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Hi Sifted Reader,

This week we're heading to Paris for a shindig with some of our members. There are still a handful of tickets available, so sign up to meet some kindred spirits in the startup scene and a sprinkling of the Sifted team. 

In other news, today we're looking at:

• Deepfakes in the metaverse
• The Greek startups to watch, according to VCs
• The state of European tech in 2022

— Tom, digital editor & Amy, editor

The days of wandering around in the metaverse looking like a badly rendered cartoon are over: startups are now enabling people to create hyperreal avatars of themselves using biometric data.

But... what happens if someone steals our (digital) identity?  

Maija Palmer finds out what could go wrong — and how to prevent it.

If you're a developer, designer or just have a great idea, ViennaUP is hosting its first sustainable blockchain hackathon to try and make eco-friendly crypto a thing. Join the event starting on May 27 to win a total of $15k in prizes.

Find out more here.

Greece landed its first unicorn earlier this year when JP Morgan took a 49% stake in fintech Viva Wallet, giving the company a valuation of more than $2bn.

It's yet another sign that investors' interest in the Greek startup scene is starting to heat up.

But which Greek startups have really caught their eye?

Whether it's crypto or BNPL, Europe is stepping away from the yesteryears of banking and into a new era. Our latest Fintech Unwrapped is your one-stop guide to navigating European fintech this year.

Download your copy.

Q1’s over and the dust has settled, but who won big and where did the money go?

Find out which countries landed their first unicorns, which companies raised the quarter’s biggest rounds and what the hottest sectors were for VC funding.

Here's our roundup of European tech in 2022.

What’s decentralised startups’ biggest crypto-nite? | Online | April 20

In an era of bitcoin and NFTs, crypto is breaking into the mainstream. On April 20 we discuss the right routes and securest options for startups in the crypto world.

Sifted Member meetup | Paris, France | April 21

Share a drink (or two) with the Sifted Team and your fellow members in the French startup space at STATION F, the world's largest startup campus. Hurry — it's this week, so save your spot today! Not yet a member, but don't want to miss out? Use code PARIS2022 to get 20% off.

Sifted's heading to Tallinn on May 3 for a full day extravaganza of roundtables, panels and networking with the ecosystem's top startup founders and operators.

We hope to see you there and, to whet your appetite, we thought we’d round up the best of the best from our coverage of Estonia. 

☢️ Ending Russian energy dominance. We've all heard of a production line for cars, but what about one for small nuclear reactors? Estonian startup Fermi Energia is on a mission to bring a new energy source to the Baltics. But could it also have the answer to another of Europe's energy woes?

📈 Spot the unicorn. Estonia has the most unicorns per capita of any country in Europe, according to Invest in Estonia. But what's behind the rise of eastern Europe's startup champ? We break down the Baltics in data.

🚗 A Skeleton key for an EV future? If every time someone filled their car up at a petrol pump it took 30 minutes, there would be pandemonium in the streets. But that's how long it can take to charge an electric vehicle (EV) — a pain point for the industry. Estonian startup Skeleton Technologies might have a solution: the company is developing ultracapacitors and a “SuperBattery” that will charge EVs in seconds.

⚡ Europe's superapp. Mobility startup Bolt is one of Estonia's national startup heroes. The company followed a €600m raise in August last year with a further €628m in January this year, which valued it at €7.4bn. The platform offers ride-hailing, electric scooters, car sharing, restaurant and grocery delivery, and is arguably Europe's first superapp.

On May 3, we'll speak to Estonian super operators and ecosystem builders from the likes of Bolt and Skeleton Technologies to help you learn more about what makes startups thrive — and how to apply these lessons to your own business.

Find out more here. 

Amy Lewin
Editor 

Get in touch with her at amy@sifted.eu
Or tweeting at @amyrlewin

Tom Nugent

Digital Editor

Get in touch with him at tomnugent@sifted.eu 
Or @TJNugent92

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