Travis Kalanick's secretive dark kitchen empire 🧐

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Hi Sifted Reader,

We've got a spicy investigative piece for you to feast your eyes on today — we go inside Uber cofounder Travis Kalanick's secretive European dark kitchen empire. And here's what else we're serving up:
  • Meet N26's power players
  • Why VCs need to stop financing the 'servant economy'
  • 130+ Irish startups to watch

\Consumer

Inside Travis Kalanick's secretive dark kitchen empire in Europe


Public company filings suggest that Uber cofounder Travis Kalanick has been rapidly expanding his network of kitchen rental spaces across Europe under a new brand called Cooklane.

But he doesn't seem to want anyone to know about it. 

Another dark kitchen company which Kalanick is a major shareholder in, CloudKitchens, is infamous for its secrecy — reports suggest it uses shell companies to prevent links between individual sites and the parent company and that employees are prevented from publicising where they work on LinkedIn. Cooklane also has almost no employees listed on LinkedIn.

Read Freya Pratty's full investigation here.

\In partnership with Microsoft for Startups

Explore the UK's startup hubs with our interactive map


We’re excited to announce the launch of our UK Startup Explorer, an interactive, data-driven map that lets you virtually ‘travel’ around the UK, visiting startup communities all over England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Feeling adventurous? Start exploring now.

\For Members Fintech

Meet N26's power players


Since being founded in 2013, Berlin-based digital bank N26 has hit some impressive milestones. It's Germany's most-valued fintech at $3.6bn, with 7m customers across 26 markets and is rumoured to be raising at a $10bn valuation.

Presiding over N26 are cofounders Valentin Stalf and Maximilian Tayenthal — but they haven't built the fintech powerhouse alone. So who are the other senior people at N26 scaling the business?

Miriam Partington finds out.

Want to read more in-depth articles like this and attend exclusive member events? Sign up to Sifted Membership to get full access.

\Community Journalism

Worked in a toxic environment? We want to hear from you


This week, we put out the call to you, our readers, to find out about your experiences of toxic work environments.

Thanks so much to all of you who’ve already shared your stories. 

But, there’s still time to have your say. The survey will only take a few minutes, and we won’t ask for any personal information that could identify you. 

Share your experience.

\Opinion

VCs, stop financing the 'servant economy'


In 2021 alone, venture capitalists have ploughed hundreds of millions of euros into 10-minute grocery startups like Getir and Gorillas.

This isn't cool, says Johannes Lenhard from the Max Planck Cambridge Centre for Ethics, Economy and Social Change, who thinks that it's bringing us one step close to living in a 'servant economy'.

So what's at stake? Lenhard shares his two cents.

\Rankings

Top Irish startups to watch in 2021


Ireland's startup ecosystem is on track to break VC funding records this year. Irish startups have raised $1bn so far, just shy of the $1.2bn funding raised in 2020.

But which of these startups stand out? Sifted has analysed heaps of Irish startups and cherry-picked the best of the best. In usual Sifted fashion, we've given our own insights on many of the companies too.

Meet them here.

\Sponsored by Nordigen

The quiet battle raging around open banking


Despite being one of the biggest fintech trends, adoption of open banking in certain geographies has been slower than expected. Active users in the UK reached 3m in January 2021, well behind previous predictions of 33m by 2022.

This has reignited a debate about whether startups should be making money from open banking — and open finance — services.

Sifted picked the brains of fintech experts to discuss whether open banking is fit for mass adoption, and what's disrupting it.

Find out what they said here.

News that Matters

🤯 Another 10-minute grocery startup has raised funding. Kavall, the Nordics' first homegrown on-demand grocery company, has raised €4.9m in a round led by VNV, which is also an investor in Swedish scooter company Voi. So far, it has just one dark store. Amy Lewin reports.

🛴 Speaking of Voi, it's raised €38m in a Series C extension led by The Raine Group, with participation from VNV. Voi plans to continue building its escooter fleet, work on R&D in parking and safety solutions and roll out e-bikes across more locations.

Sifted Suggests

⚠️ Losing remote work democratisation. This great read from Harvard Business Review warns businesses that mishandling the transition to hybrid work threatens to reinforce social inequalities and jeopardise companies’ diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

🪃 Boomerang hiring 101. Have you left a previous employer that you’re keen to return to? These four tips are a helpful resource for managing the return smoothly.

Events [digital only]

How not to lose customers | Online | August 19 
Our next Sifted Talks is all about measuring and preventing customer churn.

Will electrification save our planet? | Online | August 26
Is electrification a truly green solution, and is the world ready? In this Sifted Talks, we’ll be joined by experts from Northvolt, H2GO Power and more to discuss.

FTWeekend Festival is back! | On stage & Online | 4 September
With seven live stages and a stellar cast of over 100 speakers, FTWeekend Festival returns to Kenwood House Gardens.

Sifted Members

Europe’s fastest-growing no code companies, revealed
Startups are helping armies create legions of super-soldiers
15 remote work startups to watch in Europe, according to top VCs
Western armies turn to startups for a technical edge 
Inside JP Morgan’s secretive UK bank project — and its upcoming launch
Amy Lewin
Deputy Editor

Get in touch with her at amy@sifted.eu
Or tweeting @amyrlewin
Connor Bilboe
Editorial Assistant 

Get in touch with him at connor@sifted.eu
He likes sustainability stories.
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