Sifted - Who will bail out Northvolt?

Good morning there,

All eyes are on Northvolt this week as the Swedish battery maker — Europe's best-funded privately-owned startup — desperately seeks funding. We look at who (if anyone) might bail it out in this newsletter.

In other news: 

• The EU has nominated its first-ever startup commissioner 
• OpenAI is opening a subsidiary company in Paris
• German speedy grocery company Flink raises $150m

P.S. We’re now only two weeks away from Sifted Summit, our annual shebang which will bring together 3,000 founders, operators and investors from across European tech on October 2 and 3 in London. You can get your tickets here.

— Amy Lewin, editor

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🛵 German speedy grocery company Flink has raised $150m in a bid to reach profitability in 2025. The round (which is $115m equity funding) includes investment from existing backers Bond, Mubadala, Northzone and German supermarket Rewe, as well as new investors which the company declined to name.

• Mubadala is also, notably, a major investor in competitor Getir. 
• Flink is currently active in 80 cities in Germany and the Netherlands; it pulled out of Austria in 2022 and out of France earlier this year, after filing for bankruptcy in both countries.

🤵‍♀️ Until not so long ago, the word ‘startup’ didn’t even exist in EU jargon; now European tech is getting its first-ever startup commissioner. Bulgaria’s Ekaterina Zaharieva has been nominated to become the European Commission’s commissioner for startups, research and innovation, Commission president Ursula von der Leyen announced yesterday. 

• The lack of one designated person to deal with startup matters — which have typically been put in the same basket as either big tech, or SMEs — has been a huge concern for years. Now, startup groups are celebrating. 

🥐 OpenAI is opening a subsidiary in Paris, company creation documents show. Dubbed OpenAI France, it’s HQ'd in Paris and is led, for now, by OpenAI’s deputy general counsel Robert Wu and VP of finance Janine Korovesis, who are both based in San Francisco. It’s OpenAI’s third Europe office, after London and Dublin.

🏭 Who will bail out Northvolt? The Swedish gigafactory company Northvolt is having a turbulent time, to say the least. Its money is running out and it’s struggling to close a funding round of €660m (half of what it originally set out to raise) ahead of its pay run in a week — so everyone is looking for who can bail it out. 

• The Swedish government won’t, said the Swedish prime minister at a press conference on Monday, in response to the Swedish Green Party suggesting one solution when the state takes ownership of the gigafactory. Swedish pension funds have invested €500m in Northvolt; while the Swedish National Debt Office put in €1.3bn in credit guarantees late last year.
• Will the largest shareholders of Northvolt — German car manufacturer Volkswagen and investment bank Goldman Sachs, which each own around 20% of the company — bail it out? Volkswagen, which is in a precarious situation in Germany, told Bloomberg on Monday that it is still supporting “the industrial ramp-up of the existing production” at Northvolt. However, neither Goldman Sachs nor VW has disclosed if they will inject fresh capital. Watch this space…

🔍 I'm struggling to get a job in tech. Where should I look? Sequoia's VP of talent (and Sifted agony aunt) Zoe Hewitt on where to look for good jobs in tech at the moment — and how to maximise your chance of landing them.

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With environmental pressure mounting, our latest report takes a journey through the tech that is changing airports — and air travel — across the globe.

Lausanne, Switzerland-based Neo Medical, which develops technology to help with spine surgery, raised $68m in Series B funding. It will use the capital to expand its US business. PE firm Gyrus Capital led the round.

Barcelona, Spain-based Stark Future, which is developing electric motorbikes made from sustainable materials, signed a €40m credit facility with the European Investment Bank.

London-based Zevero, a global carbon accounting platform, raised €6.2m in seed funding. Japanese VC Spiral Capital led the round and was joined by investors including Indonesian VC East Ventures.

Ghent, Belgium-based Timefold, an AI-powered platform for planning, raised €6m in funding. Lakestar led the round and was joined by existing investor Smartfin.

Munich, Germany-based Reactive Robotics, which makes robots to assist patients in medical and care settings, raised €5m in funding. Investors include German electronics company TQ-Group and the EIC Fund.

Espoo, Finland-based QMill, a quantum computing company, raised €4m in seed funding. Maki.vc led the round and was joined by investors including Antler and Kvanted.

Munich, Germany-based VidLab7, which makes personalised videos for sales teams using AI, raised €3.5m in seed funding. EQT Ventures led the round.

Lund, Sweden-based Cellevate, a biotech company developing next-generation cell culture systems to revolutionise biomanufacturing, raised €3.2m in seed funding. Swedish public investor Industrifonden led the round; the EIC Fund also participated.

Cambridge, UK-based Evoralis, a spinout from the University of Cambridge which is developing plastic-depolymerising enzymes, raised £2.5m in seed funding. Italian VC firm LIFTT led the round and was joined by investors including Cambridge Enterprise Ventures, Parkwalk Advisors, Backbone Ventures, Circular Plastics Accelerator and Archipelago Ventures.

Faroe Island-based Ocean Rainforest, which grows and processes seaweed sustainably, raised €2.5m in Series A funding. Impact investor Triodos Investment Management led the round and was joined by investors including Grantham Foundation, Builders Vision, Katapult Ocean, Twynam and World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

London-based TG0, a startup which has designed technology that helps product developers create touch-sensitive, pressure-mapping surfaces, raised €2m in funding. AI company NetMind led the round.

Paris-based Jinko, which offers personalised care to those affected by cancer via an app, raised €2m in funding. 360 Capital led the round and was joined by investors including AFI Ventures.

Rome-based Renewcast, which provides wind energy generation forecasting, raised €2m in seed funding. South Western Power Group (SWPG), part of US multinational MMR Group, led the round and was joined by investors including CDP Venture Capital’s Green Transition Fund.

Cekmekoy, Turkey-based Qubitrium, a quantum startup which helps customers share information securely, raised €1.5m in seed funding. Deeptech VC firm ACT Venture Partners led the round.

Madrid-based Webel, a marketplace to find everything from cleaners to tutors, beauticians to dog walkers, raised €1.4m in funding. US tech investor Goodwater Capital led the round and was joined by investors including Decelera Ventures.

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