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Hi Sifted Reader,

Happy Friday! Here's today's line up:

🍄 Founders microdosing mushrooms
🌱 Sifted's 100 standout sustainability startups
💖 What it's like to date a founder
🤖 How do you patent robot-designed objects?

\Startup Life

The magic mushroom microdosing startup

Jonathan Henkel and his cofounder have been running an experiment at their Eindhoven-based startup this month.

The pair have been trying to rewire their brain chemistry with the help of magic mushrooms to see if it helps boost efficiency.

Microdosing — a method of taking mind-altering substances at low dosages — has been a popular trend in Silicon Valley for years. Now, one startup's bringing the same trend to Europe. They're Earth Resonance, based in the Netherlands where the drug's legal, and where Henkel's a customer.

Tim Smith finds out more.

\A message from our sponsor Tech Nation

How big a role will scaleups play in the UK’s recovery, post-Covid ?

Tech Nation has released its 2021 Report, which digs into the current challenges the UK tech ecosystem is facing, as well as where it’s headed, post-Covid.

Learn more about the report here.

\For Members Sustainability

Introducing Sifted's Sustain 100

The impact of sustainability has well and truly hit the European startup ecosystem. Climate techs, greentechs and cleantechs are getting just as mega as the rest, and Europe now boasts at least 800 sustainability startups.

We've cherrypicked the best and brightest of the bunch in Europe to form our first-ever sustainability rankings — the Sustain 100.

The full dataset is only available to our members — but click here for a sneak peek at 12 companies from the list that launched just last year.

\Startup Life

Dating a founder

There's hidden army of people out there who don’t appear on startups’ team pages, get written about in the media, or referenced by investors — but who play a big and often unnoticed role in the growth of some of Europe’s most fascinating businesses.

They're the partners of the startup founders.

Amy Lewin meets six 'secret' cofounders.

\Opinion

Are AI-generated inventions patentable?

What does a chair from furniture manufacturer Kartell have in common with a rocket engine by the software powerhouse Hyperganic? They were both designed using AI.

The tech's being used by more and more industry heavyweights: Airbus is using it for aeroplane interiors; sports equipment company Under Armour for printing running shoes.

AI design will disrupt conventional design thinking but it will also change our patent and copyright system; and it's something not all designers are thinking about.

Andreas Leupold, intellectual property lawyer, explains more.

News that Matters

🦄 Speedy grocery delivery startup Gorillas has raised €245m and become Germany's latest unicorn, with a $1bn valuation only nine months after launching. No German startup has ever achieved this feat.

🚗 British startup Arrival, which makes zero-emission electric vehicles, has listed on the Nasdaq with a valuation of $13bn. The company's yet to bring a vehicle to market, but the IPO means its founder's stake is now worth $10bn.

📦 SellerX, a German startup that buys up small Amazon sellers to build their brands, has raised €26m as the aggregator business hots up. The raise comes five months after the company's €100m seed round.

👩 Female-founded startups received just 1% of funding in central and eastern Europe across 2020, a new report from community platform European Women in VC shows. To put that in context, roughly 13% of the startups in the region are founded by women.

🚴‍♂️ As Deliveroo prepares to IPO, analysis by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, which looked through workers' invoices, found that some of its couriers are paid just £2 an hour. Aviva Investors said earlier this week that it plans to boycott Deliveroo’s IPO partly because of concerns about riders’ employment rights.

🚜 Augmenta, a Paris-based startup that retrofits tractors with smart tech, has raised $8m in Series A funding. The round was led by agricultural machinery manufacturer CNH Industrial.

🗺️ Ikea's investment division has put funding into what3words, a British startup that uses a grid of 57m squares, each with a three-word code name, to help pinpoint addresses. Ingka Investments has put nearly £12m into the startup.

💸 Digital banking solutions supplier Meniga, which provides tech for leading banks, has closed €10m in additional funding. The company says the funding will be invested into R&D, and further development of green banking products in particular.

Sifted Suggests

💳 London-based fintech Starling will bring out the UK's first recycled card next week. Our sustainability reporter, Sarah Drumm, looks at whether other companies will follow suit.

🎧 Pauliina Martikainen, investment director at Maki Ventures is guest on the Associated podcast this week. The podcast hears from someone in the investment industry each week, with the aim of broadening access to venture capital.

🎥 There's a new way to get out of Zoom calls. Zoom Escaper, made by American artist and teacher Sam Lavigne, plays sounds to interfere with your call and help you make a speedy exit. The sounds go from the believable — a baby crying or a bad connection — to the absurd, like a man urinating.

\Our new report

Is the future furry? We think so

Be the first to read Sifted’s ulti-mutt pet tech report.

What are the biggest challenges pet tech entrepreneurs are facing? How can tech make pet ownership and adoption more ethical?

Find out more here .

In case you missed it

👨‍💼 How do non-founder CEOs prepare for the role? Being CEO is one of the most challenging positions in any company, and it can be even harder if you come from outside of the startup. We spoke to those who've done just that for their tips on how to make the transition easier.

🏫 On Deck, a ‘modern education institution’ started in Silicon Valley, grew like wildfire in 2020 — and 2021 is set to be much, much bigger. But what exactly is it, and what's included in its programmes?

💰 SPACS. It seems like everyone who's anyone in America is issuing a SPAC at the moment. In Europe, the trend's slowly growing too, but some VCs say they're wary of taking the plunge. Here's why.

🎓 How to keep your team learning. It's possible to make every meeting and one-on-ones as an opportunity for learning and development, says Carl Martin, who is head of people development at Farewill. Read his tips on how to do so here.

Sifted Opinion

How not to lose your sh*t as a founder

What companies need to understand about Gen Z founders

Why you really need to fix your startup 'leadership debt'

Is it time for more SPACs in Europe?

How to pitch an opinion piece to Sifted

Amy Lewin
Deputy Editor

Get in touch with her at amy@sifted.eu
She loves a bit of reader feedback.

Freya Pratty
News Reporter

Send her your news at freya@sifted.eu
Or find her (occasionally) tweeting @FPratty

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Sifted - Dating a founder ❤

\Startup Life

The magic mushroom microdosing startup

\A message from our sponsor Tech Nation

How big a role will scaleups play in the UK’s recovery, post-Covid ?

\For Members Sustainability

Introducing Sifted's Sustain 100

\Startup Life

Dating a founder

\Opinion

Are AI-generated inventions patentable?

News that Matters

Sifted Suggests

\Our new report

Is the future furry? We think so

In case you missed it

Sifted Opinion

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