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Happy Friday Sifted Reader,

Today’s newsletter features a whole load of startup races.

First up, Europe’s (currently) beating China in the unicorn race, having produced more $1bn startups since 1990. More stories on the track:

Startups are now building Europe's biggest factories
Escooter startups race to the Irish market
How to hire a venture partner and how much to pay?

\Startup Life

Europe has now created more $1bn 'unicorn' companies than China

Following a bumper year of investment, Europe now has more unicorns than China, for the first time since 2016.

Since 1990, Europe’s created 296 unicorn companies, compared to China's 276.

But that's only half of the story: the US produced 275 unicorns in 2021 alone — nearly as much as Europe’s combined total over the past three decades.

Read more about the ensuing race here.

\A message from our sponsor Zendesk

Painless customer service with FREE SaaS tools

Great customer experiences are a competitive advantage and the Zendesk for Startups Program is helping startups achieve lasting CX with the tools they need to scale.

Find out if you qualify and apply here.

\Sustainability

Startups are now building Europe’s biggest factories

Across Europe, young startups are revealing plans to cover the continent in ginormous factories that they say will play a key role in the green industrial revolution.

As the continent races to reach net zero, these sustainability startups are also hoping to reignite the fortunes of forgotten towns across Europe.

Sarah Drumm reports.

\Mobility

Startups roll in for battle in Europe’s final escooter frontier

Ireland is finally climbing aboard the escooter craze that has long since swept the continent. Now, some 20 scooter-share companies are eyeing commercial launches in the country.

But with legislation due in the autumn, there’s intense competition for market entry from all the main providers, including Europe’s largest rental operation Tier, Estonia’s Bolt and the Netherlands’ Dott.

Find out who’s on a roll to dominate the Irish escooter scene.

\Venture Capital

How to hire a venture partner and how much to pay?

In the second part of this series on Sifted about venture partners, Julius Bachmann explains exactly how VCs should hire a venture partner, including the most important part: compensation.

Is the venture partner role transactional or ongoing? And how can VCs incentivise venture partners correctly?

Bachmann explains all.

\In partnership with British Embassy Stockholm & Embassy of Sweden London

From batteries to the ‘Tesla of boats’: 10 green energy startups to watch

Europe is emerging as a powerhouse of sustainability startups, with green energy alone attracting over $3bn in funding.

COP26, the UN summit on climate change, is less than 100 days away — and sustainability startups have never been more important.

So we’ve compiled a list of 10 renewable energy startups that are making waves in the UK and Sweden.

Find out who made the cut.

News that Matters

💵 InfoSum raises $65m Series B. The London-based startup provides a decentralised platform for secure data sharing between organizations, and has just secured funding from Chrysalis Investments. The round brings the total amount raised to $90m since the company’s launch in 2016.

🤑 Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures leads Moss' funding round. The Berlin-based fintech has secured €25m in additional funding just six months after the last financing round — hiking its valuation up to €226m.

💳 Keebo cashes in a €5.8m funding round. UK-based Keebo, a challenger credit card aiming to boost financial wellness, announces that it has closed a €5.8m seed equity round led by Breega and Connect Ventures. It will launch in October this year.

Sifted Suggests

🌍 Twitter’s top sustainability leaders. Europe’s sustainability tech scene is getting pretty big now, but there are a few distinctive voices to watch out for. So we’ve tracked down Europe’s most active ones on Twitter, who share smart content on how technology can help us tackle the climate crisis.

🇸🇪 Is Sweden Europe’s Silicon Valley? Klarna's founder Sebastian Siemiatkowski credits an unlikely backer for his runaway success: the Swedish welfare state. In this article, Colm Fulton and Supantha Mukherjee explore how the Swedish system has cemented the country’s status as the ‘Silicon Valley of Europe’.

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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Scooter startups are wheeling into Ireland 🛴

\Startup Life

Europe has now created more $1bn 'unicorn' companies than China

\A message from our sponsor Zendesk

Painless customer service with FREE SaaS tools

\Sustainability

Startups are now building Europe’s biggest factories

\Mobility

Startups roll in for battle in Europe’s final escooter frontier

\Venture Capital

How to hire a venture partner and how much to pay?

\In partnership with British Embassy Stockholm & Embassy of Sweden London

From batteries to the ‘Tesla of boats’: 10 green energy startups to watch

News that Matters

Sifted Suggests

Older messages

Europe's top mobility startups 👀

$80m for toad tech 🐸

Mental health startups in Europe 🧠

Acquisitions galore 🔥

Travis Kalanick's secretive dark kitchen empire 🧐

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