Hello Sifted reader,

Berlin conference SuperVenture — where the tables turn and VCs go and ask for money from their investors — is in full flow. Pretty much every European VC is fundraising and having a hard time doing it, with many private investors asking them to come back in a few months. Public investors, however, are still investing very actively — and everyone still wants to back climate tech, the hot sector of 2022.

And over in Amsterdam a European fintech and banking jamboree is underway at Money20/20. There's a lot less crypto and fewer fancy dinners, but the US VCs are in town en masse. The conference is startup light, however, with most founders saving on the cost of a ticket and networking in the city instead.

From the Sifted newsroom today:

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🇸🇪 Sweden's evroc is aiming to build a green rival to Amazon Web Services. It's just raised a €13m pre-seed round to get it on its way, and is planning to secure €3bn over the next two years.

💰 Banking-as-a-service fintech Griffin raises $13.5m Series A. US investor Mass Mutual Ventures led the round for the company, which also counts some of Europe's most high-profile fintech angels on its cap table. Seedcamp, EQT Ventures and Notion participated.

Healthtechs raised the most seed funding in May — and fintechs, which once enjoyed a steady spot in the top three, slipped down to fifth place. From living longer for €10k to saving wonky veggies, here are some of the seed rounds that caught Sifted's eye last month.

Want to raise from investors? Your need an airtight management team. That's according to a new report by VC Speedinvest, which surveyed more than 400 VCs and found that almost half of them focus primarily on the management of a startup when making an investment decision. The survey also revealed that investors think Europe's exit environment is holding it back, and there was some sobering news for unicorns.

🌪 From raising a Series B to going bankrupt. Eight months after filing for insolvency, digital bank Nuri’s former CEO Kristina Walcker-Mayer shares her advice for coping with a startup in crisis.

↗️ VC activity is set to (finally) pick up. A new survey by UK-focused investment bank Numis has found that 90% of investors are expecting to increase their deal volume over the next six months — and 80% reckon valuations might also be about to rise.

🍟 Europe's semiconductor sector in data — which country is leading? And which startups have brought in the most cash?

💻 The company using Arm's blueprint to help small quantum startups compete with Google. Germany's QC Design — which came out of stealth mode yesterday — is building technology to address one of the big technical challenges when building a useful quantum computer: error correction.

Managing employee morale in a downturn — the do’s and don’ts

Operating in a downturn comes with a whole host of challenges — but boosting employee morale should remain a priority. On our Downturn Survival Guide podcast, EQT Ventures’ Polly Barnes and Instabee’s Alexis Priftis reveal their top tips for motivating your employees.

Tune in

💰 Series A+

Woltair, a Czech Republic-based platform helping consumers find sustainable energy solutions, has drummed up an additional €20.5m, bringing its total Series A raise to €36.8m.

💰 Pre-seed and seed

Elba, a French cybersecurity platform that aims to protect companies from cyber threats by having their employees solve issues themselves, has raised a €2.5m seed round led by XAnge.
Irish automated accounting platform Outmin has raised €2m in seed funding.

💰 Undisclosed

UK-based GetHarley, a platform that connects consumers with clinicians and medical-grade skincare, has raised $52m led by Index Ventures.
Sprinque, a B2B payments platform based in the Netherlands, has raised €20m in debt funding from Avellinia Capital.
Tilta, a German platform for B2B commerce payments, has secured €4m from Dreamcraft Ventures and 10x Founders.
France's Escape, a platform for security teams to manage data leak risks, has raised €3.6m from investors including IRIS, Frst, Kima Ventures and Tiny Supercomputers.
Norwegian drone delivery service Aviant has received €1m from Innovate Norway.

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🛠️ Startup Life — Every Wednesday Miriam Partington and Anisah Osman Britton tell you how (and how not) to run a business. Sign up here.

🌴 Climate Tech — Every Thursday Freya Pratty shares where the money’s going, how the rules are changing and who the ones to watch are in Europe’s greenest sector. Sign up here.

🗣️ Up Round — Every Friday Amy Lewin and Eleanor Warnock give you a weekly snapshot of the latest VC funds, people moves, investing trends and industry goss. Sign up here.