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If stunning mountain views, early-morning yoga and a social scene to rival a university campus sound up your street, the world's first digital nomad village in Madeira could be for you. Sifted finds out what the community's got to offer, plus...

• Blossom raises Europe's biggest female-led VC fund 
• Muzmatch faces a dating app giant in court
• The startups treating your most embarrassing health problems

In the sleepy cove of Ponta do Sol, you're likely to hear founders plotting their go-to-market strategies, sales calls to major European tech companies and tips on crypto tokens being exchanged — all just a stone's throw from the gently splashing Atlantic Ocean.

Does that sound dreamy to you — or god damn awful? Sifted reporters Miriam Partington and Tim Smith travelled to Madeira to find out what life's really like as a digital nomad. 

Here's what they found.

Early-stage startups can apply now for the Mixpanel Startup Program, and access the product analytics they need to build better products.

Learn more here. 

Blossom Capital has come a long way since it was founded by Ophelia Brown four years ago. 

The VC firm has roughly tripled its average cheque size to $20-25m and become the biggest investor focused solely on Series A in Europe. Its most recent fund, of $432m, is also the largest ever raised by a female partner on the continent. 

Amy Lewin finds out what Brown has up her sleeves next.

Tinder owner Match.com has taken a dating app for single Muslims to court this week for trademark infringements.

Match.com argues that Muzmatch has mimicked its brand, and a two-day hearing saw company emails, press interviews, internal reports and earlier versions of the Muzmatch website come under the microscope.

Isabel Woodford reports.

13.8m people in the UK have delayed going to see a doctor out of embarrassment, according to healthcare company Essity. 

But tackling the problem is a growing number of European tech companies, focused on remotely and discreetly providing care for embarrassing issues — from erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation and incontinence and IBS.

Here are nine startups sparing patients' blushes that caught Sifted's eye.

97% of ecommerce CEOs want to innovate their business models in the next 18 months. Join our Sifted Talks on January 26 to find out how startup brands can keep up with their consumers. 

Register now. 

🚗  Self-driving car startup gets a $200m boost. London-based Wayve has just raised a whopping Series B as it looks to get autonomous cars onto the road faster. The round was led by long-time backers Eclipse Ventures, and comes as many in the sector have faced criticism for not progressing the tech fast enough. 

🛵 Electric motorcycles made using origami. Sweden's Stilride has just raised a €2.5m seed round, and plans to launch its debut motorcycle — made using a technique called industrial origami — later this year. It comes as VCs have stepped up their interest in climate-conscious manufacturing startups.

🇫🇷 France mints another (yes, another!) unicorn. Paris-based fintech Spendesk joined the ranks of France's rapidly growing unicorn stable, after it raised a $114m Series C led by Tiger Global. It's the fifth French startup to hit unicorn status this year already.

⚖️ Legal tech startup Juro raises $23m. The London-based contract automation platform snapped up its Series B this week, as it plans to expand its business in the US and Europe. The round was led by Eight Roads and also featured Wise's Taavet Hinrikus.

💰 A new VC is born. Martin Sorrell, founder of the world's largest advertising and PR group WPP, has jumped into the world of VC. S4S Ventures will pump up to $150m into (surprise, surprise) marketing and advertising startups, with a focus on the US, Europe and Middle East.

📲 Superapp ambitions. Spain's salary-advance fintech Payflow has just snapped up $9.1m in its Series A round. It wants to become a superapp (the trendiest word in tech right now) and plans to add a number of consumer products to its arsenal in 2022 to try and get there.

There's still time to kick off the year landing your dream job — Sifted has got heaps of exciting roles up for grabs below:

💻 We're on the hunt for a digital editor to manage our website, oversee newsletter production and whip articles into shape. You'll need to be super organised, pay fierce attention to detail and have a knack for getting the best out of writers. Sound a bit like you? Apply here.

✍️ Have you got a penchant for deeptech and emerging technology? We're looking for a person with some experience — or at least a keen interest — in reporting on science-based companies and tech innovations to join us as a reporter. 

We’re always looking to bring brilliant journalists based in continental Europe into the Sifted team. If you know of anybody who might be a fit, please let us — and them! — know.

👵 Why you should hire older people. To many, tech = youth. But startups that ignore candidates of a more advanced age could be missing a secret weapon, says UiPath MD Renzo Taal. Here's why.

👼 Slack CEO makes first European angel investment. The workplace messaging platform boss Stewart Butterfield has backed calendar SaaS Rise — his first venture on the continent. It comes after a record amount of US funding was pumped into European startups in 2021.

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