Good morning there,

For many VCs, 2025 will be the year they need to head out to raise their next fund — and, if they last raised in 2021 or 2022, they’ll likely find it tougher to find LPs willing to part with their capital.

I took a look at which VC firms haven’t raised new funds since 2022 (a good indicator they’ll be back in the market soon), plus asked some trusty sources who they’d heard would be raising. Take a look at the list here. 

Elsewhere today: 

• Is your pitch deck good enough to raise? 
• The 20 most valuable startups and scaleups in Europe
• 10 predictions for German tech in 2025

— Anne Sraders, senior reporter

Meet Europe’s 250 fastest-growing startups in 2024

Looking for your next big bet in European tech? We ventured through 2024 to rank the region’s most innovative high-growth startups in our Sifted 250: Europe Leaderboard. We also dig into the trends and data to understand what factors are fuelling their growth. 

🥬 Vertical farming startup Infarm has filed a winding up petition in the UK. The troubled company, which raised nearly $500m from investors like Balderton and Atomico and reached a unicorn valuation, has already been declared insolvent and returned with a new entity once before. This second entity, set up by Infarm's founders, announced its attention to appoint administrators in October.

💁 The European VCs due to fundraise in 2025.

🧐 Is your pitch deck good enough to raise? VCs spend, on average, only 2m 12s reading a deck, according to DocSend. Here’s how to make yours one they pay attention to. 

😎 Europe’s 20 most valuable startups and scaleups.

🇩🇪 AI, deeptech and European resilience: 10 predictions for German tech in 2025.

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

European tech in 2024: A year in review

While 2024 saw headwinds for European tech, there are bright spots: secondary markets gained traction, AI and fintech showed promise, and median round sizes grew. As we look to 2025, momentum is key. Download the full report to explore the trends shaping Europe's tech landscape.

Copenhagen-based Flatpay, which simplifies payments and financial management for SMEs, raised €57.6m in Series C funding. Seed Capital, Dawn Capital and HS Investments led the round.

Leuven, Belgium-based Swave Photonics, a provider of holographic display technology, raised €27m in Series A funding. Imec.xpand and SFPIM Relaunch led the round and were joined by investors including EIC Fund, IAG Capital Partners, Murata Electronics, Qbic Fund, PMV and Luminate.

Dublin-based Jentic, a startup developing a core integration layer for AI, raised €4m in pre-seed funding. Elkstone led the round and was joined by investors including Sure Valley Ventures, TechOperators and Shuttle.

If you’d like to submit a deal, get in touch. 

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Startup founders, this one’s for you. 

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