Interview 

A (psychedelic) Brunch with Sifted

Brunch with Sifted is back! This time, we sat down with German investor Christian Angermayer — perhaps the biggest financial force behind shifting psychedelic drugs to the mainstream in recent years.

We talked about his first trip, how he came to invest in leading psilocybin therapy company Compass Pathways and what's next.

Michael Stothard speaks to Angermayer (with a side of Chaga mushroom coffee).

🥳 Building tech for everyone 🥳

Just over 12 weeks ago, over 20 women- and Black-led startups across Europe joined Google for Startups’ latest programmes. Find out how they are shaking up their industries at these showcase events.

Get your free tickets here. [Sponsored post]

 Fintech 

A slow Q4 ahead for European fintechs

In October, only 24 European fintechs raised funding (reaching £200m in total.) That's down from 45 deals and £912m raised in October 2019.

Does this mean that European fintech is setting up for a sluggish end to 2020?

Isabel Woodford dives into the data.

 Venture Capital 

What are LPs looking for?

European VCs have had a solid year, raising a total of €11.1bn in the first three quarters of 2020 despite the pandemic.

Contrary to expectations, 43% of their investors (the LPs) actually sped up their investments into VC as a result of Covid, according to a new report from Mountside Ventures and Allocate.

The report surveyed 73 LPs (including big names like the EIF, BBB and Top Tier) to find out what tempts them to invest (and what doesn't), making for some pretty interesting findings.

Amy Lewin digs into the highlights.

😻 Coming soon to Sifted Talks... 😻

We've got some wild and wonderful events coming up (featuring star panellists) that you won't want to miss out on:

- Creating Europe's first pet tech unicorn, Nov 17, 4pm GMT. Join Sifted and Purina Accelerator Lab to find out what makes a cracking pet tech company. Sign up here.

- Accelerating tech for good — can tech innovations have a real impact?, Nov 20, 12pm GMT. Learn if sustainable investment can be profitable, and whether it's here to stay or just a buzz word. Register here.

 France 

20 French AI startups to watch

France has been going hard on artificial intelligence in a bid to turn local mathematics and science know-how into global startups. State-backed investor Bpifrance alone poured €368m in 2019 into AI companies.

According to a new report from tech association France Digitale, France is well-positioned to spawn the next generation of AI leaders, from autonomous vehicles to industrial applications.

But which are the French AI startups you really need to know?

💰 Europe's largest crowdfunding rounds 2020 💰

European startups raised over $200m via crowdfunding this year — but which ones raised the most?

Get to know them here. [Sponsored post]

Sifted Suggests 

🤑 Skype cofounder gifts cryptocurrency to AI startup Faculty. Jaan Tallinn gave London-based AI company Faculty, which develops machine learning systems for companies and governments, $750,000 worth of cryptocurrency. It's to help Faculty address the risks of AI systems, including algorithmic bias, lack of transparency and data privacy concerns. Sifted's Freya Pratty reports.

🛴 Bolt bets on a pandemic scooter boom. Uber’s European ride-hailing rival Bolt plans to invest more than €100m next year to expand its fleet of rentable electric scooters and bicycles across the continent. Here’s more on Europe’s big scooter battle.

🇸🇪 Meanwhile, Amazon battles with Sweden. Why is Amazon having such a hard time dominating the Swedish market? Find out in this Wired piece.

🚁 Volocopters in Barcelona. Enaire, Spain’s air navigation authority, has announced plans to begin demonstrating flying taxis in Barcelona and Santiago de Compostela in 2022. In other air taxi news read our story on Lilium, the Munich-based electric flying taxi company launching a flying taxi hub in Florida.

🍝 Pasta: the winner of the pandemic. According to ISTAT, the Italian statistics agency, exports of pasta increased by 30% in the first six months of the year compared with the same period in 2019, as anxious shoppers stripped supermarket shelves bare. The Economist reports.

😏 Intern with Sifted 😏 

Sifted is looking for an intern with an infectious enthusiasm for journalism and startups to join us in our (semi) remote newsroom for three months.

This is a paid position and no formal qualifications are required — but laser-focused attention to detail and oodles of ideas very welcome.

More info here. We'd love to hear from you.

Events [digital only]
 

🇬🇧 Tech Nation Visa Report Launch | Online | 19 Nov
What skills are UK tech companies looking for when hiring international talent? Find out at this event. [Sponsored post]

🏙️ NCSC Cyber Accelerator | Apply by 20 Nov
The NCSC Cyber Accelerator currently has an open call for startups focused on smart cities. Apply now. [Sponsored post]

🌽 Future of Agritech | Online | 16-17 Nov
Design Terminal brings together industry players and community members in agritech for this two-day event. Find out the emerging trends of agriculture and learn who will lead the agritech revolution.

🔥 Fireside Chat: Sonali De Rycker, partner at Accel | Online | 19 Nov
Jonas Nordlander, founder of Russian classified ads site Avito, sits down with renowned investor Sonali De Rycker to discuss building strong teams and keeping that laser focus on your company's vision.

🇱🇹 From Starting to Scaling: A Dive Into The Lithuanian Startup Ecosystem | Online | 19 Nov
Startup Lithuania invites you to explore the possibilities and benefits for startups to join Lithuania’s startup ecosystem, with voices from founders, investors and more.

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