Freya Pratty

Freya Pratty is a senior reporter and investigations lead at Sifted. She also co-authors Sifted's weekly Climate Tech newsletter. Follow her on X , LinkedIn and Bluesky

Italian unicorn Bending Spoons to buy Vimeo for $1.38bn
News
September 10, 2025
Italian unicorn Bending Spoons to buy Vimeo for $1.38bn
Milan-based Bending Spoons is a prolific acquirer
Freya Pratty
Black Forest Labs inks $140m deal with Meta, reports say
News
September 10, 2025
Black Forest Labs inks $140m deal with Meta, reports say
Black Forest Labs previously had a partnership with Elon Musk’s xAI
Freya Pratty
Vireo Ventures closes €50m fund for electrification tech amid climate tech downturn
Exclusive
September 9, 2025
Vireo Ventures closes €50m fund for electrification tech amid climate tech downturn
Vireo’s team come from Innogy Ventures, the CVC arm of utility company Innogy
Freya Pratty
‘We're the inevitable winner’ says Proxima Fusion, as it extends Series A to €145m
Exclusive
September 9, 2025
‘We're the inevitable winner’ says Proxima Fusion, as it extends Series A to €145m
Lobbying governments has become a key part of Proxima's work, its founder tells Sifted
Freya Pratty
DataCrunch secures €55m in bid to become Europe’s AI cloud giant
News
September 8, 2025
DataCrunch secures €55m in bid to become Europe’s AI cloud giant
DataCrunch operates four data centres in Finland and Iceland
Freya Pratty
Dimming the sun, refreezing the ice: VCs flirt with geoengineering
Analysis
September 4, 2025
Dimming the sun, refreezing the ice: VCs flirt with geoengineering
Is there a venture case behind large-scale modification of the planet’s systems?
Freya Pratty
Tiger Global’s European team disbands
Exclusive
August 29, 2025
Tiger Global’s European team disbands
The New York-based firm no longer has any directors left in Europe, public records show
Freya Pratty
Thoma Bravo: 'The exit routes for VCs are clearly changing'
The big interview
August 27, 2025
Thoma Bravo: 'The exit routes for VCs are clearly changing'
The US PE firm hopes to close one more European deal before the end of the year
Freya Pratty
The AI bubble: fuelled by an ARR obsession, undone by churn?
Analysis
August 22, 2025
The AI bubble: fuelled by an ARR obsession, undone by churn?
“Investors always take numbers in context. Why have they decoupled the fundamentals all of a sudden?”
Freya Pratty and Miriam Partington
Taavet Hinrikus among LPs in new resiliency-focused Norrsken fund
News
August 18, 2025
Taavet Hinrikus among LPs in new resiliency-focused Norrsken fund
Norrsken's focus on resiliency is part of a wider movement in the VC world
Freya Pratty
Inside Mistral’s push into the Middle East
Analysis
August 14, 2025
Inside Mistral’s push into the Middle East
French AI darling strikes deals in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and more
Daphné Leprince-Ringuet and Freya Pratty
The Hollywood heartthrobs we want to see play Europe's top founders and VCs
List
August 13, 2025
The Hollywood heartthrobs we want to see play Europe's top founders and VCs
From Leo Woodall as Anton Osika to Jacob Elordi as Arthur Mensch, these are our dream biopic picks
Éanna Kelly and Freya Pratty
Tekever: The defence unicorn outselling its big-spending rivals
Profile
August 12, 2025
Tekever: The defence unicorn outselling its big-spending rivals
Tekever has raised significantly less funding than some of the most-talked about defence techs in Europe — but is drawing in coveted contracts
Freya Pratty
Aira raises €150m to fund heat pump rollout across Europe
News
August 11, 2025
Aira raises €150m to fund heat pump rollout across Europe
Aira says it has a sales run-rate of €200m annually
Freya Pratty
Britishvolt founder Orral Nadjari plots new battery factories in the Gulf
Exclusive
August 8, 2025
Britishvolt founder Orral Nadjari plots new battery factories in the Gulf
“The history of Britishvolt tells of the intense rivalry we saw between Number 10 and Number 11,’ says Nadjari
Freya Pratty
Northvolt assets sold to US battery startup Lyten
News
August 7, 2025
Northvolt assets sold to US battery startup Lyten
Sweden’s deputy prime minister described the move as ‘a win’ for employees and Europe’s energy independence
Freya Pratty
The FOAK playbook: The role of CVCs
Analysis
August 7, 2025
The FOAK playbook: The role of CVCs
Corporate VCs can help secure offtakes and leverage in-house expertise — but could they put off competitors?
Freya Pratty
Will Apple buy Mistral?
Analysis
August 1, 2025
Will Apple buy Mistral?
Rumours over the French AI darling’s future have spread in recent weeks
Freya Pratty and Kai Nicol-Schwarz
The startups making AI greener that you need to know about, according to VCs
Investor survey
July 31, 2025
The startups making AI greener that you need to know about, according to VCs
A crop of young companies are aiming to help reduce the negative environmental impact of AI
Freya Pratty
Berlin startups left in limbo as state grant stalls for over a year
News
July 31, 2025
Berlin startups left in limbo as state grant stalls for over a year
The GründungsBONUS grant will restart soon, Berlin’s state bank tells Sifted
Freya Pratty
UK agritech Vertical Future up for sale after losses mount
News
July 30, 2025
UK agritech Vertical Future up for sale after losses mount
The company had raised £37m from the likes of SFC Capital and Pula Investments
Freya Pratty
The €1bn NATO Innovation Fund loses another partner, hires two
News
July 25, 2025
The €1bn NATO Innovation Fund loses another partner, hires two
Struggling to retain talent, the embattled NIF has recruited two new partners
Anne Sraders and Freya Pratty
Northvolt employees could soon return to work under new owner, reports say
News
July 23, 2025
Northvolt employees could soon return to work under new owner, reports say
Potential buyers circle collapsed battery-maker
Freya Pratty
Sunsave raises £113m to expand its solar subscription service
News
July 21, 2025
Sunsave raises £113m to expand its solar subscription service
The solar energy industry is regaining ground after rocky few years
Freya Pratty

Freya Pratty

Italian unicorn Bending Spoons to buy Vimeo for $1.38bn

Black Forest Labs inks $140m deal with Meta, reports say

Vireo Ventures closes €50m fund for electrification tech amid climate tech downturn

‘We're the inevitable winner’ says Proxima Fusion, as it extends Series A to €145m

DataCrunch secures €55m in bid to become Europe’s AI cloud giant

Dimming the sun, refreezing the ice: VCs flirt with geoengineering

Tiger Global’s European team disbands

Thoma Bravo: 'The exit routes for VCs are clearly changing'

The AI bubble: fuelled by an ARR obsession, undone by churn?

Taavet Hinrikus among LPs in new resiliency-focused Norrsken fund

Inside Mistral’s push into the Middle East

The Hollywood heartthrobs we want to see play Europe's top founders and VCs

Tekever: The defence unicorn outselling its big-spending rivals

Aira raises €150m to fund heat pump rollout across Europe

Britishvolt founder Orral Nadjari plots new battery factories in the Gulf

Northvolt assets sold to US battery startup Lyten

The FOAK playbook: The role of CVCs

Will Apple buy Mistral?

The startups making AI greener that you need to know about, according to VCs

Berlin startups left in limbo as state grant stalls for over a year

UK agritech Vertical Future up for sale after losses mount

The €1bn NATO Innovation Fund loses another partner, hires two

Northvolt employees could soon return to work under new owner, reports say

Sunsave raises £113m to expand its solar subscription service