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Hi Sifted Reader,

It's been a crazy week for the Amazon aggregator industry — with $1bn worth of funding invested in a single day. We check out the state of play after a bumper week for the sector, plus...

Find out what it's like inside a speedy grocery dark store
See the hottest seed investments from the last month
Why returning to your old job could move your career forward

\Foodtech

What's inside a dark store?

On-demand grocery delivery services are the current European startup craze. But the ‘dark stores’ which fulfil customers’ orders are still pretty mysterious — even though there are now hundreds across Europe.

Sifted visited one of Getir’s dark stores in London to find out more about how they work.

Look inside. You know you want to.

\A message from our sponsor Nium

Get expert advice from fintech leaders at Money 20/20 Europe

Join Nium from September 21-23 at the Money 20/20 event in Amsterdam to find out how their expert team and fintech products can elevate your business.

Find out more and schedule a meeting her e.

\Venture Capital

The list: August's hottest European seed investments

Despite the fact that everybody seemed to be on holiday, August was another active month for Europe’s seed investors. But which were the most exciting rounds?

We’ve picked out a few of the seed deals worth paying attention to — from a Polish childcare app to a Swedish precision fermentation company... and a whole lot of fintech.

Did you miss any?

\Startup Life

Why I became a boomerang employee

Sometimes to move forward in your career, you need to go back.

'Boomerang' employee Marie Krebs talks about how she left London's Learnerbly and why she made the decision to come back.

Here's how to work out if it's the move for you.

\Consumer

Amazon aggregator startups raised over $1bn in Europe in a single day

As the might of Amazon grows, so do the new wave of aggregator startups. This week, $1.1bn worth of funding has gone into Europe's aggregators — most of it in a single day.

As the industry hots up, we look at who's raised the most.

\In partnership with GoTo Global

What will our daily commutes look like, post-Covid?

Across Europe, public transport usage has severely dropped, and it’s not looking like it’ll pick up again soon.

So what will our daily commutes look like, post-Covid? Which new startups have emerged looking to make more affordable and sustainable transportation alternatives?

We asked the experts.

News that Matters

💄 Yuty, which uses AI to build beauty products, has raised a £500k seed round . The business is only the 10th in the UK launched by a Black female founder to gain VC backing.

💉 Swiss healthcare scaleup Oviva raised an $80m Series C round — one of Europe’s largest healthtech raises so far this year.

🍜 Delivery startup Cajoo has raised $40m from a troop of investors including French supermarket giant Carrefour. Its founder, Henri Capoul, reckons this gives it a significant advantage over its competitors when it comes to actually making a profit.

🖥️ Vector design tool Vectornator raised $20m in a round led by EQT Ventures. Its 17-year-old founder came up with the tool to make vector design easier in 2017 and it's now used by Apple, Disney, Wacom and Microsoft.

🌿There's a new green VC in town. Nucleus Capital plans to invest in pre-seed and seed stage companies focused on solving systemic challenges to the planet's sustainability.

🤖 Peak, a startup based in Manchester in the north of England, has raised $75m for its platform that helps non-tech companies build AI applications.

😊 Talent development platform CoachHub has raised $80m. The AI-powered platform is used by companies like Toyota, Fujitsu and BNP Paribas.

Sifted Suggests

🐱 Pet insurance. Big insurers have all struggled with pets, where the market is small and claims are high. Startups with new tech seem to be doing better .

🍏The on-demand grocery race continues to hot up — we've just updated our map of the latest expansions and funding rounds .

Sifted Newsletters

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Startup Life: Weekly on Wednesdays, featuring Q&As with top folk from Kry, Gousto and Glovo. Sign up here.

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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Getting back with an ex (employer) 🧑‍🤝‍🧑

\Foodtech

What's inside a dark store?

\A message from our sponsor Nium

Get expert advice from fintech leaders at Money 20/20 Europe

\Venture Capital

The list: August's hottest European seed investments

\Startup Life

Why I became a boomerang employee

\Consumer

Amazon aggregator startups raised over $1bn in Europe in a single day

\In partnership with GoTo Global

What will our daily commutes look like, post-Covid?

News that Matters

Sifted Suggests

Sifted Newsletters

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