Sifted - Just Eat gobbled up

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Germany’s tech leaders have called on the country’s new leader to reject Donald Trump’s ultimatums and boost support for homegrown startups. 

The far-right AfD party — championed by Elon Musk — doubled its vote share to 21% on a policy platform that included anti-immigration reforms, climate change denial and a German exit from the EU. 

"We need to form a coalition fast: Europe, the world and its turbulent geopolitics are not waiting," says Danijel Višević, general partner at World Fund, a VC firm based in Berlin. 

Speaking of leaving Europe, cloud communications startup Bird announced on Monday it was flying the coop — swapping its Amsterdam HQ for six offices around the world. 

In his own words, CEO Robert Vis explained the continent "lacks the environment we need to innovate in an AI-first era of technology." If only he’d read Sifted, he’d have known the EU is still tweaking the AI Act. 

Elsewhere today:

• Just Eat Takeaway to be acquired by Prosus in €4bn deal
• Insect protein startup Ÿnsect files for insolvency

P.S. Applications close on February 28 for the Sifted UK & Ireland leaderboard — a ranking celebrating the region's fastest-growing startups. Don't miss out on the chance to feature!

— Martin Coulter, news editor

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🌯 Dutch investment group Prosus is set to acquire Just Eat in a €4.1bn deal that will see the food delivery giant delist from public markets in Amsterdam. 

🪲 French insect protein startup Ÿnsect has filed for insolvency as it prepares to sell off parts of the business, confirming previous Sifted reporting. 

🐦 Dutch startup Bird plans to move its main operations out of Europe, according to the company’s CEO, citing restrictive AI regulations.

🇩🇪 After an historic election on Sunday, Germany’s tech elites have called on the new government to reject Donald Trump’s ultimatums and boost support for homegrown startups.

🦄 In our latest Startup Europe podcast, Nord founder and CEO Tomas Okmanas revealed the work culture that has brought the unicorn so much success. Here’s a summary.

Last chance to apply — Sifted’s UK & Ireland Leaderboard

It’s the final week for applications to feature on our UK & Ireland 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.

Data centres: Plug, baby, plug

Coming to a field near you: lots and lots of concrete — and electricity. The AI boom requires greater processing power which, in turn, requires more data centres (a query on ChatGPT is around 10x more power intensive than one on Google search, according to a 2024 Goldman Sachs report). 

The price of admission to this game is a steep one. The most interesting angle for VCs could be: how do you make sure these resource-hungry facilities use energy efficiently?

Sifted Pro readers can read our full data centre briefing here.

Want to gain access to Sifted's entire library of briefings? Find out more about Sifted Pro.

Oxford, UK-based Organox, which develops transportable ex vivo liver perfusion devices, raised $145m in funding. 

Groningen, the Netherlands-based Qdi Systems, which develops quantum dot material and image sensors, secured up to €7.5m in a grant and accompanying equity funding from the European Innovation Council. 

Madrid-based Dealcar, a platform that digitises the buying and selling of used cars for dealerships, raised €3m in seed funding. Entourage and 4Founders Capital led the round and were joined by investors including Itnig Capital, Demium Capital, Bynd, Toubkal Partners, Alexandre Guinefolleau and Carles Marcos.

Lugano, Switzerland-based Invirtuolabs, which uses AI and machine learning to accelerate drug discovery, raised €2.85m in funding.

Ghent, Belgium-based Karomia, an AI-powered ESG reporting platform, raised €2m in funding. Entourage and Imec.istart led the round.

Correction: In the February 21 edition of Sifted Daily, we mistakenly reported that Noah Labs had raised €3m in seed funding. Noah Labs closed a funding round of €11m with the EU's EIC Accelerator. We apologise for the error.

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Growth vs cost: The new CFO mindset

With cost discipline top of mind, CFOs are rethinking their strategy — balancing rapid growth with profitability. But where should startups invest, and where should they cut back? Join this Sifted Talks to find out.