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Vertice, a London-based startup that helps customers save money on their software and cloud computing bills, tops the second Sifted 100: UK & Ireland Leaderboard — an annual ranking of the 100 fastest-growing companies in the region by revenue growth, released today in partnership with Marriott Harrison.

Two more London companies follow just behind: AI-powered legal copilot Robin AI and Switchee, which uses technology to prevent renters from living in cold, damp homes. Pro subscribers have early access to the full downloadable leaderboard until April 1. 

VC funds LocalGlobe, Octopus Ventures and Balderton Capital have the most portfolio companies on the leaderboard — filling out the podium of our investor ranking.

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👀 AI startup 11x is facing questions over the quality of its “automated digital workers”, while current and former employees claim they faced a “toxic” workplace culture. The company has denied the claims. 

🎓 UK universities took the lowest stake in their spinouts to date in 2024, according to a new report by the Royal Academy of Engineering and data platform Beauhurst, which also showed funding was up while deal count was down.

🙅‍♀️ EU lawmakers warn against loosening the AI Act. Members of the European Parliament have signed a letter warning plans to water down the Act are ‘dangerous and undemocratic’.

🧪 Tech founder Tom Adeyoola has been chosen to lead Britain’s R&D funding agency, Innovate UK, as exec chair. The government is hoping the organisation can help “turbocharge growth.”

💸 The UK and Ireland’s most active investors.

🐆 Why Vertice is the UK’s fastest-growing startup. The Sifted leaderboard topper, which uses AI to help customers cut spend on software and cloud, has seen its revenue grow 13x in two years. 

🗽 ‘The US needs Europe and Europe needs the US’: Why SaaS unicorn Pigment’s CEO Eléonore Crespo doesn’t believe in tech sovereignty.  

🐣 Klarna pips Spotify to become Europe’s top founder factory, with former employees launching 62 startups to date.

🙌 Coaching is proven to boost success — here's how. (Sponsored by DOHE Group)

0100 Europe | Amsterdam. Senior reporter Anne Sraders will be at investor networking event 0100 Europe from April 2-4. Drop her a line if you're going too.

Sifted Talks | Online. On April 9, senior reporter Freya Pratty is bringing together panellists from Dexory, Yamato and Intralink to discuss how to take your startup overseas. From navigating new markets to building the right partnerships, our expert panel will share practical strategies for global growth. RSVP here.

Sifted Talks | Online. AI is transforming workflows across industries, pushing startups to innovate faster than ever. On April 30, senior reporter Kai Nicol-Schwarz will discuss with our expert panel where AI is delivering real value, the common pitfalls founders should avoid and how startups can integrate AI responsibly for long-term success. RSVP here.

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Berlin-based Amboss, a medical knowledge platform for education and clinical decision-making, raised €240m in funding. Kirkbi, M&G Investments and Lightrock participated in the round.

Berlin-based N8n, an AI-powered workflow automation platform for technical teams, raised €55m in Series B funding. Highland Europe led the round and was joined by investors including HV Capital, Sequoia, Felicis and Harpoon Ventures.

London-based Fyxer, which is building an AI-powered executive assistant, raised $10m in Series A funding. 20VC led the round and was joined by investors including Marc Benioff, Marcelo Claure, David Singleton, Lenny Ratchinsky and Nico Rosberg.

Paris-based Rockfi, a platform for private wealth management services, raised €18m in Series A funding. Partech led the round and was joined by investors including Varsity, Arthur Waller and Félix Blossier.

Salamanca, Spain-based Gaiarooms, a technology-powered hospitality chain which provides automated check-in services, raised €10m in funding. Bonsai Partners led the round and was joined by investors including Javier Llorente.

Cardiff-based Burbank, which has built a payment authentication technology to enable online transactions to be identified as card-present payments, raised £5m in seed funding. Mouro Capital led the round and was joined by investors including Anthemis (supported by Foxe Capital) and Portfolio Ventures.

Berlin-based AI Coustics, which is building audio algorithms to improve speech audio enhancement, raised €5m in seed funding. Partech led the round and was joined by investors including Acurio Ventures, Intuition, Arc Investors, Connect, FOV Ventures.

Antwerp-based ClimateCamp, a collaborative platform for sales, procurement and sustainability teams looking to reduce Scope 3 emissions, raised €3.5m in seed funding. Expon Capital led the round and was joined by investors including VLAIO, KBC, PMV and Birdhouse Ventures.

Tallinn-based Soldera, an AI-powered platform which streamlines the trading of renewable electricity production certification, raised €2.5m in funding. Lifeline Ventures led the round and was joined by investors including Skaala and Lemonade Stand.

Manchester, UK-based Firenze, a wealth management platform which focuses on Lombard lending, raised £2.5m in seed funding. Outward VC led the round and was joined by investors including Portfolio Ventures, Form Ventures and Lord Fink.

Wallonia, Brussels-based ARK Capture Solutions, which builds carbon dioxide capture technology with a focus on low-concentration emissions, raised €2.2m in pre-seed funding. Aperam Ventures and Seeder Fund led the round and was joined by investors including Climate Club, BeAngels, Lune Ventures, Invest BW, Noshaq and Wallonie Entreprendre.

Aachen, Germany-based AmberSearch, which is building an AI-powered search engine and chat interface for employees to access information from internal company sources, raised €2.1m in seed funding. Ventech participated in the round.

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