Sifted

Construction robots are a thing — and they’re just getting started 🏗️ 🦾 It’s an elusive dream. Robots hold promise for construction but the technology has proven difficult to perfect. But founders and investors say this is all going to change in our report, sponsored by Leonard. 🤖 In an industry desperate to attract younger workers, offering the opportunity to use robots would help with recruitment and retention and would help the industry to adapt to this technology quicker. ⭐️ Discover the biggest construction robot deals in Europe, explore the bots already rolling onto sites and uncover the growing opportunities in construction tech in our latest report. Become an expert in the industry in just 23 pages ➡️ https://lnkd.in/emutuGvQ #constructiontech #builderbot #robots

EXCLUSIVE w/Anne Sraders: HV Capital is set to open an office in the UK, months after the German multistage VC firm announced a slew of senior promotions across the firm. Founded in 2000, HV Capital invests across fintech, B2B, mobility, sustainability and enterprise SaaS verticals. The firm has enjoyed its fair share of exits over the past 25 years, including e-commerce platform Depop, food delivery app Delivery Hero and meal prep company HelloFresh. HV Capital will open an office in a Central London members club in the spring, according to two people familiar with the matter. The firm is hiring a partner to run the office, which will be HV Capital’s first outside of its native Germany where it has offices in Berlin and Munich. More here: https://lnkd.in/eVNqucjY

Dinner in London — on us! 🍽️ Join top founders and people leaders from startups and scaleups for an evening of fine dining, networking and insightful discussions. Powered by Remote, the evening will start with an expert interview delving into — Fast growth, strong culture: How to find the right balance. Later a three course meal will be served, followed by the opportunity to network and share ideas with fellow diners. 🌟 Limited availability — free to attend 🌟 Register your interest here >> https://lnkd.in/ecaDBXMJ

How to find product-market fit ↔️ Whether you’re heading into international waters, expanding to a new market or starting from scratch — understanding your audience and adapting as markets change is critical to success. 🔄 Product-market fit is a continuous process in a startup — not only does the initial product need to find product-market fit, but it’s essential as new features and products are created. 🗣️ Customer feedback is an overlooked tool that easily ensures success — test prototypes with early adopters and rework aspects that will solidify its value proposition. Always have an open communication channel with your customers throughout the entire product lifecycle. > Explore our how-to guide on finding PMF and the signs you’ve nailed it 👉 https://lnkd.in/eExjmjVd > Or check out our how-to guide on adapting your product to a new market with Jon Jain head of product at elderly-care startup Birdie: https://lnkd.in/eExjmjVd ✍️ Interested for more 'how-to guides'? Sign up to our free subscription Sifted for Startups here: https://lnkd.in/ezmDHBss Artwork by Ludic Creatives #SiftedforStartups #NewMarkets #CustomerFeedback

A new leash on life: Why dog longevity could be the key to ours 🦮 From nutrition to drugs, pet scientists and startups are hoping breakthroughs in canine longevity could lay the foundations for innovations in human health. Our latest podcast powered by UNLEASHED by Purina features: 🐾 Celine Halioua founder and CEO of Loyal 🐾 Matt Kaeberlein co-director of the The Dog Aging Project 🐾 Philipp Gut expert biology of aging at Nestlé, and 🐾 Pascal Steiner senior director nutrition science at Nestlé. For some hints on when we could first see the sale of a life extending drug for dogs listen to the full episode — or read the featured highlights in our article below. 🎧 Listen now: https://lnkd.in/dtCPc8kv 📘 Read more: https://lnkd.in/d8DhDedX

🎬 Introducing the Scaleup CXO Series at Sifted Summit! 🎬 We’re thrilled to announce the launch of the Scaleup CXO Series, a brand-new addition to Sifted Summit 2025 — designed for the leaders steering Europe’s most ambitious scaleups. This series will dive deep into the real challenges faced by c-suite leaders — from navigating hypergrowth and scaling teams to mastering operational excellence. Expect candid conversations, actionable insights and the chance to connect with fellow CXOs who’ve been in the trenches. If you’re looking to move beyond buzzwords and get to the heart of what it really takes to scale, this is the series for you. 🎟️ Register for ticket release updates >> http://bit.ly/4jH2kcm #SiftedSummit #ScaleupCXO #Startups

Can payment startups make a comeback in 2025? 📲 Payments used to be one of fintech’s hottest subsectors, but 2021 brought tough headwinds. A combination of increasing compliance requirements, interest rate rises and a funding drought hit the sector hard. But from high-stakes IPOs to fresh opportunities in B2B payments and crypto, there’s more to the story. Find out if payment startups can bounce back in our Sifted Pro article by Tom Matsuda 👉 https://lnkd.in/dMNE7P-t #fintech #payments #crypto

New: former EIF investor David Dana is joining aerospace and defence VC Expansion Ventures as a general partner. The move comes as the EIF has been more active with deeptech and defence in the last year, and as it's experiencing 'ongoing changes' within the organisation. More on Sifted

Over 500 emerging managers applied for Europe’s ‘YC for VC’ — and 20 have now been selected. The 10-week programme, which is being run by advisory firm Mountside Ventures, aims to help VCs “become better fundraisers,” say Jonathan Hollis, managing partner. The VCs participating, who are all raising their first, second or third funds, are based all over Europe — and 40% of the selected general partners are female. Just under a quarter of the participants are solo GPs, and only 30% of them were previously investment professionals; 31% have been founders, and 22% operators. I list the 20 who made the cut — and find out how much they're raising: https://lnkd.in/emG3xQuq #venturecapital #vc

It’s been a tough week for European AI startups. In today’s Sifted Daily, news editor Martin Coulter breaks down the latest shake-up in the AI world. DeepSeek’s shock release of its low-cost chatbot R1 sent tech stocks tumbling this week. The market quickly regained optimism, but for companies building large language models the outlook remains challenging. As Nathan Benaich of Air Street Capital told us: “The only real losers are European LLM makers.” All eyes are now on Mistral, the Paris-based AI startup that’s now one of Europe’s last standing model-makers. What’s Mistral’s next move? Sifted Daily drops the latest news into your inbox every morning. Sign up here. 👉 https://lnkd.in/eZCqwSsA