Hello Sifted reader,

You might think a Siberian anti-Putin activist would have little to do with European tech. But Mikhail Kokorich — who’s had to quit both the US and Russia during his time as a founder — is aiming to do something that hasn’t been achieved since Concorde… and in a green way.

His latest company, Destinus, is trying to build the “first supersonic hydrogen-powered plane in the history of aviation”, and it doesn’t stop there. He harbours ambitions to take on US-based (and Sam Altman-backed) Hermeus and reach hypersonic flight, which means getting to at least five times the speed of sound.

He’s so far bagged €50m to do it, and has staffed his board with a former French space commander and former Spanish minister for science and innovation. Today Freya Pratty looks into how exactly it all works.

From the Sifted newsroom:

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🧠 Neural interface platform BIOS Health has raised fresh funding for its tech that can read nerve impulse activity by the millisecond — it's aiming to treat conditions like heart failure, arthritis, diabetes and Crohn’s disease, and cofounder Emil Hewage says it "may never have to have another investor again”.

🚀 The German spacetech planning to fire stem cell "organoids" into orbit. ATMOS builds unmanned space transport capsules that can be used for scientific research in low-gravity environments. It's just raised €4m as it pushes for a first launch by the end of 2024.

💰 Capital markets fintech TreasurySpring raises £15m. The London-based startup's Series B was led by Balderton and existing investors ETFS Capital, Anthemis and MMC Ventures also participated in the round, according to company filings.

💸 Solo GP Robin Haak raises fund. The former founder and GP at growth fund Revaia has raised €3m of a €10-20m fund, which will look to back B2B SaaS startups across Europe, Israel and the US at pre-seed and seed.

He's part of a growing list of solo GPs in Europe. Read the full list here.

🤖 London is way ahead of the rest of the pack when it comes to percentage of AI engineers in Europe — but the continent as a whole punches well above its weight. According to a new data platform from US VC Sequoia, Europe's per-capita concentration of AI experts is 30% higher than the US — and close to three times higher than China's.

🔧 Want to work in VC? You better crack open the engineering textbooks. According to a new report by Slush’s programme curator Konrad Kordowski, which analysed job ads at 297 firms in Europe, it's the in-demand degree among hires. The report also found that nearly half of all ads wanted applicants to speak a second language — so wannabe VCs might want to start swatting up on Duolingo too.

Want to get more than 120,000 eyeballs on your product? We've got sponsorship space for you in July. Get in touch here.

🇱🇹 Is Vilnius the "G-spot of Europe"? City officials are hoping so, and they're pulling out all the stops to lure international tech talent amid waves of layoffs across the continent, including a 700-year old trick used by Lithuanian king Gediminas.

⚡️ 12 energy startups to watch, according to VCs. Investors at Planet A Ventures, SFC Capital, Point Nine and Eight Roads shared the startups they've got their eyes on.

📉 How to hire during a downturn — Dagmara Aldridge, chief people and culture officer at Zumo, a cryptocurrency wallet and exchange app, shares her top tips.

🇬🇧 This week on the Sifted Podcast we're joined by former UK prime minister Tony Blair, to talk through his plan (or lack thereof) for an AI-powered Britain. Plus, we chat Sequoia's new tool mapping out Europe's engineering talent and a Human Genome Project for the nervous system.

🤖 The good, the bad and the AI: What’s next for chatbots. (Sponsored by SentiOne)

🤝 How founders and investors can work together to build a more inclusive ecosystem. (Sponsored by Morgan Stanley)

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Times have changed, and the mindset of “growth-at-all-costs” no longer works. It’s time to adapt and thrive in this new era so join us on June 28 as we debate whether you should scale back or explore new revenue streams with Stripe, Personio, Travelperk and Crane Venture Partners.

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💰 Series A+

UK-founded fintech Volt has raised a $60m Series B round led by Silicon Valley investor IVP, alongside other new investor CommerzVentures.
Tagworks Pharmaceuticals, a Dutch startup developing antibody-drug conjugates, has raised a $65m Series A.
Supercritical, a carbon removal marketplace for businesses, has raised a $13m Series A led by US VC Lightspeed.

💰 Pre-seed and seed

Nyra health, an Austrian therapy platform for neurological patients, has raised a €4.5m seed round.
Swave Photonics, a Belgian augmented reality startup, has raised a €3m seed round.
Buildbuild, a Cypriot startup selling software to construction companies, has raised a $1.25m seed round.

💰 Undisclosed

MESI Medical, a Slovenian startup digitising diagnostics workflows for hospitals and general practices, has raised €18m.
Drest, a UK-based fashion gaming studio, has raised £15m.
Look Up Space, a French startup mapping satellites and debris in space, has raised €14m.
Oliva, a UK-based workplace mental health platform, has raised £4.3m in a round led by Molten Ventures.
Adamo, a UK-based startup developing meat alternatives, has raised £1.5m.