Analysis | Investment | 14 Nov

Week in corporate innovation: saving the world with ice cream

A roundup of the what Europe's biggest companies are doing with startups and new technologies, from Airbus and BASF to Volvo.

Analysis | Travel | 14 Nov

Don’t underestimate the size of Booking.com, says chairwoman: ‘Airbnb is so much smaller’

Who is the biggest technology company in Europe? Booking.com is bigger than the likes of Spotify and Adyen, according to Gillian Tans, the company's chairwoman.

Analysis | Academia | 14 Nov

Top 10 UK universities for turning research into businesses

A new "research to riches" ranking places The Queen’s University of Belfast in first place for the number of spinout companies.

News | Health | 14 Nov

Peanut app launches ‘Trying to Conceive’ safe space for aspiring mothers

Peanut hopes that hopeful mothers will talk candidly and openly on the new 'Trying to Conceive' social media channel.

Opinion | Government | 13 Nov

Government is just another sector waiting to be eaten by software

Any organisation, even governments, can harness the power of entrepreneurs and technology to deliver higher quality at scale.

Interview | Investment | 13 Nov

Miguel Vicente from Barcelona Tech City on the exhaustion of founder addiction

The cofounder of Barcelona Tech City and Antai Venture Builders sits down with Sifted to talk founder addiction and managing your startup’s ‘ego system’

Interview | Mobility | 13 Nov

Electric scooters are a terrible business, says Bolt boss

Bolt founder Markus Villig talks to Sifted about undercutting Uber, talks with SoftBank and why he never expects to make any money out of his scooter business.

News | Mobility | 13 Nov

The week in mobility: Big raises for Voi and Frontier Car Group

Our roundup of Europe's top mobility news this week: Voi raises $85m, Frontier Car Group raises $400m and Cowboy launches e-bikes in three new markets.

News | Accelerators | 12 Nov

Founders Factory launches healthtech hub in the US

The London-based startup builder is launching a healthcare-focused New York hub in partnership with Johnson & Johnson Innovation.

News | Media | 12 Nov

Exclusive: David Cameron calls for greater social media scrutiny

Regulating social media is one of the greatest challenges of our age, according to the former British prime minister.

Opinion | VC | 12 Nov

Why your big-spending corporate venture strategy is all wrong

Corporate venture capital fund sizes are creeping up — the median is now above $75m — but $150,000 might go just as far as $500,000 in this industry.

Analysis | Accelerators | 12 Nov

Top automotive industry accelerators

There has been an explosion of automobile company accelerators — since around 2017 almost every major carmaker runs some kind of startup programme. But programmes vary hugely in terms of what is on offer.

Interview | Government | 12 Nov

David Cameron on regulating tech, criminal gangs and the Wild West internet

Former British prime minister David Cameron speaks with Alexander de Carvalho from venture fund Public about the current digital agenda and the role policymakers should play in it. 

News | Mobility | 12 Nov

Electric bike startup Cowboy hits the streets in three new countries

This is where the direct-to-consumer phenomenon meets Europe’s micromobilty revolution.

News | VC | 12 Nov

Balderton raises new $400m fund to invest in more European heavy-hitters

It’s one of Europe’s top venture capital firms but, as Balderton raises its seventh fund, we ask: what makes it different and how great, really, is its portfolio?

Analysis | VC | 12 Nov

European VC firm Balderton’s heavy hitters

As Balderton raises its 7th fund, we ask: how great, really, is its portfolio?

Interview | Advertising | 11 Nov

A big corporate just nabbed a startup’s name for its slogan, and the startup is fighting back

The CEO of Tech Will Save Us woke up to find her startup’s name plastered all over London. But rather than picking a fight, she’s now trying to pick up a contract.

Analysis | Finance | 11 Nov

“We want 10m American users” — How Europe’s digital banks are taking on the US

Monzo, N26 and Revolut are chasing the US market. It's early days but - finally - I'm convinced they might have a shot

Analysis | Artificial Intelligence | 11 Nov

Venture capital funds are lining up to back ex-DeepMinders

Venture capitalists are lining up to fund the startups of employees leaving Deep Mind, the Google-owned artificial intelligence research lab. Will this be the shot in the arm the European ecosystem needs?

News | Mobility | 11 Nov

Voi raises $85m, promises to improve unit economics

Europe’s leading scooter startup Voi has raised another big round just a year after launching. With so much VC cash, how will it not do an Uber?

Interview | Insurance | 8 Nov

“The Little Prince made me cry” — Bookclub with Sten Saar, cofounder of Zego

Zego CEO Sten Saar on what makes him cry, why he doesn't give books as gifts and how insurance will change everyone's life.

Opinion | Investment | 8 Nov

Female entrepreneurs are being let down by other women

The lack of women at the venture capital level is a drop in the ocean compared to the bigger problem: women are not supporting other women in business.

News | Artificial Intelligence | 7 Nov

AI that can make mortgage decisions in 15 minutes 

M:Qube, a new fintech startup, plans to shake up the £270bn UK home loans market starting early next year with faster home loan decisions.

Interview | Hospitality | 7 Nov

The Czech startup bringing hotels out of the 1980s

With big hotel chains still using antiquated operating systems, Czech entrepreneur Richard Valtr has set out to bring new tech to the hospitality sector.

Interview | Media | 7 Nov

The culture of Culture Trip

Fresh from a bruising public fight with disgruntled ex-employees, Culture Trip founder Kris Naudts tells Sifted how he aims to reinvent the travel business

Interview | Finance | 6 Nov

Brunch with Hiroki Takeuchi, founder of GoCardless

He’s one of the most widely-respected founders in Europe’s startup ecosystem — but that doesn't mean Hiroki Takeuchi, founder of payments company GoCardless, has found the transition from startup to scaleup easy.

Analysis | Food | 6 Nov

Seven plant-based food startups serving up vegan meat in Europe

Impossible Foods has set its sights on Europe. Here are the European plant-based meat startups it will come up against.

News | Health | 6 Nov

European healthtech roundup: digital vet FirstVet goes abroad

As Swedish digital vet startup FirstVet raises €18.5m to tackle the $70bn US market, we take a look at what other European healthtech news there's been this week.

News | Mobility | 5 Nov

Exclusive: Uber-rival Bolt held talks with SoftBank

SoftBank has used its $97bn Vision Fund to back companies like WeWork, Uber, and Improbable. Could Bolt be next?

Analysis | Investment | 5 Nov

Week in Corporate Innovation: Chinese beauty secrets

A roundup of the what Europe's biggest companies are doing with startups and new technologies, from L'Oréal to Santander to Alstom.