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Kabir Agarwal here, Sifted's new senior finance reporter. In addition to contributing to the Sifted Newsletter, I'll also be reporting on all things finance across European tech and VC. Reach out with tips and ideas to kabir@sifted.eu, and connect with me on LinkedIn here.  

From the Sifted newsroom today: 

• Fears over net neutrality paywall worries founders
• Why are VCs chasing climate fintechs? 

— Kabir Agarwal, senior finance reporter

Look no further — EIT’s 15-week EU-funded Rocket Up programme focuses on making international scaling easier for women founders with tailor-made mentorship, training and networking. Register for the free webinar on May 15 to learn more.

💰 German speed reading app Blinkist has been acquired by Australian company Go1 — both companies declined to comment on the financials of the deal but said that the combined valuation of the two is "well above $2bn".

📉 The growing popularity of climate fintechs — the economic downturn may have taken its toll on fintech funding, but one subsector is having its time in the sun. Here's why climate fintechs are bagging VC attention, and who's raised so far this year.

🤖 AI is doing the equivalent work of 250 people at Octopus Energy — founder and CEO of the energy company Greg Jackson says it's using AI to answer 34% of all customer queries... with a better satisfaction rate than humans.

🇪🇺 Are all internet users born equal? A new proposal in Brussels could lead to internet providers charging fees to online services — and although it's likely to hit big tech more, startup founders are starting to worry. 

💬 Fintech funding in Europe has recently been eclipsed by deeptech and climate tech — but does that mean VCs have found a purpose, or are they just chasing another cash cow?

💰 Why payroll platforms are critical to solving payment challenges for global companies. (Sponsored by Nium)

The finance function is critical for steering a startup through investment rounds and calculating runway — even more important in this new funding environment. Our Sifted guide is here to help startups better understand the challenges of growing the finance function, avoiding common pitfalls and getting the most out of the team.

❗️UK electric automotive company Arrival has received a warning from the Nasdaq Stock Market for failing to produce its annual report on time. (UKTN)

🎧 Spotify removes tens of thousands of AI-made songs from its platform. (Financial Times)

💰 Series A+

• Prewave, the Austrian startup providing supply chain monitoring services, has raised $20m in Series A funding led by Creandum.

💰 Pre-seed & seed

• Berlin-based Blocktorch, which helps Web3 engineering teams quickly access, understand and fix errors, has raised $4.2m in seed funding. Investors included Speedinvest and Bryce Ferguson for Sequoia's scout programme.

• Improvin’, the Stockholm-based foodtech startup, has raised €3.5m in a seed round led by Pale Blue Dot and Dynamo Ventures. 
• Odin, a UK-based platform that makes it easier for startups, angel syndicates and fund managers to raise cash, has picked up a $3m seed round. 

• Value.Space, a UK startup offering a satellite-based insurance risk assessment, has raised €2.1m in seed funding. 

• Amsterdam-based Equip, a financial coaching platform for employees, has raised €2m in a pre-seed round led by XO Ventures. 

• Product Fruits, a digital onboarding startup based in Prague, has raised €1.6m in a seed funding round.  

• Topo.io, a B2B SaaS startup developing digital sales rooms and customer collaboration platforms, has raised €1m from the likes of Kima Ventures and Bpifrance.

💰 Undisclosed

• Dublin and Munich-based emobility startup Jolt Energy, which builds ultra-fast charging stations, has raised €150m.

Are you quiet quitting and looking for a new job? These roles could be for you:

• Shift Technology, an AI insurance company, is looking for a new senior fullstack developer, hybrid in Paris or remote
• Blockchain.com, a software company for digital assets, is looking for a  senior back-end software engineer, hybrid in London
• Delivery Hero, an online food delivery company, is looking for a  principal data scientist in Berlin

Kabir Agarwal

Senior Finance Reporter

Get in touch with him at

kabir@sifted.eu

He tweets from 

@kabir_agarwal_

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