Sifted - Yann LeCun joins buzzy AI startup

Good morning there,

Some of Europe’s buzziest AI startups are in a bind. 

As Kai Nicol-Schwarz reports today, investors are pouring a record amount of money into AI, industry leaders like OpenAI and Anthropic are hiring on European shores and the emergence of AI agents as VC’s new hype sector means even more companies are recruiting AI-specialised software engineers — squeezing an already shallow talent pool.

In response, execs from Nscale, ElevenLabs and Synthesia tell him they’re turning to creative recruiting tactics as they try to outcompete each other for the best hires.

Elsewhere today:

• Should you take a chief of staff role?
• How to build a great startup board
• CuspAI recruits Meta’s Yann LeCun to board, poaches Google talent

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🐝 Buzzy AI startup CuspAI has signed Meta’s chief scientist Yann LeCun to its advisory board, while also poaching a handful of researchers from Google DeepMind.

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🧱 How should early-stage startups approach building a board of directors? Sifted collected tips from investors and founders — from who should even be on your board to what to send them before you meet.

💭 Should you take a chief of staff role? Sequoia’s VP of talent Zoe Hewitt breaks down how the role can accelerate your career in her latest advice column.

🤣 Want to make your AI chatbot funny? Hiring comedians is a start.

💪 AI talent crisis: How European startups are looking to outcompete rivals for tech workers.

Only 5% of EU innovation funding (€12bn) goes to startups, according to a new report by data platform Dealroom that looks into the cohort of companies which have received money from EU Framework Programmes such as Horizon.

• The combined value of companies that have been backed by EU Framework Programmes is €520bn. The majority of that value has been created in the last 15 years; in 2010 the cohort was valued at €70bn. 
• UK chip designer Arm is the most valuable single company in the cohort, having received support via one of the programmes, the Open Microprocessor Initiative, in the mid 90s.

Amsterdam-based Mews, a hospitality management unicorn, raised $75m in funding. Tiger Global led the round and was joined by investors including Kinnevik, Goldman Sachs and Battery Ventures.

Donostia, Spain-based Multiverse Computing, which builds quantum computing software for businesses, raised €67m from Spain’s government.

London-based Epoch Biodesign, which is a biorecycling platform using AI-designed enzymes for circularity solutions, raised $18.3m in Series A funding. Extantia Capital led the round and was joined by investors including Inditex, Lowercarbon Capital, Happiness Capital, Kibo Invest and Day One Ventures. It also secured a $1m grant from the UK’s government.

Tallinn-based Stargate Hydrogen, which builds alkaline electrolysers for hydrogen production, raised €11m in Series A funding. SmartCap Green Fund, Giga and UG Investments participated in the round.

Stuttgart, Germany-based Conceptboard, a provider of a collaborative, security-focused workplace platform software, raised €10m in funding from Cipio Partners.

Paris-based Comet, a platform to help companies match with freelancers, raised €10m in funding. Daphni, Otium Capital, Founders Future, Tomcat, FJ Labs and Kima Ventures participated in the round.

Vienna-based Xund, which provides API-first medical devices and specialises in points of care, raised €6m in pre-Series A funding. Lead Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including J&T Ventures, MassMutual Ventures, Tba Network and Lana Ventures.

Oslo-based Installer, which digitises the installation processes of energy products, raised €3.8m in seed funding. Brighteye Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including PT1, Futurum and Sondo.

Trondheim, Norway-based Telescope, which measures sustainability risk in real estate, raised €3.7m in funding. Scale Capital and Dreamcraft Ventures led the round and were joined by investors including Curiosity VC and Obos Oppstart.

Amsterdam-based Dubformer, which offers AI dubbing for media content, raised $3.6m in seed funding. Almaz Capital led the round and was joined by investors including s16vc, FinSight, Arul Menezes and Funa Maduka.

Newcastle, UK-based Notify Technology, which provides health and safety software for workplaces, raised £1.5m in funding. Calculus Capital and Mercia Ventures participated in the round.

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