Martin Coulter

Martin Coulter is Sifted's news editor, based in London. You can follow him on LinkedIn and X

EU Scaleup Fund in talks to back ElevenLabs in $500m round, reports say
News
September 17, 2026
EU Scaleup Fund in talks to back ElevenLabs in $500m round, reports say
Bloc’s flagship investment vehicle mulls first investment outside of the EU
Martin Coulter
Are VCs doing their AI safety due diligence?
Pro
Analysis
September 17, 2026
Are VCs doing their AI safety due diligence?
Founders report mixed interest in safety discussions from their investors
Freya Pratty, Maya Dharampal-Hornby and Martin Coulter
Exein raises $270m to fight AI hackers, doubles valuation
News
September 15, 2026
Exein raises $270m to fight AI hackers, doubles valuation
Europe’s newest unicorn wins investor backing amid mounting fear over AI progress
Martin Coulter
Revolut faces questions over ‘deeply concerning’ data breach
Pro
Analysis
September 15, 2026
Revolut faces questions over ‘deeply concerning’ data breach
A group of hackers is reportedly threatening to release stolen customer data
Martin Coulter
AI agents are moving faster than Europe can regulate
Pro
Analysis
September 15, 2026
AI agents are moving faster than Europe can regulate
Rapid technological advances are stoking anxiety across the continent
Martin Coulter
Nvidia strikes $12.9bn deal for Hugging Face, reports say
News
August 27, 2026
Nvidia strikes $12.9bn deal for Hugging Face, reports say
Acquisition would mark significant uptick on $4.5bn valuation achieved in 2023
Martin Coulter
Starling's AI gamble sparks staff concerns
Pro
Exclusive
August 27, 2026
Starling's AI gamble sparks staff concerns
Current and former employees say morale has dipped since founder Anne Boden's departure, with an exodus of compliance staff to Monzo
Martin Coulter
UK fund managers battling to run £1bn Scale-up Fund, reports say
News
August 26, 2026
UK fund managers battling to run £1bn Scale-up Fund, reports say
M&G Investments and Schroders are said to be among those in contention
Martin Coulter
Serbian startups to watch, according to VCs
Pro
Investor survey
August 25, 2026
Serbian startups to watch, according to VCs
Promising young companies span AI agents, gaming and ID verification
Martin Coulter
Hugging Face in talks for $13bn sale, reports say
News
August 24, 2026
Hugging Face in talks for $13bn sale, reports say
French-American scaleup said to be sounding out potential buyers
Martin Coulter
Callosum raises $100m seed led by Atomico to tackle AI compute bottlenecks
News
August 20, 2026
Callosum raises $100m seed led by Atomico to tackle AI compute bottlenecks
UK startup’s platform helps developers route workloads across different models and chips to reduce costs
Martin Coulter
How badly does Europe need its own frontier AI models?
Pro
Analysis
August 20, 2026
How badly does Europe need its own frontier AI models?
UK officials have been reviewing the risks of losing access to Anthropic’s Fable and other models
Martin Coulter and Daphné Leprince-Ringuet
Tony Blair’s son seeks $200m for new defence startup, reports say
News
August 11, 2026
Tony Blair’s son seeks $200m for new defence startup, reports say
Nick Blair’s new company promises to help UK ‘transform its sovereign industrial base’
Martin Coulter
DeepMind shakeup tests UK’s AI ambitions
Pro
Analysis
August 10, 2026
DeepMind shakeup tests UK’s AI ambitions
Google’s AI reshuffle could weaken a key pillar of Britain’s startup ecosystem, experts say — but it may be a gift for the country’s talent-hungry neolabs
Maya Dharampal-Hornby and Martin Coulter
Sweaty, insane, cracked: Decoding the language of founder praise
Analysis
August 5, 2026
Sweaty, insane, cracked: Decoding the language of founder praise
A field guide to the increasingly absurd language founders and investors use to praise one another
Éanna Kelly and Martin Coulter
Bending Spoons strikes $2.25bn Airtable deal in first acquisition since IPO
News
August 4, 2026
Bending Spoons strikes $2.25bn Airtable deal in first acquisition since IPO
Italian rollup giant expanding beyond consumer apps with another major enterprise software acquisition
Martin Coulter
Exclusive: Plural backs $43m round for next-generation battery startup Ore Energy
Pro
News
August 4, 2026
Exclusive: Plural backs $43m round for next-generation battery startup Ore Energy
Dutch startup says its long-duration tech can help meet AI data centres’ power needs
Martin Coulter
Index Ventures doubles down on AI with fresh $2bn fundraise
News
August 3, 2026
Index Ventures doubles down on AI with fresh $2bn fundraise
Fresh capital takes VC's assets to $3.5bn as it expands bets across seed and growth-stage startups
Martin Coulter
Europe starts enforcing AI Act rules
News
August 3, 2026
Europe starts enforcing AI Act rules
Companies found in breach could face fines of up to 3% of their annual global turnover
Martin Coulter
EU opens applications for €10bn AI gigafactory scheme
News
July 30, 2026
EU opens applications for €10bn AI gigafactory scheme
Companies and investors can now bid to build AI data centres backed by hundreds of millions of euros in public funding
Martin Coulter
AI rollup startup Dwelly raises $170m backed by EQT and General Catalyst
News
July 28, 2026
AI rollup startup Dwelly raises $170m backed by EQT and General Catalyst
Leading AI founders from ElevenLabs, Legora and Synthesia also participated
Martin Coulter
ETN steps up bid to become Europe’s TBPN with $1.6m raise: ‘We’re taking this incredibly seriously’
Interview
July 27, 2026
ETN steps up bid to become Europe’s TBPN with $1.6m raise: ‘We’re taking this incredibly seriously’
Cofounders win backing of Powerhouse Capital and Axel Springer ahead of relaunch
Martin Coulter
UK pension providers in talks for £1bn Scale-Up Fund
News
July 27, 2026
UK pension providers in talks for £1bn Scale-Up Fund
Talks come weeks after France sought to block British participation in EU’s own scheme
Martin Coulter
The next AI race will be fought over trust
Pro
Sifted View
July 27, 2026
The next AI race will be fought over trust
OpenAI's accidental hacking of Hugging Face raises questions over whether Europe's AI leaders are taking safety seriously enough
Martin Coulter

