Freya Pratty

Freya Pratty is Sifted's associate editor. She covers UK tech and leads Sifted's investigations. Follow her on X , LinkedIn and Bluesky

What would Andy Burnham do for UK startups?
Pro
Explainer
June 22, 2026
What would Andy Burnham do for UK startups?
The former Manchester mayor is widely expected to become the country's next prime minister
Maya Dharampal-Hornby and Freya Pratty
Revolut, Wise and UiPath-backer Seedcamp raises $320m
Pro
Interview
June 22, 2026
Revolut, Wise and UiPath-backer Seedcamp raises $320m
'We won't back companies that have sovereignty as a sole differentiator,' says Seedcamp
Freya Pratty
Investors bemoan vibe-coded product slop
Pro
Analysis
June 22, 2026
Investors bemoan vibe-coded product slop
'More often than not, you can see that the product has been built in a silo'
Freya Pratty
Legora warns investors against unapproved share trades
Pro
Exclusive
June 19, 2026
Legora warns investors against unapproved share trades
It’s unclear whether Legora would be able to block the transfers
Freya Pratty
America has hit the AI kill switch. How should Europe respond?
Pro
Explainer
June 16, 2026
America has hit the AI kill switch. How should Europe respond?
Anthropic has suspended access to its two most powerful models following an export control directive from the US government. What's next for Europe?
Daphné Leprince-Ringuet, Maya Dharampal-Hornby and Freya Pratty
Why SpaceX IPO could spark a ‘$200bn private markets boom’
Pro
Analysis
June 12, 2026
Why SpaceX IPO could spark a ‘$200bn private markets boom’
“In the medium to long term, the secondary market will see a boost"
Freya Pratty and Anne Sraders
Exclusive: NIF hires ex-EIB investor to run fund of funds programme
Pro
Exclusive
June 12, 2026
Exclusive: NIF hires ex-EIB investor to run fund of funds programme
The role was previously left unfilled after founding partner Thorsten Claus departed in 2024
Anne Sraders and Freya Pratty
Paul Murphy leaves Lightspeed — but plans to keep investing
Pro
News
June 12, 2026
Paul Murphy leaves Lightspeed — but plans to keep investing
Sifted understands Murphy will remain as a Lightspeed venture partner until the end of the year
Maya Dharampal-Hornby and Freya Pratty
Continuation fund craze: who really wins when VCs sell to themselves?
Pro
Features
June 11, 2026
Continuation fund craze: who really wins when VCs sell to themselves?
Critics warn continuation funds can introduce conflicts of interest
Freya Pratty
Exclusive: Isar and IQM backer Vsquared opens UK office to bridge London-Munich axis
Pro
Exclusive
June 11, 2026
Exclusive: Isar and IQM backer Vsquared opens UK office to bridge London-Munich axis
The firm wants to link Munich's engineering talent to London's capital markets
Freya Pratty
Neura Robotics raises $1.4bn backed by Amazon, Nvidia and Qualcomm
News
June 10, 2026
Neura Robotics raises $1.4bn backed by Amazon, Nvidia and Qualcomm
The company says it now has an order book of over $1bn
Freya Pratty
Exclusive: Github and Hugging Face founders back AI agent startup Zaro’s $5.1m raise
Pro
Exclusive
June 9, 2026
Exclusive: Github and Hugging Face founders back AI agent startup Zaro’s $5.1m raise
Zaro has hired Lovable's former growth advisor
Freya Pratty
EQT: European tech’s new kingmaker?
Pro
Profile
June 3, 2026
EQT: European tech’s new kingmaker?
After winning the Scaleup Europe Fund mandate, EQT is positioned to help decide which startups become Europe’s next giants
Freya Pratty and Anne Sraders
Exclusive: Plural leads $26m round for industrial AI startup Gigaton
Pro
Exclusive
June 3, 2026
Exclusive: Plural leads $26m round for industrial AI startup Gigaton
Gigaton is part of a wave of companies focused on applying AI to the physical world
Freya Pratty
Spacetech EnduroSat eyes $200m Series C months after last round, sources say
Pro
Exclusive
June 2, 2026
Spacetech EnduroSat eyes $200m Series C months after last round, sources say
The company last raised $104m in October from the likes of Google Ventures and Lux Capital
Freya Pratty and Anne Sraders
Bek Ventures, formerly Earlybird Digital East, loses four investment team members in matter of months
Pro
News
May 27, 2026
Bek Ventures, formerly Earlybird Digital East, loses four investment team members in matter of months
The high turnover comes after the firm rebranded and spun off from Earlybird Venture Capital in 2024
Anne Sraders and Freya Pratty
100+ companies the €5bn Scaleup Europe Fund could back
Pro
List
May 22, 2026
100+ companies the €5bn Scaleup Europe Fund could back
We've been asking investors which companies they think the fund will back
Freya Pratty, Anne Sraders and Federico Scolari
Exclusive: EQT wants to back UK startups with EU’s €5bn superfund
Pro
Exclusive
May 22, 2026
Exclusive: EQT wants to back UK startups with EU’s €5bn superfund
The fund currently does not have the mandate to invest in the UK
Maya Dharampal-Hornby, Freya Pratty and John Thornhill
Europe’s AI future depends on UK-France-Germany DARPA alliance, says Nobel winner
Pro
Interview
May 21, 2026
Europe’s AI future depends on UK-France-Germany DARPA alliance, says Nobel winner
Philippe Aghion won the Nobel prize last year for his creative destruction theory
Freya Pratty
Inside EQT’s plan for the EU’s €5bn superfund: ‘We have over 100 companies in the pipeline’
Pro
Interview
May 19, 2026
Inside EQT’s plan for the EU’s €5bn superfund: ‘We have over 100 companies in the pipeline’
The Swedish firm beat out British VC Atomico to run the EU’s new €5bn Scaleup Europe Fund
Anne Sraders and Freya Pratty
EU sovereignty push risks harming startups, Synthesia policy chief warns
Pro
News
May 19, 2026
EU sovereignty push risks harming startups, Synthesia policy chief warns
"By doing this, they’re actually going to achieve the opposite effect"
Freya Pratty
EQT beats Atomico to manage €5bn Scaleup Europe Fund
News
May 18, 2026
EQT beats Atomico to manage €5bn Scaleup Europe Fund
The firm will be in charge of investing into European deeptech startups working in areas like quantum computing and AI
Anne Sraders and Freya Pratty
Exclusive: The secretive group recruiting whistleblowers to shake up the VC industry
Pro
Exclusive
May 14, 2026
Exclusive: The secretive group recruiting whistleblowers to shake up the VC industry
"All powerful industries need accountability"
Freya Pratty
Accel and Thiel’s Founders Fund back Fractile in $220m raise
News
May 13, 2026
Accel and Thiel’s Founders Fund back Fractile in $220m raise
Fractile has been repeatedly name checked by UK government officials
Freya Pratty

