Hello Sifted reader,

It's Friday, which means one thing: the latest episode of the Sifted Podcast has just dropped. Grab your headphones and a coffee, and join Amy and Eleanor as they talk Checkout.com losing its crown as Europe's most valuable startup, good news for biodiversity and the final terms of that Getir-Gorillas deal.

As the year closes out we're also seeing some founders raise at valuations much lower than before — what's known as a downround. And it's something investors think we'll see a whole lot more of in 2023. We've listed the ones that have been announced so far.

Also from the Sifted newsroom:

🚀 The 400+ startup accelerators in Europe. At their best, accelerators offer crucial mentoring and financial support to early-stage founders. At their worst, they're useless — one VC recently told Sifted that Europe’s accelerator scene “just doesn’t mean anything anymore".

But whatever your views on the continent's startup bootcamps, what's clear is they're only increasing in number. So, we put together a bumper list of the hundreds of programmes available to founders.

Think we've missed any? Drop us a line at sadia@sifted.eu.

A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR FASTSPRING

Worried about sales tax or VAT compliance?

Selling SaaS globally is challenging. DIY payment softwares leave it all up to you, but there’s a better way. Enjoy payments, tax compliance and subscription management all in one.

Sign up for free

💉 18 European techbio investors you need in your network. Startups in the sector are starting to gobble up more and more VC cash, and Europe is starting to see some major success stories — in August this year, for example, the UK's MiroBio was acquired for a hefty $405m. But who are the VCs backing these startups?

🤖 How clever is AI chatbot ChatGPT? Since OpenAI's state-of-the-art chatbot was released to the public at the end of November, it's caused quite a stir — not least because of its ability to write Shakespearean sonnets. But what else can it do? Will it take your job? And are robots going to overthrow the human race any time soon?

💰 How to price and allocate IPO shares. The key is set the price so that the company maximises its return from the listing, but also secures the right mix of long-term investors, says cofounder and CEO of GitLab, Sid Sijbrandij. Here's how the SaaS unicorn did it.

📉 Downrounds in European tech: the list. The gung-ho financing days of 2021 are long gone, and 2022 has seen some of Europe's most successful startups raise rounds at significantly lower valuations than they did before. But which companies have been on the receiving end of a valuation drop? We list the downrounds announced in Europe so far.

💸 Meet the startups backed by the world’s new richest man. As shares in Tesla have fallen 50% since April, CEO of luxury goods group LVMH Bernard Arnault has knocked Elon Musk off the top spot. Arnault's family offices have backed tech companies like Netflix, Airbnb and Spotify in the past, and invest in startups through its VC firm Algae.

🤔 Are early-stage startups faring better than growth companies? We've seen some of Europe's best funded late-stage companies lay off staff and cut costs amid economic uncertainty — but things aren't so bad at Europe's early-stage startups, according to a new report by seed-focused VC January Ventures.

2022’s trends and turbulence — a year in review

Call 2022 a reality check following two super-charged years of pandemic-powered growth.

In our annual review, we run the numbers on funding rounds, exits, VC activity, layoffs and more — calling out the biggest YoY changes and winners that bucked the trends.

Plus, 12 predictions and our top startups to watch for 2023.

Download here

This report is exclusively for Sifted Pro members. Not a member? Get in touch with the team today with code 2022REVIEW for an exclusive discount!