Space 

Building houses for Mars

🚀 Achieve your potential with Tech Nation 🚀

Are you a scaleup in the fintech, AI or greentech sector and ready to grow your company? Tech Nation is looking for applicants to Applied AI, Fintech and Net Zero — three exciting growth programmes tailor-made for scaleups in each of these sectors.

The programmes are powered by an expert support team, pro masterclasses, premium connections and A-class coaching.

Find the perfect programme for your business. [Sponsored post]

 Impact 

Top tech for good startups

 Venture Capital 

VCs should take a pay cut

 Fintech 

Klarna cashes in 

News that matters

🎊 Digital bank darling Monzo has raised £60m — at a 40% valuation drop. It's still worth £1.25bn, however, and has an enviable 4m users. Existing investors Accel, Y Combinator, Passion Capital and Thrive Capital chipped in to the round. Isabel Woodford has more.
 

♻️ More funding for the circular economy. Helsinki-based online smartphone marketplace Swappie has raised €36m to fuel its international expansion. The four-year-old startup, which refurbishes old iPhones, has newly launched in Ireland, Germany, Portugal and the Netherlands. It's the latest in a string of circular economy businesses to attract serious investor interest; in May, refurbished electronics site Back Market raised $120m, while in April second-hand fashion marketplace Vestiaire Collective raised €59m. 

🌳 Canadian cleantech VC firm ArcTern has set up shop in Oslo. It plans to invest in more sustainability startups in Europe — and help them expand to North America.

🏠 Berlin-based digital real estate broker Homeday has raised €40m. VC firm Project A led the round.

🥑 Buymie, a same-day grocery delivery company, has raised €5.8m. The Irish startup, which partners with retailers like Lidl and Tesco, has recently expanded into the UK and plans to launch in 15 more cities soon.

🛩️ Wingly, a French flight-sharing platform, raised €3m. It's hoping to do for private aviation what BlaBlaCar did for car pooling — once social distancing restrictions allow for take off.

⚙️ UK-based quantum computing startup Universal Quantum has raised £3.6m. Investors in the university spinout include Village Global and Hoxton Ventures.

If you're a fan of our 'News that matters' and 'Sifted Suggests' sections, check out our newsfeed here, where we collect all of these gems — and more.

🥨 Are you our next German correspondent? 🥨

We're on the lookout for a sparky journalist who knows their startup stuff to write a few pieces for us per month, and keep us posted on the latest news from Germany. 

Find out more about the role here — and please share with anyone who might be interested. 

Sifted Suggests 

💉 No more insulin injections. A biomaterials startup has devised an implant which could transform diabetes treatment; the teabag-like nanofibre mesh could release insulin — and last for two years. If it works, it could be life changing for the 422m people with diabetes around the world. Maija Palmer speaks to the team.

😮 This tech startup wants to “validate” the female orgasm. The FT's Jemima Kelly is not impressed.