Hello Sifted reader,

In funding news Atomico has opened its chequebook to lead Romanian pet tech Digitail's $11m Series A — one of the country's biggest Series A rounds in recent years. Scroll down for the pitch deck that bagged the startup the cash.

And in the Sifted Podcast this week, it's funding galore — Amy and Eleanor chat cancer detection startup OXcan's raise, the startup that bagged cash to make all vehicles autonomous and the $45m that healthtech Peppy plans to use to go big in the US.

From the Sifted newsroom:

— Kai, reporter & Tom, digital editor

💰 The most active investors at seed stage in Europe in 2022. While early-stage funding in Europe dipped from €7.3bn in 2021 to €5.8bn last year, a number of companies still picked up hefty seed rounds in 2022.

Using data from Sifted Intelligence, we looked in which investors signed on the dotted line the most for seed-stage startups last year — and found out what they're advising companies to do ahead of a potentially bumpy 2023.

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🐕 Atomico leads $11m Series A for Romanian pet tech. Digitail automates admin at vet clinics and has just raised one of the largest Series A rounds in recent years in Romania. The startup is currently working with more than 750 clinics around the world and claims it can reduce admin tasks by 40% to 60%. Next up it plans to double down on expansion to the US.

🦄 AI-based language translator DeepL becomes a unicorn. While the round size was undisclosed, sources close to the deal put the figure at more than $100m, according to TechCrunch. The round was led by Californian VC IVP, with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners and Atomico. The German startup will look to use to the funding to build out new services and hit scale.

🎮 Beyond The Witcher: What's going on in Poland's gaming sector? The country's rich gaming sector has flown under the radar among international investors in recent years, as local startups have usually preferred raising capital from the public markets than private backers. But as public stocks hit the doldrums, should Poland's gaming startups rethink their relationship with VCs?

👀 11 agritech startups to watch. 2022 was a record breaking year for agritech, as investors pumped $1.4bn into the sector — up from $1.1bn in 2021. But which startups are worth keeping an eye on? Sifted asked four VCs in the space which ones they've got in their sights.

🌯 This startup wants to turn CO2 into food. Austria's Arkeon is using a tiny microbe found in underwater volcanoes to turn emissions into amino acids. It could have a huge impact, as a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions are brought about by food production. Freya Pratty finds out how it works and what it means for the future of food.

🕵️ The former spook vetting founders on behalf of VCs. Undercover espionage and running a startup have more in common than you might think. That's according to new VC vetting service Dark Minds, which screens founders’ personalities based on techniques from the world of espionage. Tim Smith speaks to its cofounder, a former counterterrorism operative known as "Dr C", about what that involves.

🗣 Founders, don’t complain about hard times — you love the struggle. The tricky market conditions only make being a founder more exciting, and the companies that win in this environment will be here to stay, says cofounder of SaaS startup Varos, Yarden Shaked.

🤔 What to think about if you’re joining a startup in 2023. It can be a daunting prospect joining a startup in the midst of a tech downturn. So we asked founders what candidates should be considering if they're looking for a new role, and how they can assess how likely a startup is to go under.

⭕️ How startups can usher in the circular economy. Wider adoption of the principle could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 39%, according to think tank Circle Economy. So how can startups build a business around the circular economy right from the off? (Sponsored by Lowe Rental.)

🩺 Why collaboration is key for medtech and biotech. While VCs are still backing companies in those sectors, challenges ranging from regulatory barriers to addressing a steep talent gap remain. Collaboration could be the crucial overcoming the hurdles. (Sponsored by Johnson and Johnson Innovation.)