Sifted - Niel takes over Newwave

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Generative AI startup Synthesia is fast becoming one of Europe’s most promising companies. 

Last week, we reported on the London-based text-to-video startup’s latest accounts; revenues tripled in 2023 compared to the previous year, along with a notable increase in spending. Today, Sifted’s John Thornhill speaks to Steffen Tjerrild, cofounder and COO of Synthesia, to delve further into the company’s strategy. 

Tjerrild predicts a breakout “ChatGPT-style” moment for AI video, as it develops video avatars that are indistinguishable from reality. But how does Synthesia plan to stay ahead of rivals, such as OpenAI, in a fiercely competitive AI race? Read the full piece here.

Elsewhere:

• French VC firm Newwave is being taken over by billionaire Xavier Niel’s holding company — and insiders describe ‘highly unusual’ drama
• 13 French startups to watch outside of Paris, according to VCs
• Media for equity: 'False economy' or fast track to growth?

— Tim Smith, news editor

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💰 Mistral and Helsing backer General Catalyst raised a whopping $8bn for its 12th fund. It’s the biggest fund yet for the US-based firm, which has been beefing up its European activities in the last year, following its merger with Berlin-based fund La Famiglia in 2023. The new fund will be split as follows: 

• $4.5bn for VC investments from seed to growth equity stages;
• $1.5bn for company creation, including venture buyouts;
• $2bn in separately managed accounts.

🇫🇷 French VC firm Newwave, cofounded by Pia d’Iribarne and Jean de La Rochebrochard in 2020, is being taken over by NJJ Holding, French billionaire Xavier Niel’s personal holding company, D’Iribarne and NJJ Holding said yesterday in a statement. D’Iribarne is leaving the firm and has decided to pursue other investment opportunities, but insiders describe a drama playing out behind the scenes.

• NJJ is Newwave’s largest LP, Sifted understands. De La Rochebrochard will return to manage the fund, according to two sources.
• Earlier this year, cofounder De La Rochebrochard was pushed out. One source close to the fund describes the whole situation as “highly unusual”.

😬 Klarna shareholders have voted to oust director Mikael Walther from its board. In a meeting between company investors in London yesterday, the motion to remove the ally of cofounder Victor Jacobsson was agreed by 87% of shareholders present, according to a statement by the fintech. 

• Walther, who has had a seat on the board since 2016 and been the board representative for Jacobsson, said in a separate statement: “A majority of those present at the general meeting have decided that I shall leave the board… As a result, there will be one fewer independent voice in the boardroom.”

💸 Vinted has closed a €340m secondary share sale at €5bn valuation. The Lithuanian secondhand clothing marketplace sold secondaries to new investors including TPG and Hedosophia. It also bumped its valuation up from the €3.5bn announced in 2021. 

• In the last three years, Vinted has reached profitability and reported 61% revenue growth in 2023 — its CEO, Thomas Plantenga, told senior reporter Zosia Wanat last year the company was “technically IPO-ready”.
• It’s the latest in a series of European scaleups to announce secondaries rounds; this week, London-based fintech Moneybox raised £70m in funding made up mostly of secondaries. Earlier this month, neobank Monzo increased its valuation to $5.9bn after an employee share sale. Similarly, Revolut upped its valuation to $45bn in an employee share sale in August.

💪 Synthesia has quadrupled its team since 2022 to push for a "ChatGPT-style" moment in AI video.

👀 13 French startups to watch outside of Paris, according to VCs.

💡 VC investment in consumer startups fell by 97% last year compared to the 2021 peak, leaving founders to look elsewhere for ways to keep their companies in the spotlight. One such route is media for equity, where media companies take equity in exchange for advertising space — but is it worth the sacrifice for startups? 

• For some, it’s paid off. “One of our largest investments by media volume, the German fashion platform About You, increased their revenues by 15x during our investment period from 2015 up until their IPO in 2021,” says Amelie Bahr, investor at German Media Pool VC. 
• But not everyone is convinced media for equity works. Caspar Lee, cofounder of consumer VC Creator Ventures, says, “It’s a lot cleaner for both sides to use cash as a currency, which then can be used for marketing. [...] Saving capital by offering media instead of the original investment is just a false economy.”

🤔 Does Europe need more courage? Air taxi company Lilium and Swedish gigafactory Northvolt’s recent struggles have ignited debate among deeptech founders on how governments should support struggling scaleups.

• Opinion remains divided but there is a growing sentiment that European governments and the EU need to step up if the continent wants to compete with the US and China.
• Sifted’s Europe editor Mimi Billing has more.

This story first appeared in Sifted’s climate tech newsletter, which drops into inboxes every Thursday morning. You can sign up here.

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London-based Genie AI, an AI legal assistant, raised €16m in Series A funding. Google Ventures led the round and was joined by Khosla Ventures.

Paterna, Spain-based Matteco, which manufactures materials for green hydrogen production, raised €15m in Series A funding from investors including Grupo ASV, Napali and Zubi.

Freiburg, Germany-based Recyda, which develops software for packaging companies to assess the recyclability of their supply chain, raised €6.3m in funding. Cusp Capital led the round and was joined by investors including Speedinvest, Futury Capital, the Auxxo Female Catalyst Fund and angels Dr Stephan Rohr (cofounder and CEO of Twaice), Benedikt Franke (Planetly/Helpling) and Martin Weber (One.Five).

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