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It's an ABBA kind of Friday, as this morning's all about money money money. Sweden's Supernormal has bagged $10m for its AI-powered language modelling software that'll write your meeting notes for you; French employment site Welcome to the Jungle has drummed up a €50m Series C; and France's Renaissance Fusion has raised a €15m seed round for its nuclear fusion tech. 

Friday also means it's time for a new episode of Startup Europe — The Sifted Podcast. This week we sit down with Delivery Hero VP Milena Lazarevska to ask about the future of speedy grocery startups — and whether they'll ever make a profit. Listen here.

Also from the Sifted newsroom:

• Germany's startup scene struggles with discrimination
• Is water tech the next big climate bet?
• How to avoid mistakes when working across cultures

—Sadia, editorial assistant & Tom, digital editor

🤺 Europe is getting defensive. 

Defence tech is emerging from the veils of taboo and becoming VC-backable, as European countries look to improve their protection.

In the Baltics in particular, which share both borders and a complicated past with Russia, a growing number of startups building in the sector are in regular contact with governments concerned about potential security threats.

That leaves a lot for investors to chew on — so which startups do they have on their radar?

Demystify the talent acquisition process and learn how to build an acquisition strategy that will keep your company growing sustainably.

📝 The AI that will write your meeting notes for you. Supernormal, which offers an AI-powered language modelling software that can be embedded into your video calling platform of choice to transcribe calls and generate meeting notes, has raised $10m in a round led by Balderton Capital.

💼 €50m for French employment site. Welcome to the Jungle's Series C round will be used to expand internationally, taking its job listings and HR content across the pond. The company plans to dedicate a third of roughly 50 prospective new hires to US expansion. 

💥 Renaissance Fusion raises €15m seed round. The French startup is developing nuclear fusion technology, which has the potential to create the same amount of energy as nuclear fission (the "old" kind of nuclear energy) but with a lot less radioactive waste. 

🩺 French healthtech Alan's confident of reaching profitability. Company health insurance unicorn Alan has released its 2022 results. Not only were revenues up 62%, but its CEO tells Sifted that the startup has no plans to fundraise again in the future, and would “look at an IPO at some point but not by 2025”.

🌊 Could water create the next big wave in climate tech? The threat of water scarcity is real: it's estimated that by 2050, 52% of the population will live in regions where the demand is greater than the supply. And as founders try to come up with solutions, VCs have started trickling cash into startups working with water.

🤸 Where is the most flexible office? For some the days of hybrid working are in the past, as bosses try to recreate the pre-pandemic workspace. But a new ranking by Flexa has shown that isn't the case everywhere — here are the companies still willing to bow to the workplace flexitarian.  

🗺 How to work across cultures without hiccups. Startups looking to expand often hire geographically distributed teams. But, as career member of the US foreign service Zed Tarar highlights, to avoid speed bumps it's important to brush up on the culture of the people you hire and those you're working with, to avoid making some costly mistakes. 

🇩🇪 Germany's poor treatment of female founders of colour. A new report by Founderland has revealed grim findings: discrimination in Germany's startup scene is still rife, with female founders of colour bearing the brunt. From bias against non-German names to exclusive networks, here are the key takeaways. 

Connect with startup founders, operators and investors from across the Nordics — Northvolt, Einride, Kry, Kahoot!, Instabee and Balderton Capital are already on the guestlist. Early bird rates end next week, so book now for the best rate or apply for a coveted free startup pass.

✂️ How to cut down on meetings. While getting the team together to chat doesn't seem very costly, the time and resources that go into meetings can add up. So how do you make sure you're making the most of everyone's time while cutting out the unnecessary bloat? 

👔 Deeptech entrepreneurs, this is why you should consider business school. (Sponsored by HEC Paris)

🌎 How to grow your employee benefits as you expand globally. (Sponsored by Engage Health)

Sadia Nowshin

Editorial Assistant

Get in touch with her at

sadia@sifted.eu

She tweets from 

@sadianowshin_

Tom Nugent

Digital Editor

Get in touch with him at

tom@sifted.eu

He tweets from

@TJNugent92

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