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5 days ago | 
sifted.eu | Daphne Leprince-Ringuet |Kai Nicol-Schwarz
Some of the AI models built by buzzy French startup Mistral are significantly more likely to produce child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) and content linked to chemical and nuclear threats compared to its competitors, according to a new report. Mistral, which launched in Paris two years ago, builds generative AI models similar to those powering US tech giant OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
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1 week ago | 
sifted.eu | Freya Pratty |Kai Nicol-Schwarz
After the UK and India signed a long-awaited trade deal, industry leaders in both countries say the pact will revolutionise how talent and capital flows between them. While the deal puts significant focus on cuts to levies on consumer goods such as whiskey and clothing — offering the UK economy a potential £4.8bn boost — members of the startup ecosystem have hailed the potential it could bring to tech, too.
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1 week ago | 
sifted.eu | Martin Coulter |Kai Nicol-Schwarz
As tensions simmer between Donald Trump and European leaders, the world's biggest cloud providers have been playing down fears the US president could sever the continent's access to their services — with potentially disastrous consequences. Last month, Trump rolled out an unprecedented package of tariffs on trading partners around the world, sending markets into free fall.
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1 week ago | 
sifted.eu | Freya Pratty |Kai Nicol-Schwarz
Beam, a British climate startup which designed AI and robotics to power the offshore wind industry, has shut down and appointed administrators, months after announcing major expansion plans. The Bristol-based startup had sought to use robotics to automate offshore wind farms, aiming to cut the time needed to service renewable energy systems, thereby bringing down their cost.
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2 weeks ago | 
sifted.eu | Kai Nicol-Schwarz |Miriam Partington |Anne Sraders
European startups and their investors are bracing for a hike in cloud computing costs that could hit growth ambitions and delay profitability, amid fears that US tariffs could force hyperscalers to ramp up prices. US president Donald Trump sent markets around the world into meltdown earlier this month, after unveiling a sweeping package of import taxes on trading partners from around the world.
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2 weeks ago | 
sifted.eu | Kai Nicol-Schwarz |Mimi Billing
European venture firms Kinnevik and Molten Ventures have both warned of “volatility” caused by US president Donald Trump’s recent barrage of tariffs, as the continent’s startups scramble to navigate the uncertainty. In an annual trading update published Thursday, Swedish VC firm Kinnevik — which has backed the likes of green steel scaleup Stegra and travel platform TravelPerk — marked down the majority of its investments in the first three months of 2025, compared to the previous quarter.
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1 month ago | 
sifted.eu | Kai Nicol-Schwarz |Amy Lewin
European VC giant Atomico has agreed to sell part of its fund of funds portfolio, multiple sources have told Sifted. US private equity company Kline Hill Partners (KHP) is acquiring Atomico’s LP stakes in VC funds including Seedcamp, Visionaries Club, Puzzle Ventures, Common Magic and Tiny VC, according to a source with knowledge of the deal.
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1 month ago | 
sifted.eu | Kai Nicol-Schwarz |Daphne Leprince-Ringuet |Tom Nugent
European hardware startups are scrambling to navigate supply chain uncertainty and rethink expansion plans as US tariff back-and-forths continue to wreak market chaos and a trade war with China intensifies. Senior leaders have been rushing to schedule contingency plan meetings with boards and investors over the past week, as they look to protect runways and shelter themselves from the worst of the global economic fallout, founders and VCs tell Sifted.
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1 month ago | 
sifted.eu | Miriam Partington |Kai Nicol-Schwarz |Anne Sraders
European VC firms are weighing up the impact of Donald Trump’s punishing array of tariffs on the continent’s startup ecosystem. Last week, the US president forged ahead with his long-trailed “Liberation Day”, slapping unprecedented import taxes on goods shipped into the US from around the world. The package saw some investors lose billions of dollars on the stock market — and others their appetite for risk.
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1 month ago | 
sifted.eu | Miriam Partington |Kai Nicol-Schwarz
Finnish quantum startup IQM is aiming to secure more than the €128m it raised at its last round, as startups in the sector race to scale following a series of technical breakthroughs. Founded in 2018, IQM is the second best-funded quantum hardware company in Europe, excluding Big Tech, according to Sifted data, having raised a total $210m from investors including Tencent, World Fund and MIG Capital.
