With US researchers feeling the pressure from president Donald Trump’s academic crackdown, Europe is rolling out the red carpet for top tier American talent.
The EU’s €500 million “Choose Europe for Science” initiative follows similar plays in France and the UK, hoping to lure researchers in search of stability and support.
But critics aren’t convinced Europe can compete. Lower salaries and bureaucratic hoops may be enough to deter talent from crossing the pond, they say.
Can Europe become the new haven for scientific innovation — or are such efforts doomed to fail? As always, I’m keen to hear what you think.
Secure your ticket to enhance your customer engagement strategies with lessons from top brands. Discover actionable insights from leaders at Zalando, Vinted and EasyJet.
🥾 How to bootstrap multi-million ARR. With the rise of AI tools, some companies are generating millions in revenue without raising VC. Here’show two small startup teams did it.
🥵 The legal AI space is heating up. Ruben Miessen, CEO and cofounder of Belgium’s Legalfly — which uses AI to simplify legal text drafting and synthesis — says over 100 investors have slid into his inbox in the past year alone, eager to back his next round, in our newbriefing.
Sifted Summit 2025 is where the most influential founders, investors, and operators come to scope out what’s next for startup Europe . Across two days, explore the trends shaping funding, AI growth and resilience and meet the people shaping the future of European tech.
How are European startups’ DEI initiatives holding up? We surveyed women in tech to find out.
As the economic outlook becomes increasingly uncertain, tech folk in Europe have voiced growing concerned their companies could roll back DEI initiatives as part of wider cost-cutting drives.
As part of Sifted’s latest survey, we tried to find out how committed businesses remained to championing diversity.
More than half (57.2%) of respondents said their companies had maintained their DEI efforts — with one respondent saying “DEI is vital and is not going to go away for us, ever. For sure!”
Others said their employers never had dedicated DEI policies to begin with, and therefore nothing had changed. “I don't think special care is given to women or non binary staff, nor are they actively discriminated against. But in a male dominated culture without active efforts, unintentional sidelining, undermining etc is inevitable without deliberate interventions,” wrote one respondent.
Just under a fifth (19.5%) of respondents said they had seen at least some DEI efforts walked back, with a few citing budget cuts and drives for profitability as factors.
Respondents also pointed out that even if a company had dedicated DEI initiatives or policies, it doesn’t always mean they would actively address issues with diversity, equity and inclusion.
One respondent said her company’s DEI effort has not diminished recently, but subtle cultural signals continue to suggest “unequal treatment” for women in particular.
Elsewhere in the survey, women reported unequal pay, a lack of growth opportunities and instances of discrimination — some of which weren’t always effectively dealt with.
Just over a third (35.7%) of respondents said if they were to look for a new job, they would look for employers that directly address discrimination in their organisations.
For women in tech, it matters that companies are addressing issues of systemic bias and discrimination and championing women to become senior leaders, according to our survey data.
When asked what would make workplaces better, increasing representation of women and non-binary people in leadership was deemed most important.
Tom Nugent | Managing editor. At BVCA Accelerate today, in London.
Amy Lewin | Editor. At Aria Summit May 12-13 and EUVC Summit May 14, both in London. She’s also at GITEX Europe in Berlin May 21-23.
Freya Pratty | Senior reporter. At Iceland Innovation week on May 14 and ok, bye on May 15, both in Reykjavik.
If you are planning to be at any of these events and want to meet up, get in touch with our person on the ground.
London-based Wagestream, a financial benefit app for employees, raised €352m in debt funding from Citi.
Amsterdam-based Finom, a digital banking service for SMEs and entrepreneurs, raised €92.3m in funding from General Catalyst.
Amsterdam-based Appsignal, which provides performance monitoring tools for developers to track errors, and metrics in their applications, raised $22m in Series A funding from Elsewhere Partners.
Eindhoven, the Netherlands-based Eyeo, which aims to commercialise a new approach to image sensor design, raised €15m in seed funding. Imec-xpand and Invest-NL co-led the round and were joined by investors including Qbicfund, High-Tech Gründerfonds and the Brabant Development Agency.
Madrid-based Luzia, which is developing a personal AI assistant app for Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking populations, raised $13.5m in funding. Prosus Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including Khosla Ventures and Monashees.
Berlin-based 7Learnings, which helps retailers to accurately forecast demand for different price points, raised over €10m in Series B funding. Acton Capital led the round and was joined by investors including High-Tech Gründerfonds.
This Sifted dinner, powered by Deel, will gather top founders and decision makers from scaling startups. Join us on May 28 for an evening of insightful conversation and connection as we delve into: Hiring without limits: How startups can build global teams.
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