France 

The French startups to watch in 2021

At the end of last year, French President Emmanuel Macron promised an extra €7bn for startups, hailing the "startup nation" and its ability to create unicorns. 

We've put together a new list of French startups to watch in 2021, including existing unicorns and those that could join the ranks. 

Check out the guide here. 

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 Mobility 

Sennder becomes Europe's latest unicorn

After a successful 2020 that ended with its acquisition of Uber Freight, German freight forwarder Sennder has raised a $160m Series D round, at a $1bn valuation.

Parts of the logistics industry have struggled to adapt to the demands of the coronavirus pandemic, but Sennder's managed to adapt.

What's been the key to its success? 

 Food 

Why plant-meat is stocking up the supermarket shelves

Lockdowns have meant a serious drop in revenue for plant-based meat makers, who had been driving growth through deals with restaurants. 

In response, they've shifted to supermarkets.

One brand, Moving Mountains — which created the UK's first 'bleeding burger' in 2018 — has gone from zero retail presence to generating 32% of its 2020 revenues from supermarkets.

Sifted's Sarah Drumm chats to them.

 Policy 

Should Europe put money directly into startups? 

Last week, the European Commission announced that it had made its first direct equity investments into startups, aiming to boost innovation across the continent. 

€178m has been invested and the fund is expected to grow to €3bn which, on the face of it, sounds like good news for European startups.

But the move has drawn criticism from some in the startup community, as Nicolas Colin laid out here. 

Now, we've asked our readers for their thoughts.

 Sustainability 

Building the first sustainability unicorn

The Norrsken Foundation, a Swedish impact investor founded by Klarna cofounder Niklas Adalberth, is launching an impact accelerator. The goal: build companies that, rather than reaching a $1bn valuation, help 1bn people.

The accelerator kicks off in July and will pick 20 startups, with a focus on food tech in particular.
 

Mimi Billing finds out more.

News that matters

💰 Peter Theil's fund backs another European fintech. Moss, a German credit card startup, has announced a €21m Series A led by Thiel's Valar Ventures. Handelsblatt reports.

✈️ Is business travel back? As the world prepares to reopen, TravelPerk, a Spanish business travel startup, is making moves to dominate the US travel market. It's acquiring the Santa Monica-based, Y Combinator-backed NexTravel, as part of its move into America. 

💉 The French state has partnered with Doctolib, Europe's second largest health tech company, to facilitate the coronavirus vaccine rollout. The move comes as France reports vaccinating significantly less people than its neighbouring countries, with vaccine scepticism high in the country. 

📦 Budbee, a Swedish last-mile-delivery startup, raised €52m in new funding, as last-mile-delivery services have seen a surge in demand during the pandemic amid an ecommerce boom.

🚚 French startup Iziwork raised $43m for its platform that helps temporary workers to secure contracts, most of which are in the logistics and shipping industry. Cofounder Mehdi Tahri anticipates that the economic effects of the pandemic will continue to fuel the appetite for temporary work.

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 we about to experience a great green mobility revolution? | Online | 21 January

Cities across Europe are turning to shared bike and scooter operators to help get their citizens moving once again — without getting too close to one another.

Join Sifted's Amy Lewin, leading micromobility startup founders and government decision-makers to discuss what's coming to a street near you in 2021, in partnership with the British Embassy Stockholm & The Swedish Embassy Britain. 

Sign up now.

Sifted Suggests 

💻 How are VCs using tech to find new investments? Relying on inbound pitches from companies is no longer a sufficient source for some, so they're turning to tech solutions to increase deal flow.

🌱 Have you raised a seed round and are looking at a Series A? Sophia Bendz, partner at Cherry Ventures, shares her tips on how to land it. 

In case you missed it 

🥤 air up, a German startup that uses scented air to flavour drinks, has secured backing from Pepsi. Maija Palmer finds out how it works. 

😄 Latvia is the most "startup friendly" country in the world, according to the Not Optional campaign, which rates countries based on the stock option policies startups can offer to employees.