Freya Pratty

What would Andy Burnham do for UK startups?

Revolut, Wise and UiPath-backer Seedcamp raises $320m

Investors bemoan vibe-coded product slop

Legora warns investors against unapproved share trades

America has hit the AI kill switch. How should Europe respond?

Why SpaceX IPO could spark a ‘$200bn private markets boom’

Exclusive: NIF hires ex-EIB investor to run fund of funds programme

Paul Murphy leaves Lightspeed — but plans to keep investing

Continuation fund craze: who really wins when VCs sell to themselves?

Exclusive: Isar and IQM backer Vsquared opens UK office to bridge London-Munich axis

Neura Robotics raises $1.4bn backed by Amazon, Nvidia and Qualcomm

Exclusive: Github and Hugging Face founders back AI agent startup Zaro’s $5.1m raise

EQT: European tech’s new kingmaker?

Exclusive: Plural leads $26m round for industrial AI startup Gigaton

Spacetech EnduroSat eyes $200m Series C months after last round, sources say

Bek Ventures, formerly Earlybird Digital East, loses four investment team members in matter of months

100+ companies the €5bn Scaleup Europe Fund could back

Exclusive: EQT wants to back UK startups with EU’s €5bn superfund

Europe’s AI future depends on UK-France-Germany DARPA alliance, says Nobel winner

Inside EQT’s plan for the EU’s €5bn superfund: ‘We have over 100 companies in the pipeline’

EU sovereignty push risks harming startups, Synthesia policy chief warns

EQT beats Atomico to manage €5bn Scaleup Europe Fund

Exclusive: The secretive group recruiting whistleblowers to shake up the VC industry

Accel and Thiel’s Founders Fund back Fractile in $220m raise