor

The economic slowdown has had a ripple effect across Europe, but how has it impacted the startup world?

Our survey of Sifted readers found that the majority of startups are taking actions to prepare for the market downturn, from freezing hiring to laying off staff. 

Here’s what you need to know.

All these hypergrowth startups scaled with the help of customer support software Zendesk. Qualify for the Zendesk for Startups programme and get CX software free for six months. 

Get more information about how to apply here. 

When Hanno Renner cofounded Personio in 2015, he had just graduated from business school and never worked a full-time job. 

Driven by a desire to innovate, he set out to digitise HR processes like absence tracking, payroll and holiday requests, which were still being handled via Excel spreadsheets.

So how did he build Personio into a multi-billion-dollar business?

The Nordic countries have been a hotbed of startup innovation, giving birth to the likes of Klarna, Pleo and Aiven, to name just a few of the region’s unicorns.

But who are the region’s top early-stage VC firms? Using Dealroom data, Sifted ranked the top seed and Series A investors in the Nordics, highlighting some of their notable investments.

So who made the list?

This article is available for all Sifted members, and will be unlocked and free to read for all in seven days. 

Sifted Intelligence's new report launches today ranking Europe’s top 100 B2B soonicorns.

The report spans 18 countries and 13 sectors, with all the insights, interviews and data you need to understand which startups will be next to bolt out of Europe’s unicorn stable. 

Can you name them all?

🚚 Electric truck manufacturer Tevva raises $51m. The startup's new funding comes after a $57m round in November last year, and brings its total funding to $140m. It hopes the fresh cash will fund the production and development of its electric trucks, as the transport industry looks for ways to cut emissions — there was a year-on-year increase of 193% in electric truck designs registered in Europe in 2021.

🌍 LocalGlobe launches new scaleup fund. The London-based VC firm, known for investing in successful startups like Wise and Monzo, has raised a new scaleup fund to support businesses from Series D up to IPO. The move makes LocalGlobe stand apart from other European VC firms, as it will be able to back startups through their entire lifecycle, from pre-seed to public listing.

✈️ Omio raises $80m Series E. The Berlin-based travel booking unicorn has raised funding at a time where international travel is rebounding to record levels after two years of Covid disruption.

🩺 Idoven raises $19.8m. The Spanish healthtech's raise consists of a $12.9m Series A co-led by Insight Partners and Northzone, and $6.9m in grant and equity funding from the European Innovation Council Accelerator. The startup uses AI to help detect early signs of heart disease and hopes to eventually make its API available to smartwatch makers as an app.

🎓Neol raises $5.2m seed. The London-based startup has raised a $5.2m seed round led by Japan’s kyu Collective and Global Ventures. The Web3 firm is targeted towards a young and creative audience, and hopes to build out a decentralised, tokenised learning and talent platform.

👍 Kellogg School of Management professors David Schonthal and Loran Nordgren think corporate innovation is being held back because not enough focus is on overcoming the frictions that undermine change. So how do you get people to say yes to innovation?

💸 Even supposedly easy ways of buying crypto — like using a debit card to buy bitcoin from a major exchange — can be tricky. But it's a problem founders are trying to solve. So which startups are making it easier to buy and sell crypto?

💤 Bored of audits, legal and regulatory reporting? The trick is to look ahead Here's your big guide to operations. (sponsored by PwC).

Social investing: Hear from Plaid, Plum and Revuto

As digital assets go mainstream, how will the rise of crypto in social investing impact traditional financial advisers? And what social responsibilities do wealthtechs have when allocating to crypto assets? Join us on July 6.

Sophie Zhang

Editorial Assistant

Get in touch with them at sophiezhang@sifted.eu

Tom Nugent

Digital Editor 

Get in touch with him at tomnugent@sifted.eu
Or tweeting at @TJNugent92

Copyright © 2022 SIFTED (EU) LTD, All rights reserved.

Want to tailor what you receive from us?
You can update your preferences to manage your newsletter subscriptions,
or you can unsubscribe from Sifted if you never want to hear from us again.