Exclusive: Orral Nadjari, the founder of collapsed gigafactory Britishvolt, is working on a new battery project in the Gulf, he tells Sifted. sifted.eu/articles/bri...

Britishvolt founder Orral Nadjari plots new battery factories in the Gulf

Orral Nadjari, the founder of collapsed gigafactory Britishvolt, is working on a new battery project in the Gulf, he tells Sifted.

sifted.eu

It is remarkable that the west is committing to spending 5% of GDP on defence, and almost no one has made the case that the most pressing threat to our security this century is climate change and we should be spending more on tackling that.

Scoop: The European Anti-Fraud Office has found "serious irregularities" at EIT Manufacturing, an EU body tasked with upscaling manufacturing capacity in the region. W/ @mimibilling.bsky.social: sifted.eu/articles/eit...

Exclusive: EU body freezes payments to startups following fraud investigation

The European Anti-Fraud Office found “serious irregularities” in an audit of a subdivision of the EU’s EIT, leading to suspended payments to startups.

sifted.eu

Carbon removal company Climeworks is plotting an international expansion despite a recent round of layoffs and uncertainty over funding from the US government. The company tells me that Canada, Saudi Arabia, Norway and the UK fit its criteria. More here 👇 sifted.eu/articles/cli...

Climeworks eyes expansion despite planned layoffs

Climeworks is plotting an international expansion despite a recent round of layoffs and uncertainty over funding from the US government.

sifted.eu

That's one of my newfound journalism friends @freyapratty.bsky.social, interviewing the President of #Iceland, Halla Tómasdóttir. She's kind of a big deal. #IIW25 🇮🇸

Target Global has seen two of its five partners depart in the last six months.

Target Global restructures senior team and ramps up sale of secondaries

sifted.eu

Researchers from AI startup Ziroh Labs and leading engineering school, IIT Madras, design new system that runs large AI models without high-end chips (like GPUs from Nvidia) New framework helps run LLMs from the likes of Meta, Alibaba on every day laptop/desktop processors tinyurl.com/4hmsbxvn #AI

Scoop: Buzzy German AI startup Black Forest Labs is no longer working with Elon Musk’s xAI, Sifted has learned. w/ @mpartington.bsky.social 👇 sifted.eu/articles/xai...

Elon Musk’s xAI no longer working with German startup Black Forest Labs

Buzzy German AI startup Black Forest Labs is no longer working with Elon Musk’s xAI to power its Grok chatbot, Sifted has learned.

sifted.eu

Scoop: AI language startup DeepL could IPO in 2026, sources say w/ @annesraders.bsky.social @tommatsuda.bsky.social sifted.eu/articles/dee...

AI language startup DeepL could IPO in 2026, sources say

German AI translation startup DeepL, last valued at $2bn, is looking closely at a public listing, sources tell Sifted.

sifted.eu

Embattled Swedish battery-maker Northvolt has laid off more than half of its staff, weeks after filing for bankruptcy. ⚡️ #Northvolt

Northvolt lays off half of staff as bankrupt battery-maker seeks buyer

sifted.eu

NEW: An ongoing lawsuit threatens to dredge up Checkout.com's relationship to 'vice' industries. The lawsuit links the fintech to a mysterious Cypriot entity historically listed on a mail-order bride website and once a client of Paxum bank. W/ @tommatsuda.bsky.social sifted.eu/articles/law...

Lawsuit puts Checkout.com's ties to adult entertainment industry in spotlight

An ongoing lawsuit threatens to dredge up Checkout.com's relationship to ‘vice’ industries, by linking it to a mysterious Cypriot entity.

sifted.eu

NEW: Since 2021, London-based VC firm Future Planet Capital has secured more than £100m in public funds without any competitive bidding process. Sources tell Sifted that government officials have raised questions over its suitability for the project. sifted.eu/articles/fut...

VC firm faces questions over £110m of UK public money acquired without competitive process

London-based VC firm Future Planet Capital (FPC) was awarded over £100m in public funds without any competitive bidding process.

sifted.eu

New: Bpifrance, the French public sector investment bank, has over $30m of public money on the line after Ÿnsect filed for insolvency. sifted.eu/articles/bpi...

Bpifrance has over $30m on the line in Ÿnsect collapse

Bpifrance, the French public sector investment bank, has over $30m of public money on the line after Ynsect filed for insolvency.

sifted.eu

I wrote about my brother Charlie’s final 48 hours, and his increasingly desperate attempts to track down an emergency supply of medication from the NHS. It’s an upsetting read but one I’m proud of. He’d be delighted to have made the @financialtimes.com magazine front cover: on.ft.com/434zZqn

New: BlackRock-backed Amazon aggregator SellerX cuts its workforce by 20%, affecting 170 people. sifted.eu/articles/sel...

Embattled Amazon aggregator SellerX cuts workforce by 20%

SellerX, which buys and helps e-commerce businesses grow, is laying off 20% of staff as it seeks to streamline its operations.

sifted.eu

Scoop: An ex-Mistral employee is raising $80m for his new company, sources tell Sifted. "Genesis Robotics is the big round happening in Paris at the moment,” says one investor. sifted.eu/articles/ex-...

