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Embattled fintech Lanistar doesn’t always pay its debts, according to documents seen by Sifted. 

The London-based payment card has been issued its second winding-up petition in six months, after struggling with layoffs and claims that staff weren’t paid on time.

Lanistar relied on social media endorsements from celebrities like boxer Tommy Fury and footballer Kevin de Bruyne to raise its profile, in stark contrast to rival British neobanks like Monzo and Revolut. Fintech reporter Tom Matsuda has the details here. 

Elsewhere today...  

• Meet the LP which won’t back VCs unless they can back weapons.
• French budget increases labour costs for some startups
• Luminance raises $75m as it doubles down on AI agents for legal sector

— Martin Coulter, news editor

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🪫 Swedish gigafactory Northvolt, which declared itself bankrupt in November last year, has sold its industrial battery division to truck manufacturer Scania, which is both a customer and shareholder of Northvolt. 

• The sale is part of a wider operation by Northvolt to sell off “non-core businesses” and preserve its core operations. 

❌ One-time unicorn SellerX, which buys and helps e-commerce businesses grow, is laying off 20% of staff as it seeks to streamline its operations amid a cash crunch. The cuts affect 170 of SellerX’s 800 employees.

🇫🇷 The final part of France’s much-delayed spending plan for 2025 has been greenlit by parliamentarians. While it maintains a key measure to keep labour costs down for startups, it also limits the number of businesses eligible for the exemption — which some branded an “incomprehensible” decision.

💰 Stacks, an AI-powered accounting startup founded by a former Uber and Plaid exec, has raised $10m across two funding rounds from EQT and General Catalyst. 

😨 Embattled fintech Lanistar has been issued another winding-up petition, its second in less than six months, according to documents seen by Sifted. 

💡 Luminance has raised $75m to double down on AI agents for the legal sector. The London-based startup automates contract generation and negotiation for enterprises’ legal departments, and began releasing AI agents — which perform tasks without needing human oversight — towards the end of last year.

Unlock Europe's next big startup opportunity

Stay ahead of the competition with Sifted Pro — your trusted source for essential market analysis, verified startup data, and award-winning journalism. Find your next investment before the market catches on.

🔫 Meet the LP which won’t back VCs unless they can back weapons. Though most LPs remain cautious about letting VCs invest in startups making weapons or ammunition, Estonian state-backed investor SmartCap is bucking the trend with its new €100m defence fund and only writing cheques to VC funds with no restrictions. Read Sifted’s full interview with CEO Sille Pettai here. 

🤖 Want to build with AI? We sat down with Dan Parry, cofounder and chief technology officer of voice survey platform Cluso, who has been at the forefront of the no-code scene since 2016. Find his top tips for building your first product with AI here.

How to raise money for your deeptech startup.

The deeptech sector is capturing the attention of LPs. But where are investors placing their bets? How are deeptech startups securing capital in this tough-to-raise environment? Join this Sifted Talks today to find out. RSVP here.

What’s keeping CFOs up at night?

With funding scarce, how are startup CFOs turning strategy into growth? Join this Sifted Talks on February 26 and hear from Holibob, Kindred Capital, Peppy and Pleo. RSVP here.

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. RSVP here.

London-based Capi Money, which has developed an international payments platform designed for SMEs in emerging markets, raised €17.2m in Series A funding. Creandum led the round and was joined by investors including Janngo.africa, Y Combinator, Firstminute Capital, 4Cities, The Raba Partnership, Kara Investments, Algorithmic Strategies, Rebel Fund, Maiora and Pioneer Fund.

Stockholm-based Blykalla, which is developing and building small modular reactors (SMRs) to deliver the next generation of clean energy, raised €15m in funding from the EIC Fund.

London-based Nodes & Links, an AI-powered platform for construction project management, raised $12m in Series B funding. ETF Partners led the round and was joined by investors including SFC and Uncorrelated.

Valencia, Spain-based Imperia, a SaaS platform for supply chain management in manufacturing, raised €10m in Series A funding. Burda Principal Investments and Samaipata led the round and were joined by investors including Acurio Ventures and Draper B1.

London-based Level Zero Health, which develops DNA-based sensors for remote hormone monitoring, raised €6.63m in pre-seed funding. Redalpine led the round and was joined by investors including HAX (SOSV), Entrepreneur First, Unruly Capital, Exceptional Ventures, Samos, Anorak, Springbank Collective, DTX, Black Jays, and Transpose Platform..

L’Aquila, Italy-based ExoLab Italia, a biotech startup focused on using plant-derived exosome technology, raised €5m in Series A funding. Investors included CDP Venture Capital, dsm-firmenich Ventures, Linfa Fund and Maia Ventures.

Paris-based Cycloid, which specialises in sustainable platform engineering, raised €5m in Series A funding. Reflexion Capital led the round.

Berlin-based Handly, which provides enterprise software for home service companies, raised €3.75m in seed funding. 20VC and Stride VC led the round and were joined by investors including Base10 Partners.

Berlin-based Muffintech, which develops conversational AI for the insurance industry, raised €3.5m in funding. Ff Venture Capital and Techstars led the round and were joined by investors including Torsten Oletzky, Oliver Brüß, Stefan Liebig and Daniel Feyler.

Barcelona, Spain-based Wattwin, a technology platform that optimises the commercialisation and management of solar energy, raised €3m in funding. Suma Capital led the round and was joined by investors including CDTI Innovación.

London-based Augmetec, which focuses on AI-powered corporate investigations, raised over €2.4m in seed funding. Fuel Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including 14Peaks Capital. 

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