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SEPTEMBER 30, 2022

Hello Sifted reader,

Italy has cause for celebration this week after mobile payments provider Satispay became its second unicorn since the dotcom boom, after it raised a whopping €320m Series D round. 

Meanwhile, the EU has called in VC Alter Domus — that's a firm, not a medieval German monk — to try and revive its stalled deeptech investment scheme, which left startups that were promised money waiting precariously for months without payment. 

Also from the Sifted newsroom:

• Where is General Catalyst putting its money in Europe?
• The techbio startups VCs have their eye on
• How much equity should you expect when you join an early-stage startup?

💰 General Catalyst’s investments in Europe. Since opening its London office last December, the US VC has been on a roll, adding 17 European startups (two of which are still unannounced) to its portfolio. It’s written cheques to the tune of $500k all the way up to $100m+ at later stages. So where’s the money going?

🧪 18 European techbio startups to watch — according to investors. Startups are revolutionising the “tech” side of biotech, with companies working on innovations like brand new food ingredients and platforms accelerating drug discovery methods. And though the sector might still be working out some kinks, there are a host of startups catching investors’ attention. 

🤔 How much equity should you expect from an early-stage startup? If you’re thinking of joining a small startup, you might be offered stock options equating to a certain equity stake in the business. None the wiser as to what that means? Here’s what you need to know before accepting a job offer.

🌍 Do CEE startups need to start a company abroad? Central and eastern European (CEE) startups have commonly moved their headquarters west in search of growth. But, with the success of giants like UiPath, founders are finding it easier to raise cash at home. So, Sifted's CEE correspondent Zosia Wanat asks, do you still need to leave to be a global success?

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🦄 Italy births its second unicorn. Fintech Satispay raised a substantial €320m Series D round this week, which brought the total it’s raised to €450m and its valuation to more than $1bn. The round was led by new investor Addition, the young US VC firm headed up by Lee Fixel — the investor who previously made Tiger Global a mint with his bet on Peloton.

🇪🇺 EU hires an external VC to revive its stalled startup financing scheme. Startups that were promised funding from the European Innovation Council’s (EIC) deeptech investment scheme have been waiting months for delayed payments. Now, the EU has hired an external fund manager, Alter Domus, to lead the scheme. The Luxembourg-based firm will make the final decision on high-risk startup investments, but the EIC will remain responsible for the selection process, grant provision and business acceleration. 

SIFTED TALKS

With VCs becoming more conservative, what does a go-to-market strategy look like for startups in the new economy? In our next Sifted Talks we discuss how startups can still strike the right balance between profitability and growth.

Join us on October 26.

💻 Four benchmarks for VCs investing in quantum. It’s clear that quantum is booming: the sector has seen investments rise from $93.5m in 2015 to $3.6bn in 2021, with more than 70% of those coming from VC and private capital. For VCs interested in getting involved, the difficulty of assessing how well a quantum computer performs can lead to uncertain valuations  — but not if you know exactly what to look for. 

🤝 How to integrate a new team during an acquisition. Around 70 to 90% of acquisitions fail globally — and often, the main problem isn’t cash or strategy, but that the two teams expected to merge simply can’t get along. Kinda Dalla, Vinted’s mergers and acquisitions integration manager, gives her advice on how to get it right.

🚽 Meet the European startups revolutionising fertiliser. How do you feel about your lunch being prepped by human urine? Well, one French startup reckons human waste can use it to zoom ahead in the race to replace chemical fertilisers. Toopi (or not to pee?) is capitalising on the nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium content in urine and has raised $5m to convert it into a growth medium for bacteria and fungi, which in turn make microbial products for agriculture.

🌎 The best cities for digital nomads. With more people embracing the flexible location lifestyle — and 16% of global companies now offering remote working full time — infrastructure that supports digital nomadism is in demand. But which cities offer the best package? (In partnership with WorkMotion.)

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Sadia Nowshin

Editorial Assistant

Get in touch with her at

sadia@sifted.eu

She tweets from 

@sadianowshin_

Tom Nugent

Digital Editor

Get in touch with him at

tom@sifted.eu

He tweets from

@TJNugent92

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