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Fintech was once again among Europe's leading tech sectors this year, and some of the fresher faces in the game grew their teams at light speed. Find out who they are below, and:

European Gen Z investors to watch
How to build real AI models
Flink raises $750m

\Fintech

Meet the fastest-growing fintechs of 2021

European fintech is yet again closing off a year full of successes. While sector leaders like Monzo, Revolut and N26 continued to raise mega funding rounds, promising upstarts like Zilch and Freetrade saw their fair share of growth too.

But which of them have super-boosted their headcounts in the past 12 months? Sifted crunched the numbers from Dealroom and LinkedIn, with supporting data on website and app traffic, to find out.

Can you guess who they are?

\A message from our sponsor Stripe

The most common customer checkout mistakes you're likely making

94% of the top 800 ecommerce websites in Europe make at least five basic checkout errors, according to Stripe. Read their new report to find out what those errors are and how to prevent them.

Download the report here.

\For Members Venture Capital

The top Gen Z investors shaking up VC in Europe

As more Gen Zers enter the workforce, they bring with them a reputation for authenticity, inclusivity and political engagement.

And they're starting to rock the boat in the VC world too.

We've shortlisted 25 Gen Z investors making their mark here.

If you're not yet a Sifted member, subscribe here for as little as £19 per month.

\Opinion

Sorry founders, your AI isn’t actually AI (but here’s what you can do)

Othmane Zrikem, chief data officer at A/O Proptech, has assessed hundreds of deals over the past two years and found that just a fragment of the many startups he spoke to pitched a meaningful AI model in production.

That's because a lot of the time, there is confusion around what AI as a model actually means. So how can founders and VCs learn to distinguish elaborate AI models from simple data analytics?

Find out here.

\The Sifted Podcast

Audio erotica startups are closing the orgasm gap

We dive into sex tech in our latest episode of The Sifted Podcast (our final one for this season). More specifically, the new wave of women-led European startups putting their spin on adult entertainment.

Sink your ears into the founder stories behind startups like sensual audio startup Femtasy and audio erotica startup Emjoy.

Listen here.

\Sponsored by Hospitality Digital

Food delivery is everywhere, so what's next for restaurants?

Online food delivery sales are sizzling hot, expected to reach $220bn by the end of next year and accounting for 40% of restaurant sales. As the market shifts more towards delivery, what are customers demanding next? And how can restaurants adapt?

From using drones to deliver to recyclable packaging, find out here.

News That Matters

🚴‍♂️ Flink flies high. The Berlin-based speedy grocery delivery startup hoovered up a whopping $750m on Friday in a round led by Doordash. Pretty mega considering it’s been operating for just seven months.

🦄 SellerX, Europe’s latest unicorn. Sofina led a $500m debt and equity round for German startup SellerX, which buys and grows businesses selling on Amazon. The fresh financing values SellerX at $1bn.

Sifted Suggests

🇫🇷 French tech 2021: the rundown. With an impressive $5.1bn of VC funding raised in 2020, how has France’s startup ecosystem fared this year? Pretty darn well, according to Dealroom data.

🤔 The ramifications of personal investments. Picture this: you’re an investor who’s personally put money into a startup. You cross paths with the startup again when the VC firm you now work at invests in them too. Is this fair? Bloomberg explores.

✊ Gig economy transparency. How companies like Uber can use transparency to win back the employees they lost… for not being transparent.

Events

Can startups clean up the supply chain? | Online | January 18
From docks to warehouses, the supply chain is falling apart. Our next Sifted Talks on January 18 will explore how startups can navigate the current logistics crisis — and build a cleaner supply chain for the future. Sign up here.

Sifted Opinion

Here’s what it means when a VC asks for a pitch deck

Dispatches from a new VC: A founder meeting marathon in a Slush sauna

Will venture capital get cancelled by Gen Z?

What tech leaders get wrong when hiring developers in Central and Eastern Europe

Dear banks: this is why you’re still losing out to fintechs

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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Sifted - 2021's fastest-growing fintechs 🔥

\Fintech

Meet the fastest-growing fintechs of 2021

\A message from our sponsor Stripe

The most common customer checkout mistakes you're likely making

\For Members Venture Capital

The top Gen Z investors shaking up VC in Europe

\Opinion

Sorry founders, your AI isn’t actually AI (but here’s what you can do)

\The Sifted Podcast

Audio erotica startups are closing the orgasm gap

\Sponsored by Hospitality Digital

Food delivery is everywhere, so what's next for restaurants?

News That Matters

Sifted Suggests

Events

Sifted Opinion

Older messages

Do tech visas really work? ✈️

Landscape launches a scout marketplace 👀

Should after-work emails be banned? 🚫

Gen Z founders' startups to watch ✨

Will VC get cancelled? ❌

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