Martin Coulter

EU Scaleup Fund in talks to back ElevenLabs in $500m round, reports say

Are VCs doing their AI safety due diligence?

Exein raises $270m to fight AI hackers, doubles valuation

Revolut faces questions over ‘deeply concerning’ data breach

AI agents are moving faster than Europe can regulate

Nvidia strikes $12.9bn deal for Hugging Face, reports say

Starling's AI gamble sparks staff concerns

UK fund managers battling to run £1bn Scale-up Fund, reports say

Serbian startups to watch, according to VCs

Hugging Face in talks for $13bn sale, reports say

Callosum raises $100m seed led by Atomico to tackle AI compute bottlenecks

How badly does Europe need its own frontier AI models?

Tony Blair’s son seeks $200m for new defence startup, reports say

DeepMind shakeup tests UK’s AI ambitions

Sweaty, insane, cracked: Decoding the language of founder praise

Bending Spoons strikes $2.25bn Airtable deal in first acquisition since IPO

Exclusive: Plural backs $43m round for next-generation battery startup Ore Energy

Index Ventures doubles down on AI with fresh $2bn fundraise

Europe starts enforcing AI Act rules

EU opens applications for €10bn AI gigafactory scheme

AI rollup startup Dwelly raises $170m backed by EQT and General Catalyst

ETN steps up bid to become Europe’s TBPN with $1.6m raise: ‘We’re taking this incredibly seriously’

UK pension providers in talks for £1bn Scale-Up Fund

The next AI race will be fought over trust