Sifted - Defence tech startups to watch

Good morning there,

Buy now, pay later poster child Klarna has been dotting more I’s and crossing more T’s as it edges closer to IPO.

The latest swing of its pen has seen two new heads appointed to the Swedish fintech’s board: Markus Villig, the founder and CEO of Estonian mobility giant Bolt, and Niclas Neglen, who’s been Klarna’s CFO since 2021. 

Maya Dharampal-Hornby, Tom Matsuda and Martin Coulter used that as an excuse to map out who else wields power in the company’s boardroom.

Elsewhere today:

• Revolut hiring hundreds in UK banking push
• 12 defence tech startups to watch
• UiPath plots AI agent play after buying Peak

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💰 Revolut, the London-based fintech giant, is said to be hiring hundreds of new banking staff.

🌯 Deliveroo reported its first full year of profit following a bruising few years for the food delivery sector.

🤑 Automation software giant UiPath has acquired SoftBank-backed data analytics startup Peak, as it looks to use the UK startup’s tech to roll out a suite of AI agents.

• The company joins a heap of other tech companies looking to buy startups this year.

🤦‍♀️ Almost half of women founders in the UK said bias and discrimination were stopping them growing a successful business, according to a new survey.

🔎 Inside Klarna's boardroom as it edges towards IPO.

🪖 12 defence startups to watch — according to VCs from Project A, the NATO Innovation Fund, Twin Track Ventures and Superangel.

😢  Founders have to get good at saying goodbye — from rolling back a feature product to bidding farewell to beloved team members. That’s why, before you scale, you’ve got to learn to grieve. 

🇪🇺 EU leaders have promised to slash red tape with the bloc's incoming "Omnibus" package — but how could it affect Europe's carbon accounting startups?

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London-based Blackwall (formerly BotGuard), a fraud prevention platform for SMEs, raised €45m in Series B funding. Dawn Capital led the round and was joined by investors including MMC Ventures, Expeditions Fund, Red Dawn Ventures and Tera Ventures.

Berlin-based Tasty Urban, which develops and licenses out food brands, raised €6.5m in Series A funding. IBB Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including Fulcrum Global Capital Fund, Monte Carlo Capital, Earlybird-X and Cardumen Capital.

Bristol, UK-based Zero Point Motion, which builds sensor technology for positioning and navigation, raised £4m in funding. Science Creates, Foresight Group and Verve Ventures participated in the round.

Madrid-based Flowww, a centralised software ecosystem for beauty and healthcare businesses, raised €4m in funding. Swanlaab Venture Factory and Bonsai Partners led the round and were joined by investors including Sabadell Venture Capital.

Padua, Italy-based Matix, which builds an IoT and cloud solution for supply chain visibility, raised €2.1m in equity and debt funding. Auxiell led the round and was joined by investors including Francesca Coloni, Roberta Parodi, Paolo Tramonti, Alessandro Serafini, Fabio Voltazza and B-Heroes.

Paris-based MSInsight, a precision medicine startup specialising in oncology, raised €1.6m in seed funding. Calyseed led the round and was joined by investors including Plateau de Saclay Business Angels, Yes Invest and Capital Cell.

Grosseto, Italy-based Biorsaf, which develops digital solutions for food quality and safety, raised €1.4m in funding. Maia Ventures, Farming Future, CDP Venture Capital, ToSeed & Partners and Fondo Toscana Next participated in the round.

Kyiv-based M-Fly, which builds laser guidance systems, raised $1.3m in funding. Resist.ua, Mits Capital, Freedom Fund and Boris Shestopalov participated in the round.

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