Hello Sifted reader,

First up, a massive congrats to Anisah Osman Britton — the brilliant co-author of our Startup Life newsletter, and seasoned startup founder and investor — who was made an MBE for services to diversity in tech last week. One of the best people you could meet in tech, we're extremely proud to count her among our writers!

And, as the dust settles on the holiday season we've got a bumper predictions edition to ease you back into the swing of things. We spoke to industry experts, founders, VCs and you — our readers — to find out what's on the horizon in 2023.

From the Sifted newsroom:

— Kai, reporter & Tom, digital editor

🚀 The rise of quantum-as-a-service. After years as a technology with massive potential but limited real-world use cases, VCs are beginning to cotton on to the quantum opportunity. In 2022, quantum startups raised $290m, double the figure from the previous year.

While some startups are focusing on developing the hardware, others are looking to give businesses access to quantum processing power as a service — and more companies than ever are looking to harness the tech.

Sifted looked into what quantum computers can actually do at the moment — and what the future holds for the sector.

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🧑‍💻 Sifted readers predict the future of European tech. In December we asked you — our readers — what you thought was on the horizon in European tech in 2023. From hiring and fundraising to remote working and diversity and inclusion, here's what you had to say.

🧬 Molecular farming: the newest trend among foodtech investors. It's one of the hottest technologies in the sector right now, and over the past 18 months investor interest has led to a slew of oversubscribed rounds. But scaling and navigating regulation are still challenges most in the space are yet to overcome. Here's how molecular farming startups are looking to tackle those hurdles.

🤖 Deeptech predictions for 2023. Despite the downturn, the deeptech sector performed well in 2022, minting five new unicorns and seeing several megarounds. So what can the sector expect this year? From AI and quantum taking centre stage to battery technology hitting the limelight, here's what investors think.

📈 Can CEE keep up the pace after a strong 2022? A tricky 2022 saw the war in Ukraine and a looming economic crisis take centre stage in the region, but the outlook for the CEE startup scene isn't all doom and gloom. Here's how CEE entrepreneurs, investors and community builders see the region's prospects panning out in 2023.

💸 What’s in store for European fintech in 2023? After a show stopping 2021, the sector stepped on the brakes last year, as investment dried up and layoffs, downrounds and insolvencies littered the headlines. Many industry watchers think there's more of the same on the horizon in 2023.

🇩🇪 10 predictions for German tech in 2023. 2022 was a choppy year for the German startup scene as companies grappled with a global economic downturn — but what's in store this year? Sifted asked 10 German entrepreneurs and investors their predictions for 2023.

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Time to shoot for the moon

😬 UK startups’ gender pay gap is worse than national average in 1992. It's also double the national average in 2022, according to data from salary benchmarking platform Figures, which looked at the median wages of workers at 317 UK tech companies with 10 to 200 employees. Sifted dug into to data to find out how France and Germany compare, and which roles have the largest pay gaps.

💸 Want to close the gender pay gap? Find out what your coworkers earn. Sifted trawled through more pay gap data and found that the only companies to have no pay gap between men and women working the same role are those with complete pay transparency. Unfortunately, just 12% of the 493 tech companies surveyed across the UK, France and Germany practice it.

💵 What do startup founders pay themselves? It can be a tricky question for founders to answer when they just start out, and until recently there have been few resources online to help founders figure it out. That's where Seedcamp's report comes in, which collected data on the salaries of 185 founders from pre-seed to Series A.

💰 How to negotiate a pay rise. As life becomes ever more expensive with a cost of living crisis taking hold, salaries are front of mind for startup employees right now. But asking for a pay rise can be an awkward, uncomfortable task. Sifted spoke to a number of startup workers who have recently negotiated a pay rise to get some top tips.

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