Hello Sifted reader,

Most folks might have already switched on their out-of-office messages, but the team at Lithuanian VC Practica Capital have been busy bees: they're announcing a €32m first close of their third fund today, and are targeting a €70m close to make it the biggest early-stage fund in the Baltics.

Other people who've been working hard — the startups which managed to grow their teams by more than 250%(!) this year. We list the fastest-growing companies of 2022, by headcount; one scaleup grew the team 1,079%.

From the Sifted newsroom:

📈 2022's fastest growing startups. While some companies have pinched their pennies and delayed hiring until the fundraising market looks sunnier, others have been adding talent to the team like it's still 2021.

None of the companies that made 2021's fastest-growing startup list have retained their spots: speedy groceries are out while climate tech and spend management software are in.

Here are the startups that grew their head counts the most this year. Were they all on your radar?

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🇱🇹 One Lithuanian VC's early Christmas present for founders. Practica Capital has just announced a first close of its third fund for early-stage founders, with €32m of a target €70m raised. The generalist firm wants to invest around the Baltics, and it's one of a few new VCs to emerge from Lithuania after years of being overshadowed by Estonia's tech talent.

🛍️ Amazon aggregator bags €70m funding round. Germany's Razor has snuck in a hefty chunk of change right at the end of the year, raising what we think is just the second aggregator deal of 2022 in late December. The deal was led by US investor L Catterton and is said to value the startup at $1bn — the same as its last round. Freya Pratty has the details.

💰 How have CEE startups fared this year? Despite the knock-on effects of the war in Ukraine, startups in central and eastern Europe have another record year of funding to celebrate, with $3.2bn raised compared with 2021's $2.9bn. How did each country do — and was there positive progress across the board?

😕 Not-so-good news for the Nordics. Meanwhile, the Nordics haven't done so well this year, with investments taking a nose dive and valuations falling. But while it was a bad year for some, others came off lightly: new unicorns, electricity startups and the founder of Spotify have fewer reasons to feel blue.

🌳 Nine influential names in climate tech. It's looking likely to be a record year for climate tech funding, with over $14bn invested in the sector so far this year — just short of last year's total but with a few days to go. We look at some of the most noteworthy people behind the climate tech headlines.

🇫🇷 10 people to know in French tech. Overtaking Germany to become Europe's second-biggest tech ecosystem and boasting 25 new unicorns, France's startup scene has had a strong year. But who were the people with a hand in making it happen?

🎙 2022's best podcast episodes. Editor Amy and deputy editor Eleanor have chatted about everything from the fall of speedy grocery to fungal bratwurst to Idris Elba on the Sifted Podcast — here are some of the best episodes so far.

🤦‍♀️ "As if we didn’t have enough bad press already… now we’re responsible for him too!" It's safe to say that Meri Williams, formerly the chief technology officer at Monzo and now CTO at Pleo, will not be sending Elon Musk a Christmas card this year. On the latest episode of the Sifted podcast, she chats about why generative AI isn't coming for her team's jobs just yet, upskilling her staff and why the Twitter CEO's management style has her feeling "ashamed".

💛 How startups can give back. It's a time for giving, and according to the CEO of tree-planting search engine Ecosia, startups shouldn't be exempt from the generous spirit. From implementing a stewardship model to making social good part of your company's legal docs, Christian Kroll gives his top tips on how t eams can pledge to make positive impact — and deliver on the promise.

🇦🇹 Small but mighty: How Austria’s startup ecosystem is growing. (Sponsored by Austrian Business Agency.)

💰 How to control your startup’s SaaS subscription costs. (Sponsored by Cledara.)

⏫ Three founders on how they reward the communities that helped them get to the top. (Sponsored by Koos.)

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