Good morning there,

Welcome to the first Sifted Daily newsletter of 2025, filled with predictions for the year to come from industry experts and our very own journalists-turned-soothsayers — as well as a wee dose of news that broke while we were all dozing on the sofa.

Coming up: 

• M&A hots up, a superapp is born and IPOs at last: Sifted's predictions for European tech in 2025
• RIP: The startups that went bust in 2024 
• Mushroom coffins, dog wakes and ‘digital smells’: the weirdest VC deals of last year

— Amy Lewin, editor

/A message from our sponsor  Zoom

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🛸 German flying taxi startup Lilium has found a buyer. The company, which filed for insolvency in November, has found an investor —  a group named Mobile Uplift Corporation — to buy its subsidiaries.

• The agreement came just days after Lilium laid off its remaining staff of approximately 1,000 people in late December. The agreement is expected to close in January, Lilium said, allowing the business to resume. A spokesperson told Sifted that 770 staff will return.

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🔮 M&A hots up, a superapp is born and IPOs at last: Sifted's journalists-turned-clairvoyants predict what's to come this year.

🪦 RIP: The startups that went bust in 2024. Sifted lists 16 startups that filed for bankruptcy, insolvency or administration last year. 

⚰️ Mushroom coffins, dog wakes and ‘digital smells’: the weirdest VC deals of last year. Bonus material: best startup names and most over-used tech jargon of 2024.

💳 What’s next for European fintech?

🪖 What’s in store for Europe’s growing defence tech sector in 2025?

🌬️ A hairdryer for heavy industry and a virtual energy manager: Meet two startups helping industry to decarbonise. (Sponsored by New Energy Challenge)

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