Sifted - The quantum talent squeeze

Good morning there,

“We’re expecting a spectacular year for quantum,” one VC recently told me.

That would certainly match recent trends: 2024 was a record year for funding in the quantum sector, with startups picking up $2.2bn globally — a lot of capital considering that before 2019 that figure hadn’t gone above $300m in a single year.

But it’s also creating some challenges. The rapid growth of quantum companies is outpacing the flow of researchers and engineers into the job market. It’s not surprising, given the complexity of the tech and the years in academia it requires to develop highly specialised experts — think photonic engineers and quantum algorithm developers.

My colleague Kai Nicol-Schwarz and I spoke to founders and VCs to find out more about quantum startups’ recruitment strategies — and how much competition they’re facing from Big Tech players across the Atlantic. You can read that piece here. 

Elsewhere today:

• 'We're fully financed', says Northvolt's sister company Stegra
• London weight loss startup raises one of Europe's biggest ever Series A rounds
• Tencent-backed XR startup Ultraleap looks to sell assets after breaching £15m loan

— Daphné Leprince-Ringuet, reporter

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💊 Weight loss drug development startup Verdiva Bio has raised $410m just months after incorporating. It’s one of Europe’s largest ever Series A rounds and was led by life sciences investor Forbion and US VC General Atlantic.

• Verdiva will look to develop an oral-based GLP-1 drug similar to market brands like Ozempic and Wegovy — which it bought from Chinese biotech Sciwind Biosciences in 2024 along with a pipeline of other weight loss assets. It says the drug is ready for phase two clinical trials. 

👀 Extended reality startup Ultraleap is facing an uncertain future after breaching the terms of a £15m loan. The company, which previously got investment from Chinese tech giant Tencent, is considering selling off parts of the business as it seeks to raise funds.

• “These circumstances represent a material uncertainty that may cast significant doubt on the company’s ability to continue as a going concern,” Ultraleap said in its accounts, published earlier this week.
• The company said it did still consider itself a going concern.

🇬🇧 Elon Musk’s OpenAI rival xAI has started hiring in London following its incorporation of a UK arm in December, UKTN reported. 

• Roles it’s hiring for include software engineers and an operations associate.
• XAI is the latest US AI giant to open offices in London, after OpenAI and Anthropic.

🇩🇪 Germany’s second biggest fintech Trade Republic says it’s in no rush to go public. CEO Christian Hecker told the Financial Times that the company isn’t thinking about listing “at all — not over the short term, not over the medium term.”

• He added that its investors, which include Sequoia Capital and Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, are also not putting pressure on the company to list, preferring to take a “long term perspective”.
• The online broker said it made a profit in 2024 for the second year running, improving on the €14.1m it reported for the 12 months to September 2023.

Yes, construction robots are a thing — and they’re just getting started

The global population is growing, many countries have large housing deficits and there is a shortage of skilled manpower. In convergence with the advance of technology, investors sense a growing opportunity for builder bots.

🗣️ After Swedish gigafactory company Northvolt filed for bankruptcy last year the title of Europe’s largest and best-funded climate tech has been passed on to green steel maker Stegra (formerly H2 Green Steel). It also leaves the company to answer many of the questions now hanging over the industry: Can startups really build infrastructure? Can Europe nurture a new cohort of green industry? No pressure then.

• But as its CEO Henrik Henriksson tells Sifted’s Freya Pratty, even though banks ask about Northvolt, they “see us as two completely different projects in two completely different industries.”
• “We are fully funded and financed for all the investments we need to do,” he tells Freya, adding that Stegra can continue without incoming cash for “a long time”.

📊 Quantum startups are growing — and so is the talent gap.

🇪🇺 The EIC has lined up €1.4bn for deeptech investment in 2025. Here’s how it can help you. (Paid for and produced by European Innovation Council)

Louth, Ireland-based Xocean, a provider of ocean data to offshore energy and civil hydrography sectors, raised €115m in funding from investors including S2G Ventures, Climate Investment and Morgan Stanley’s 1GT fund.

Istanbul, Turkey-based Grand Games, a mobile game studio, raised $30m in Series A funding. Balderton led the round and was joined by investors including Bek Ventures, Laton Ventures and Mert Gür.

Stockholm-based AnaCardio, which develops novel drugs for heart failure, raised $19m in Series A funding from investors including Novo Holdings, Pureos Bioventures, Sound Bioventures, Flerie Invest, Industrifonden, Fredrik Ljungström and Ann-Helene Ljungström.

Dublin-based Dataships, which specialises in compliance automation and management, raised $7m in Series A funding. Osage Ventures Partners led the round and was joined by investors including Lavrock Ventures and Urban Innovation Fund.

Zug, Switzerland-based Nevermined, a provider of decentralised AI payments infrastructure, raised $4m in funding. Generative Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including Polymorphic Capital, Near, Halo Capital, Factor Capital, Lyrik Ventures, Arca, David Minarsch, Richard Blythman, Mark Schmidt and Ben Fielding.

Limburg, Belgium-based Hyperfox, an AI-driven order processing platform, raised €3.2m in seed funding from investors including Volta Ventures, JK Invest, LRM and Birdhouse Ventures.

Dublin-based Advise, which provides AI-powered analytics for fast-moving consumer goods businesses, raised €1.55m in funding. Business Venture Partners led the round and was joined by investors including ACT Venture Capital, Elkstone and Enterprise Ireland.

Cambridge, UK-based Robok, an AI-based logistics operations startup, raised £1m in funding from UKRI.

Delft, Netherlands-based Hypersoniq, which specialises in electrochemical sensor technology, raised €1.1m in seed funding from investors including VP Capital and the Thematic Technology Transfer funds of Smart Industries and Netherlands Enabling Water Technology.

Warsaw-based Wonder Legends Studio, a game developer, raised $1m in pre-seed funding. Smok Ventures Fund led the round.

Cambridge, UK-based cybersecurity company Darktrace has acquired London-based Cado Security, a cybersecurity startup which specialises in cloud data, for an undisclosed amount. The deal is subject to regulatory approval. 

• It's the first acquisition the company has made since it was bought by US private equity firm Thoma Bravo last year for more than $5bn. 

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