Fintech 

Monzo founder Tom Blomfield quits 

Monzo founder-turned-president Tom Blomfield is leaving the digital bank at the end of January.

The departure marks the end of an era for a company that he took from a little startup back in 2015 to one of the most valuable fintechs in Europe.

Isabel Woodford investigates why Blomfield bowed out.

 Sponsored by Zendesk 

Investing in your customers means investing in your success

Get Zendesk free for six months, as well as access to the customer service and sales resources your startup needs to grow.

 Mobility 

The Europeans rethinking the gig economy 

A few weeks ago, Just Eat announced its move away from gig economy workers and its plans to start offering drivers hourly pay, sick pay and pension contributions.

The move was the latest in a broader shift across Europe away from the gig economy, spurred on by a growing discourse against gig workers and increasing regulation from governments. 

Sifted's Tim Smith finds out more.

 Publishing 

Taken over by the Medium monster

French ebook startup Glose has been thrust into the spotlight after it was acquired by one of the most closely watched startups in Silicon Valley.

Sifted spoke to Glose's CEO Nicholas Princen about how the deal came together, and why it was the right time to make the move. 

Full story here.

 Sustainability 

Websites? Yep, they're bad for the planet too

It’s now estimated that the internet and the systems that support it account for 3.7% of global greenhouse gas emissions, on par with the aviation industry. 

Luckily, Europe's growing community of 'clean UXers' — designers, developers and grassroots campaigners who want to improve the sustainability credentials of the internet — are taking action.

Sifted's Sarah Drumm finds out how they could help you.

 Sponsored by Google for Startups 

Why founders need founders

If you're not yet part of a startup support bubble, you might want to join one. Plenty of founders rely on them to share their experiences of startup land — cofounder conundrums, staff challenges and anything else on their minds. 

Find out more about how these groups work and how you can start your own.

 Pet Tech 

Fat cats: the tech startups tackling pet obesity

Over 50% of dogs in the UK — and around 40% of cats — are overweight or obese.

But the pet tech industry is coming to the rescue, with automatic pet feeders that distribute the right amount of food and pet cameras which monitor whether your pets are eating more than they should.

Serena Tarling finds out more. 

News that matters

💰 Georges, an accounting automation startup based in France, has raised $42m and changed its name to Indy. The company's building an accounting automation application for freelancers and small companies. 

🖱️ Landbot, a 'no code' chatbot builder based in Barcelona, has secured $8m in new funding from Spanish-Israeli VC firm Swanlaab. Since Landbot's launch in 2017, the 'no code/low code' movement has become a fully fledged trend and one the startup hopes to capitalise off.

✨ Influencer branding agency Genflow has secured $11m in new investment. The company helps influencers design their digital brand in order to generate profit. The company's also launched Genlytics, a platform that analyses how much an influencer can sell based on data. 

💊 Swedish online pharmacy Meds raised €17m led by M2 Asset Management, with participation from a group of private and existing investors. The company reports that 20% of pharmacy usage is now online, and it's seen a particular increase in the amount of over 65s using the service.

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. 

Sifted Suggests 

💻 Banning Trump won't fix our social media. This Guardian piece puts together 10 ideas to rebuild the internet in a healthier way, from experts in tech, policy and the media.

🏎️ The BMW Foundation Respond accelerator's next call for applicants has gone live. The deadline is 18 February, and the call out is focused on the future of work, sustainable urbanisation and responsible economics startups. Read the report Sifted produced with BMW covering last year's cohort here. 

🕵️ Former employees accuse Huawei of discrimination. The company has been accused of interfering in the private lives of staff, as revealed in this investigation by netzpolitik, which analysed documents and audio recordings from the company. 

In case you missed it 

🍳 Glovo has partnered with real estate investor Stoneweg to put €100m into buying properties that can be converted into ‘dark stores’ — urban warehouses that make rapid delivery times possible. Tim Smith finds out more.

🤵 Looking for a new job in London? Check out this list of the 50 best startups to work for in the city, based on their employee growth, retention and investment stats.

💸 French crypto startup fights to save its reputation. The high bitcoin price should have been a great moment for Ledger, a French cryptocurrency security startup. Instead, it's been grappling with embarrassing data breaches.