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There are significant policy changes afoot on the gig economy scene, as a number of European countries look to redefine workers' rights in the sector. Tim Smith finds out how they're changing, and what it could mean for startups. Plus...

• 2021 was a record year for female entrepreneur exits — but Europe still lags behind 
• Nuclear energy could be the next big thing in sustainability
• Our not-entirely-real VC columnist, Rosie Wood, gives us the DL on VC priorities in 2022

Female entrepreneurs in Europe secured 23 €20m+ exits in 2021, according to data compiled by Sifted.

While it's a record number, there's still a long way to go to hit anything like gender parity. Female-led exits in Europe account for just 3.8% of all exits since 2005 — below the still-miserly global figure of 5%.

Sifted dug into the data to find out which women led the way and who could be next in line for a big payout.

Isabel Woodford reports.

Morgan Stanley’s community of women-led startup founders are working to accelerate their businesses through its Multicultural Innovation Lab. Join them by applying to their new five-month programme.

See if you’re eligible here.

Nuclear energy has long been a dirty word in the VC community. But attitudes are beginning to shift and nuclear could be the next boom market, according to investors Sifted spoke to.

It's beginning to be seen as a vital part of the sustainable energy mix, and a number of countries are pushing to classify nuclear power as green energy in the EU.

Here are the startups poised to take advantage of the gap in the market.

Rosie Wood — your favourite (fictitious) VC — is back in 2022 with another exclusive column looking at what life as a VC is really like. 

This week, there are big changes afoot at her firm, Mild Conviction — as well as lots of partner gossip from the ski slopes.

Here's the latest scoop.

With more European startups raising VC cash than ever before, competition to secure top talent has ramped up — as we're sure you very well know. 

So what changes has your startup had to make? Are you offering higher salaries? Have you beefed up your perks package? 

Please take our quick, anonymous survey to share your experience.

Share your views here.

The gig economy has created some of Europe's biggest tech companies over the past decade — think Bolt, Deliveroo and Cabify.

But across the region, regulators are beginning to respond to the considerable backlash around pay and workers' rights, and a patchwork of new laws could spell big change for startups in the sector.

Tim Smith investigates how the rights of gig economy workers are shifting.

🐅 Tiger Global backs London startup Otta. The "candidate-first" jobs platform has just snapped up a $20m Series A, following sizeable growth since launching in January 2020. It's gone from 1,000 job applications sent per month to more than 5,000 a day, and right now has 70,000 active listings. What's next? US expansion.

💰 The fintech reinventing premium bonds for Gen Z. London-based Everything has just raised €2m as it looks to rebrand your grandma's favourite savings product for the TikTok generation. 

🤑 Paris-based VC InfraVia raises a €501m growth fund. It's one of the largest growth funds ever raised in Europe, and will be used to back B2B companies with cheques of up to €50m. 

😬 N26 loses another high-profile employee. COO Adrienne Gormley has stepped down. It’s the latest in a string of high profile exits for the neobank — and one that leaves it with no full-time women in its C-suite.

🏦 Estonian fintech Tuum's €15m Series A. The startup formerly known as Modularbank hopes to use its team's decades of experience in Nordic banks to grow its cloud-based modular banking platform, which will help anyone from banks to retailers provide their own financial services.

🦷 Healthtech Patient21 bags $142m and emerges from stealth. The German startup was founded by former Auto1 COO Christopher Muhr and has spent the last two years buying dental practices and upgrading their tech. The round was led by Target Global, and comes amid increasing digital acceleration in healthcare across Europe in the wake of the pandemic.

🦍 Gorillas plans to acquire French startup Frichti. The German delivery giant has announced plans to buy Paris-based ready meal and grocery delivery startup Frichti, as it looks to step up its consolidation of one of Europe's hottest sectors. 

🚕 Cabify faces driver exodus. The Spanish ride-hailing unicorn could be set to lose 1,100 drivers in Madrid (about a third of its fleet in the city) to rivals Uber and Bolt. The company that employs the drivers, Auro, believes its contract with Cabify has been cancelled, and says it's prepared to go to court over the spat.

In the competitive world of ecommerce, how can brands use their marketing to stay at the top of the game? Register now for Sifted Talks later today to find out.

Register here to join us at 12:30pm GMT today.

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