Hello Sifted reader,

The countdown is on for the next Sifted Sessions event — we'll be hitting Stockholm on March 8 for a jam-packed schedule of panels, workshops and networking opportunities with some of the city's brightest minds.

Don't want to miss it? Register for your ticket here and meet the movers behind some of the region's top scaleups, including Kry, Northvolt and Einride.

Robert Falck, CEO of the autonomous vehicle unicorn, also graces the latest episode of the Sifted Podcast, to tell us about raising a whopping $500m Series C — and gaining entry to London's prestigious "guild of wagons".

From the Sifted newsroom:

✂️ Europe's private tech giants see valuations plummet. New data from Caplight Technologies has revealed that some of Europe's big private tech companies may have seen their valuations drop by more than half — with some waving goodbye to their unicorn status.

According to data on seven private European tech companies provided to Sifted, the startup that looks to have taken the biggest hit is buy now, pay later giant Klarna, which saw its valuation drop 85% when it raised in July.

But which other prominent companies could be affected?

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🌱 How to raise seed funding. So you've turned your startup idea into what you hope is a viable long-term business, have a minimum viable product under your belt and pre-seed cash in the bank. The natural next step is to turn towards raising a seed round. Whether you're a first-time founder feeling the nerves or a seasoned pro in need of a refresh, here's what you need to know before you start.

🐘 The TL;DR on Mastodon. When it looked like Twitter was on the cusp of self-imploding, a lot of users jumped ship and climbed aboard alternative social media platform Mastodon. But if, up until 10 seconds ago, the word "mastodon" meant was an extinct elephant-like thing, then Sifted's got the lowdown on the alternative to the blue bird.

🌳 Who's backing climate hardware? Vying to be known for more than just flat-pack furniture and the Djungelskog teddy bear, IKEA is backing more climate hardware startups than most VCs. But who else is getting in on the game?

🙌 RELEX launches charitable foundation. The Finnish unicorn RELEX Solutions — which raised Finland's largest ever funding round earlier this year, and provides a platform to streamline supply chains — is launching a new €100m foundation, which will support organisations that are fighting climate change and tackling inequality.

💰 Cavalry Ventures' first close. The "no bullshit" VC has announced the first close of its third fund to invest in early-stage tech companies. It's bagged €100m of its target of €160m, and will invest between €500k and €2m into around 35 startups at pre-seed and seed stages, with 60% of the money reserved for follow-on investments.

🚛 Autonomous truck startup raises $500m. A lot of people thought autonomous trucks were a long shot — but Swedish startup Einride stuck to its guns, and was seemingly right to do so. It's just raised a $500m Series C round, split between $300m in debt and $200m in equity.

🌪 The secret to deeptech spinout success. One of the barriers that deeptech startups face — particularly those spinning out of universities — is just how long it takes to get a product ready for its market debut. Mike Dimelow, chief commercial officer at Bloc Ventures, argues that there's only one way to make it work: entrepreneurial ambition.

🧑‍💻 How to boost deeptech/climate hardware innovation. Software alone won't solve the climate crisis — we also need to scale hardware solutions. Pauliina Meskanen, a consultant on deeptech climate innovation and venture partner at Climate Capital Bio, sets out how Europe can do that, from fixing the spinout scene to government-backed moonshot factories.

💾 Where European deeptech goes wrong. Europe's deeptech scene still needs work, as the continent continues to play catch-up to the US and China. Zoe Reich and Amy Nommeots-Nomm from Octopus Ventures explore what they reckon is the main issue : the lack of any successful late-stage examples.

Next week, we'll be hearing from the CEO of GitLab, Sid Sijbrandij, who takes us through the software development platform's IPO journey. Keep your eyes peeled!