AI 

When GPT-3 pitched Sifted

Can a robot do a better job of pitching to VCs than real-life founders?

We asked GPT-3, OpenAI’s powerful new language generator, to pitch us some ideas for transformative new tech companies in the fields of fintech, data, digital health and software.

Here's what it came up with.

🧐 Find quality on-demand talent 🧐

Hard to find the right talent? Fiverr Business brings you bespoke support, control and budget visibility.

Use promo code SIFTED20 for 20% off Fiverr Business. [Sponsored post]

 Venture Capital 

PayPal founder Peter Thiel's European investments 

Back in 2018, Peter Thiel said he thought there were “no successful tech companies in Europe.” Two years before he had called the continent a “slacker with low expectations.”

But today Thiel is investing furiously in European tech startups, pushing money into the continent’s fintech companies in particular. 

Freya Pratty finds out which companies have caught Thiel's eye.

 Startup Life 

How to handle a pivot

At the end of 2018, Ofri Ben-Porat fired half of his team, shut an office and did a downround.

Why? Because he'd decided to pivot. 

Two years on, he says it was the right decision — although pretty bloody tough.

Here's his advice for other founders going through the same tricky process.

 Healthtech 

The 'wild west' of online chat therapy

With demand for mental health services shooting up this year, have some startups taken advantage of people's need?

👩‍⚕️ From 0 to 1,000 patients in one year 👩‍⚕️

Healthtech startup Feebris wasn’t planning to launch commercially in the UK this year. It just couldn’t foresee a situation where its medical device — which collects data on respiratory diseases via an app — would be all that useful. And then, things changed.

Find out how Feebris adapted. [Sponsored post]

 Deeptech 

Is deeptech really such a smart investment?

Politicians love to bang on about "moonshots" and investing in R&D. Building deeptech companies in Europe could be our version of Silicon Valley, they say.

But is it a good idea for venture capitalists to back these businesses?

Nicolas Colin says umm... No.

News that matters

🦅 Dutch unicorn MessageBird has acquired UK startup Pusher for $35m. Freya Pratty finds out why.

🦍 On-demand grocery delivery startup Gorillas raised $44m. That's a big old Series A round for a startup founded in May this year — but hey, grocery's big right now. Gorillas delivers fresh groceries and other goods to customers in 10 minutes from a network of 'dark' convenience stores (ie. stores with no actual customers in them). It also which employs its own riders rather than relying on gig economy workers. 

🐵 Whirli, a toy subscription service, raised £4m. Think that giving your kids toys already chewed on and dribbled over by other people's children is not your cup of tea? Don't worry, these toys come sterilised — and will help you do your bit to reduce the amount of plastic going into landfill. Octopus Ventures led the round, with participation from MMC Ventures.

Sifted Suggests 

😂 What word do you hate most in startup land? A rather amusing Twitter thread. 

🌟 Diversity VC: The first five years. The discussion around diversity at UK startups has moved on a whole lot in the last few years — and it's thanks, in part, to the work done by non-profit organisation Diversity VC. As CEO Check Warner steps aside, she reflects on what the team has achieved.

🔮 The future of VC — more data-driven sourcing, fewer geographical barriers and even more importance placed on that old chestnut, the VC brand. Interesting Medium post from Earlybird's Andre Retterath.

📖 Inside Silicon Valley’s digital lobbying playbook. Politico looks at how Google et al are trying to influence the EU's plans for digital regulation.

👋 Why now is the time to leave. A brilliantly honest and heart-felt post from startup Lingumi's cofounder Adit Trivedi, explaining why he's decided to leave the five-year-old company. He shares the ups and downs, from near bankruptcy last year to the team's massive growth over the last year, through to his family's financial difficulties and his own experience with therapy — and what he plans to do next.  

👀 Which young VCs should we be keeping an eye on? 👀

First we looked at Gen Z founders, now we're looking at young VCs. Who are Europe's hotshot investors under 28? 

Email Isabel.

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