Ex-Mistral employee seeks $80m for stealth AI startup

A former Mistral employee is seeking $80m for his new company, Genesis Robotics, which is developing an AI-powered simulation platform.

sifted.eu

🔋 When Northvolt filed for bankruptcy in November, it said it would run out of cash in January. It says it's now extended its runway (but won't say by how much) and it's still in need of long term funding. sifted.eu/articles/nor...

Northvolt extends runway but says it needs more capital to survive

When Northvolt filed for bankruptcy, it had enough capital to last them to the end of January. The company now says its cash runway has been extended.

sifted.eu

Bankrupt battery factory Northvolt was supposedly running out of cash two weeks ago. Now the company tells @sifted.eu it has extended its cash runway. W. @freyapratty.bsky.social More here: sifted.eu/articles/nor...

Northvolt extends runway but says it needs more capital to survive

When Northvolt filed for bankruptcy, it had enough capital to last them to the end of January. The company now says its cash runway has been extended.

sifted.eu

Someone recently described Octopus Energy to me as an opportunity for equity investors to get in on "an expensive utility company or a cheap tech company." The tech company, Kraken, is growing fast and looks set to one day spin out entirely from Octopus. sifted.eu/articles/oct...

Octopus Energy’s tech arm can be bigger than UiPath, says CEO

Kraken, Octopus Energy's tech arm, grew significantly across 2024, while the group as a whole saw a dip in profits.

sifted.eu

New: Octopus Energy has recorded its second year of profitability, despite a dip in revenues. Its tech arm, Kraken (which files separate accounts) saw profits increase 480%. sifted.eu/articles/oct...

Octopus Energy turns profit for second year running as its tech arm surges

London-based energy supplier Octopus Energy recorded its second year of profit. company’s tech arm, Kraken, saw significant growth in 2024.

sifted.eu

"Knowing what I know now, I would have never taken Mubadala as an investor.” Getir vs Mubadala continues to rage on, after a Dutch court on Friday sided with the sovereign wealth fund. sifted.eu/articles/get...

Inside the bitter courtroom drama between Getir founders and lead investor Mubadala: ‘It’s a coup’

A Dutch court found on Friday that Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala had acted in the interests of speedy grocery giant Getir.

sifted.eu

'It's an open game for us, if the money's not going to the US,' says one VC. #US #VentureCapital #News

UK VCs want to mop up Chinese capital leaving the US. Should they?

sifted.eu

UK VCs want to mop up Chinese capital leaving the US. Should they? 🤔 sifted.eu/articles/uk-...

UK VCs want to mop up Chinese capital leaving the US. Should they?

With growing anti-China sentiment in the US, UK VCs could capitalise off the Chinese LPs leaving the country.

sifted.eu

The Biden administration said on Tuesday that it would block imports from more than three dozen Chinese companies, citing their alleged ties to forced labor in the Xinjiang region of China.

Biden Administration Adds 37 Chinese Companies to Forced Labor List

The administration announced it would penalize its largest-ever batch of companies linked to Xinjiang, including major suppliers of critical minerals and textiles.

nytimes.com

Thanks to the FT Magazine for running these two climate cover stories - one on wildfires (July 2023), one on a possible collapse of Atlantic currents (January 2025). And thanks to everyone who read each piece, showing there is an audience for climate features www.ft.com/content/7711...

Northvolt's bankruptcy leaves its sister project Stegra (formerly H2 Green Steel) as Europe's flagship green infra project. I chatted to Stegra about whether Northvolt's fate has scared off the banks, Stegra's expansion plans and its hopes to mop up Northvolt talent: sifted.eu/articles/ste...

'We're fully financed' says Northvolt's sister company Stegra

Northvolt’s collapse leaves Stegra as Europe’s largest and best funded climate tech company, with €6.5bn raised to date.

sifted.eu

🎉Happy to share I'm joining Sifted as news editor from next week! Backed by the Financial Times, Sifted has fast established itself as a must-read for founders and investors across Europe. I'm looking forward to getting stuck in! If you want to get in touch, ping me on martin@sifted.eu

New: Checkout.com saw losses balloon 73% to $306m at its UK entities in 2023, filings show. Revenues from processing payments dropped after severing ties with “a large merchant”, thought to be crypto exchange Binance. sifted.eu/articles/che...

Checkout.com saw losses balloon 73% to $306m in 2023

Checkout.com, one of Europe’s most valuable startups, saw losses at its UK entities balloon 73% to $306m in 2023, its financial filings show.

sifted.eu

✈️ Insolvent flying taxi startup Lilium says it has found a buyer. If it goes through, the 1,000 staff laid off on Friday will be brought back. sifted.eu/articles/lil...

Flying taxi startup Lilium bought out of insolvency

German flying taxi startup Lilium, which filed for insolvency in November, has found an investor to buy its subsidiaries.

sifted.eu

FT Investigation: A Scottish-Lebanese dynasty. A sheikh scorned. A German arms deal. A £50mn penthouse. The former King of Spain. One of London’s hottest tech investors. Intrigued? Hope you enjoy What led to the fall of the house of El Husseiny on.ft.com/402y3wZ

What led to the fall of the house of El Husseiny

[FREE TO READ] A prominent family made a fortune working for autocrats. Who was really to blame when it fell apart?

on.ft.com