Sifted - CogX supplier calls debt collectors

Good morning there,

Today, we’re following up on a story we published in April looking into claims that suppliers to CogX — one of the UK’s largest tech conferences — were owed “tens of thousands” in unpaid fees. At the time CogX acknowledged it owed money to a number of suppliers and said it was working towards paying them.  

Now, with CogX’s London event just around the corner in October, more suppliers have reached out to Sifted to say they’re owed money by the event, with some telling Sifted they're resorting to the courts and debt collectors as they look to recoup that money. 

A CogX spokesperson told Sifted that it acknowledges “a number of suppliers are awaiting payment” and that it apologises for the inconvenience caused. They added: “We remain firmly committed to making sure that all outstanding invoices are paid in full." 

We dig into that today.

Elsewhere: 

• Insect farming scaleup Ÿnsect at risk of insolvency
• Berlin-based Cavalry Ventures loses third partner this year
• Europe’s fastest-growing deeptech startups in 2024
• The FOAK playbook: How to hire the right team

— Kai Nicol-Schwarz, reporter

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🐛 Ÿnsect is at risk of insolvency. The company, one of France’s most high-profile industrial scaleups that specialises in breeding insects and transforming them into protein, has entered a ‘procédure de sauvegarde’ (safeguarding proceedings) — a voluntary procedure that is intended to reorganise a company when it is in financial difficulty, and typically occurs when there is a risk of insolvency.

• Ÿnsect has just opened its first industrial-scale factory Ÿnfarm — a costly project that launched in 2020 and has required huge rounds of fundraising. The scaleup last raised a $160m Series D in 2023, which fell short of its needs; it has since been looking to secure more capital.
• Cofounder Antoine Hubert told Sifted in August that the company was hoping to close another tranche of funding by the end of this year, but that finding investors had been painful. “There are no more investors on the market,” he said at the time.

🏭 Northvolt to be served ‘suspicion of gross manslaughter’ notice over worker death, reports the FT. Swedish prosecutors are looking into the death of one of the troubled battery manufacturer’s employees in an explosion at its gigafactory.

🎠 Berlin-based Cavalry Ventures has seen three partners depart in as many months. Founding partner Rouven Dresselhaus announced on LinkedIn yesterday morning that he was leaving to focus on his family and, “when the time is right, pursue new challenges.” Partner Björn Loose also announced last week that he was leaving the firm; and fellow partner Martin Janicki left in July this year, according to his LinkedIn.

💳 Pre-tax losses at TrueLayer, the UK-based payments company backed by Stripe, have increased by close to 40% despite the company trebling revenue year-on-year. According to Companies House filings posted this week, last year TrueLayer made a pre-tax loss of £55.6m compared to £40.3m for the year prior. Revenue tripled from £4.1m to £12.4m. 

🪦 Lithuanian fintech kevin has stopped operating. The company, which in 2021 raised a $65m Series A from Accel and Eurazeo, announced on LinkedIn on Thursday that it would not be able to continue to provide payment services to its clients, as its payment institution licence has been revoked by the Bank of Lithuania. Earlier this week, kevin was declared insolvent by a Lithuanian court (a decision the startup wants to appeal). 

• The announcement comes two months after the Bank of Lithuania instructed the company to not provide payment services to new clients until it complied with financial reporting requirements.  
• Earlier this year, Sifted reported that kevin failed to pay salaries on time.
• But this doesn’t seem to be the end of the saga. Kevin’s founder, Pavel Sokolovas, announced that he would continue to work on the fintech payment solution in another venture — OpenNFC Network. “We will continue our mission with renewed energy,” he said in a LinkedIn post.
• Sokolovas also points fingers at who he thinks is to blame for the failure. “We had made significant progress and were on the verge of something great, but ultimately, we lacked the necessary courage and support from the shareholders and investors to push through,” he said. Accel and Eurazeo didn’t respond to a request for a comment. Sokolovas also said that he would pursue OpenNFC “with even stronger partners.”

🧑‍⚖️ CogX suppliers resort to courts and debt collectors to recoup money owed them by the UK tech event. Five suppliers contacted Sifted to say they were owed money by CogX. Sifted approached a sixth after an anonymous tip off. Many are now intensifying their efforts to recoup debts as CogX gears up for its next London event on October 7.

• There are currently eight court orders, dating back to 2022, for CogX to pay creditors money — ranging from £2k-£15k — with six issued since the start of this year, according to TrustOnline, a service setup by the Ministry of Justice to provide access to court records.
• A CogX spokesperson said: “CogX is in the process of raising a substantial new funding round to clear creditors and provide capital for long term growth of its CogX events business.”

🌱 First-of-a-kind climate tech startups can’t just hire ‘smart people’; they need to hire talent that’s been there and done it before. 

• “There used to be a mantra: don't hire for experience, hire for development potential and smart people will figure it out. This may be true for a software company, but if you have to build a factory, you just have to really know your shit,” Sebastian Peck, VC at climate-focused fund Kompas, tells Sifted. “You want people who have learned from mistakes they made on other people’s money,” says Octopus Ventures partner Simon King.
• Point taken. So, where can Europe’s climate infrastructure startups find those people? And — from process engineers to investment bankers — what’s the ideal makeup of that team? 

🦾 Which startup is Europe’s fastest-growing deeptech? A clue: it’s in quantum.

Are you the fastest-growing startup?

Apply to feature on our France leaderboard — a ranking celebrating the region’s fastest-growing startups. Boost your credibility to set you apart from your competitors and access new investment opportunities — don’t miss out.

Berlin-based Distribusion, a ground transportation booking platform, raised $80m in Series C funding. TQ Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including Lightrock.

Munich-based Marvel Fusion, a nuclear fusion startup, raised €62.8m in Series B funding. HV Capital led the round and was joined by investors including b2venture, BayernKapital, Deutsche Telekom, SPRIND and Tenglemann Ventures.

Paris-based Qantev, which makes software to help health and life insurers process and assess claims, raised €30m in funding. Blossom Capital led the round and was joined by investors including Elaia, Omnes and Raise Ventures.

Tallinn-based Mifundo, which has developed a cross-border platform for credit profiles, raised €10m in pre-seed and grant funding. Tera Ventures and the European Innovation Council led the round.

Helsinki-based Distance Technologies, which manufactures mixed reality solutions that don’t involve glasses, raised €10m in seed funding. Google Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including FOV Ventures and Maki.vc.

Tallinn-based ÄIO, a spinoff from TalTech (Tallinn University of Technology) which produces environmentally friendly oils and fats from wood and agricultural residues, raised €6.1m in funding from investors including Voima Ventures, 2C Ventures, SmartCap and Nordic Foodtech VC.

Madrid-based Homedoctor, which makes diagnostic devices that test vital signs and connect users with doctors via video consultation, raised €4.5m in funding from Q-Impact and Clave Capital.

Pordenone, Italy-based Vitesy, which creates IoT devices that combat air pollution and food waste in homes, raised €4m in funding. CDP Venture Capital led the round and was joined by investors including Mediaset.

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