Fintech 

Layoffs and delays: what's up with Lanistar? 

London-based payments fintech Lanistar burst onto the scene in late 2020 with its flashy spending cards and a mass Instagram campaign.

Then it was issued a warning by the UK regulator, the FCA, last December — and there have been more challenges since with layoffs and delays.

So what's going on? Isabel Woodford speaks to employees and reports.

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 UK 

UK startups to watch in 2021

Startups in the UK raised a mega €14bn in 2020, according to Dealroom.

You'll have heard of plenty of them already, like online used car retailer Cazoo and digital bank Monzo — but we doubt you've heard of all the country's stars...

Meet over 100 here.

🚨 Sifted's fintech newsletter launches tomorrow 🚨

We're looking at you fintech lovers. If you want the full fintech picture — from under-the-radar startups to the biggest stories — and access to exclusive content, don't miss out.

Sign up now and be the first to read.

 Investing 

New “blank cheque” companies are coming to buy European startups

SPACs are shell companies set up by financiers to raise funds for unspecified deals. Once they raise money from investors, they go about searching for assets to buy — often in the technology sector.

They have really blown up in the US over the past year. But now they are coming to Europe with a new $250m SPAC planned to buy European companies, presenting a fresh opportunity for exits for the region's startups.

Who is launching the SPAC? And why does it matter?

 Foodtech 

Magic ice cream

Swedish startup Lub Foods has won the world's first licence for a new type of ice cream that contains a special fat which the body cannot absorb.

It's also convinced investors, raising more $30m to date. Is this the holy grail of foodtech?

We find out more. 

 Mobility 

Wallbox raises €33m amid electric vehicle charger hype

It's looking good for the 'green transition' — there's a president who cares about climate change in the White House and a tonne of new funding for 'green' companies from governments and investors.

And as a result, it's not looking so bad for Spanish electric vehicle charger startup Wallbox either. It's just raised €33m to expand globally, with a big push into the US.

Tim Smith finds out more.

Sifted Suggests 

🤗 Keeping the team together — apart. Missed our Sifted Talks last week on managing startup culture remotely? We’ve gathered the key takeaways for you to catch up on here.

🦄 What are Goldman Sachs’ European tech startup plans? From green initiatives to M&A, Bloomberg finds out from Anthony Gutman and Gonzalo Garcia, co-heads of investment banking in EMEA.

📈 Growth hacking 101. Maddyness outlines three ways that you can find the key to hypergrowth when you’re a startup.

🤖 UK AI startups, ranked. Beauhurst has released a list of Britain’s top AI startups and scaleups to watch based on turnover, headcount and more. Can you guess which ones made the cut?

🌽 The state of foodtech. Global agrifood tech investment is set to hit a record €17bn+. So what’s going on with the startups, investors and corporates in this growing sector? And how does Europe rank? Talent Garden has it all here.

🏹 Robin who? The World Wide Robin Hood Society in Nottingham — which promotes the heroic outlaw’s story — has gained 40k followers on Twitter after being confused with the Robinhood trading app amid investors buying in after GameStop shares soared. Lol.

🤔 Sifted Talks: Do we need a HQ anymore? 🤔

Online event platform Hopin was one of Europe's fastest growing startups in 2020, hiring hundreds of people in just months. But there's no way it could've onboarded so many new joiners if they had all been heading to a physical office, founder Johnny Boufarhat told Sifted.

So should all ambitious startups ditch the office forever? Join Sifted’s Amy Lewin and a top panel to find out. In partnership with Globalization Partners.

Sign up now. Friday 12 February.

Events [digital only]
 

🏗️ Building tech ecosystems in a distributed world | Online | 24 Feb
Don’t miss out on this event moderated by Sifted featuring heaps of star speakers — from LocalGlobe's Saul Klein to La French Tech director Kat Borlongan — and learn how to build top global tech ecosystems.

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