Sifted - Why ElevenLabs got rid of job titles

Good morning there,

It sounds like the new European Commission has its work cut out, going by the number of petitions landing in its inbox from Europe's startups.

First came calls for the creation of an 'EU Inc' — a new single, pan-European legal entity which would help companies operate and scale across 27 EU countries. Now there's a new petition, signed by 26 startup associations from across Europe, asking for a series of measures to encourage institutional investors to devote more capital to VC funds.

If anyone else has an 'ask' for the new Commission, I want to know. And if you work in the Commission, let me know how you're getting on prioritising all the various requests.

Elsewhere today:

• Why we’ve removed job titles at ElevenLabs
• “The rise of the AfD is definitely not good news for the startup ecosystem” says German startup association boss Verena Pausder

– Amy Lewin, editor

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🇪🇺  In an open letter, 26 startup associations from across Europe have urged EU Commissioners to implement initiatives that could funnel more money from institutional investors — like pension funds and insurers — towards VC funds.

• ‘The funding chain in Europe is deficient’, states the letter. Despite having huge pockets, institutional investors in the region are allocating little capital to riskier assets like VC, which in turn means there's less money for the continent's promising startups and scaleups.
• A report published alongside the letter finds that about a third of the total money raised by VCs in Europe comes from institutional investors, compared to 72% in the US. 

💊 French GenAI drug discovery startup DeepLife has raised a $10m Series A as it prepares to expand to the US. DeepLife is developing technology to help pharma companies repurpose existing drugs for new conditions by simulating their effects on an AI platform that creates “digital twins” of cells.

• It’s getting easier for tech startups to work with pharma, says founder Jonathan Baptista. “There’s a willingness to move past the status quo on generating a drug using empirical methods,” he tells Sifted.
• DeepLife will build out its sales and technical team in the US — and Baptista says the whole company might relocate across the Atlantic within the next few years to be closer to techbio capital and talent.

✨ French unicorn Mirakl, which provides tools to enable businesses to create and operate their own marketplace, has acquired German adtech Adspert — a startup that uses AI to analyse and improve the performance of advertising campaigns. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

• It is the e-commerce scaleup’s third acquisition in three years and its first outside of France. 
• The scaleup is positioning itself as a consolidator in the sector: last year, it announced that it had secured a €100m Revolving Credit Facility (RCF) to carry out M&A. 

🦊 Berlin insurtech Wefox is reportedly raising a round that would see its valuation slashed by nearly 90%, according to a Manager Magazin report. Sky News also previously reported on the fundraise. 

• The startup was valued at $4.5bn back in 2022, but has since fallen on tough times; its founder Julian Teicke stepped down earlier this year and the company recently sold its insurance carrier business. Now Wefox is reportedly trying to raise up to €80m at a €500m valuation, a large portion of that coming from investors Target Global and Chrysalis, per the report.
• Wefox told Manager Magazin that the company is "working intensively on the strategic development and sustainable financing of the company with the support of existing investors” and will "communicate on this when final decisions have been made." Wefox didn’t return Sifted’s request for comment by press time.  

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💡 Why we’ve removed job titles at ElevenLabs. Since last week, GenAI company ElevenLabs no longer has a head of growth, or a VP of product. Now everyone is part of a team — like operations, or go to market — and that’s it. Has anarchy broken out? Not just yet. 

🇩🇪 The rise of the far-right party AfD is bad news for German startups, says German Startup Association boss Verena Pausder. Startups are already struggling with labour shortages and need to be able to recruit experts from abroad — yet “AfD xenophobia basically sends a message of ‘we don’t want you here’”, Pausder tells Sifted. “We need more migrant founders. We want more female founders and the AfD is stuck in a mindset from the 1950s of what women should be like.”

• While Germany is facing challenges both politically and economically, there are still reasons for startups to be optimistic, she adds; 736 new startups were founded in the third quarter of 2024, the highest number since the boom in 2021, and VC deal activity is also up in the DACH region.

💸 Digital banking startups dominate list of Europe’s fastest-growing fintechs.

👛 How startups can embrace payments — and turn them into profits. (Sponsored by Primer) 

🌍 Tomorrow | Online. How to find (and attract) top talent for your startup. Learn how to attract top talent, streamline your recruitment process, and hire smarter to drive your startup's success, at our free, virtual Sifted Talks on December 12. RSVP.

Sifted readers, have your say! 

We’re on a mission to amplify and empower Europe’s startup innovators, and your feedback can make all the difference. Take our quick 10-minute survey to help us deliver the news and insights you value most.

Paris-based Aqemia, which specialises in drug discovery using quantum-inspired physics and AI, raised $38m in funding. Cathay Innovation led the round and was joined by investors including Wendel, Bpifrance, Eurazeo and Elaia.

• Aqemia is also set to open a new office in London as part of its expansion plan.
• It raised €30m in January this year, in a round led by Wendel.

Karlsruhe, Germany-based Dealfront, a B2B sales intelligence platform, raised €30m in funding. AshGrove Capital led the round.

Copenhagen-based Snipr Biome, which specialises in microbial gene therapy, raised up to €20m in debt funding from the European Investment Bank.

Paris-based Biomemory, which builds DNA data storage devices, raised $18m in Series A funding. Crédit Mutuel Innovation led the round and was joined by investors including Bpifrance, Blast, Paris Business Angels, Sorbonne Venture, Adnexus, Prunay, Next Sequence and Accelerem.

Amsterdam-based Next Sense, which provides a platform for smart buildings, raised €11.5m in Series A funding. ABP and ETF Partners led the round and were joined by investors including Edge, Shape Capital and Timeless Investments.

Zurich, Switzerland-based Relai, a self-custodial app for buying and selling bitcoin, raised $12m in Series A funding. Ego Death Capital led the round and was joined by investors including Plan B Bitcoin Fund, Timechain and Solit Group.

Barcelona, Spain-based Hemav, which specialises in AI-driven agriculture technologies, raised €8m in funding. Future Food Fund, PureTerra Ventures and Inclimo led the round.

Utrecht, Netherlands-based Orbisk, an AI software solution that helps professional kitchens manage their food waste, raised €8m in Series A funding. Regeneration.VC and PeakBridge led the round and were joined by investors including Kost Capital, Doen Participaties, Brabant Development Agency and EIT Food.

Dublin-based LaNua Medical, which develops medical devices to treat internal bleeding, vascular malformations and tumours, raised €6m in seed funding. Elkstone and Atlantic Bridge led the round and were joined by investors including Enterprise Ireland and Furthr VC.

Manchester, UK-based Partful, a SaaS platform for interactive 3D modelling, raised £5m in Series A funding. Northern Gritstone led the round and was joined by investors including Par Equity and Blumberg Capital.

Plymouth, UK-based Acua Ocean, which specialises in full ocean monitoring and data collection, raised £1.5m in pre-seed funding. StealthPoint and Britbots led the round. The company also raised £4m in grant funding from the UK’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and Department for Transport.

Helsinki-based Arctic Instruments, which manufactures quantum computing amplifiers, raised €2.3m in funding. Lifeline Ventures led the round.

Warsaw-based Saventic Health, which specialises in AI-powered diagnostics for rare diseases, raised €1.9m in bridge funding. 4growth VC led the round and was joined by investors including NCBR Investment Fund and TNI Fund.

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