Chairman of N26's supervisory board, Marcus W. Mosen 🇪🇺, tells me that BaFin's cap of 60k new clients a month for the neobank has been 'a big pain'.

He says N26 has spent 'high double digit millions' on people, processes and tech tools to solve its issues with money laundering and fraud.

Revolut going big in Italy 👀

AP’s Julie Pace tells journalism festival that The Associated Press has been using AI for a decade.

Wishing I had access to their AI-powered search tool, Merlin, as a freelancer …

NEW: 'If Berkshire Hathaway and Google had a baby'.

Who'd have thought one of the most IPO-ready European tech companies would be Italian?

Bending Spoons just acquired Hopin's remains. I interviewed the CEO at their shiny new Milan HQ 👇

sifted.eu/articles/bendi…

Quick one for my Italo/arts network: I'll be at Salone del Mobile in Milano next week.

Working on an exhibition or hosting a Fuorisalone.it happening I shouldn't miss? DMs open 📩

Editor questing for a last min review/round up/city guide? DMs open 📩

SCOOP for the weekend: Italian online grocery startup Everli is facing a fire sale for as little as €1, according to a leaked document seen by Sifted.

Everli was previously valued at €450m, and had raised €140m from investors.

sifted.eu/articles/everl…

SCOOP: European rival to Stripe Checkout.com is facing its second round of executive departures this year.

It's also laying off around 80 employees — after making a series of “layoffs by stealth” earlier in 2023 — and closing two offices.

sifted.eu/articles/check…

NEW: Neobroker Trade Republic has been granted a full banking licence from the European Central Bank.

It's the kind of Xmas present that Revolut's CEO has asked for 👀

It means the German fintech will be less reliant on payment for order flow for $.

sifted.eu/articles/trade…

NEW: Revolut has seen more former employees go on to found new startups of their own than any other private European tech company valued over $1bn.

There's been a sharp uptick in the number of people choosing to leave to found their own thing in 2023.

sifted.eu/articles/revol…

I was invited on one of my favourite podcasts, to talk about one of my favourite topics. 🇮🇹

Ft. some unusually large pre-seed rounds, shifting attitudes to IP, and the family office scoops I've been covering in the past few months.

open.spotify.com/episode/0oUc3Z…

I'm back and defrosting from my first Slush, where I chatted to local entrepreneur Sami Marttinen on the founder stage.

He had quite the un-European founder story: he pivoted his company 13 times before landing on Swappie.

Is pivoting finally acceptable in European tech?

NEW: DeepL is one of only 5 European startups to reach a $1bn valuation this year.

The AI translation startup was using neural networks years before chatGPT mania began.

But CEO Jarosław Kutyłowski tells me the pace of change in 2023 has been tough.

sifted.eu/articles/2023-…

NEW: Trading platform Robinhood is launching its commission-free trading app in the UK today.

It's its third crack at launching outside of the US.

Its new UK CEO Jordan Sinclair tells me the fintech is confident this one will be a success.

sifted.eu/articles/robin…

I’ve touched down in a nippy Helsinki for Slush.

I’ll be on the founder stage at 11:45 tomorrow interviewing Sami Marttinen from Swappie.

Keep an eye out in the Sifted newsletter for dispatches from the ground.

Have some intel for me? ☕️

NEW: French insurtech Luko has been placed in receivership this week.

It may have avoided this situation if it had been able to tap investors for fresh cash.

Why are VCs steering clear of insurtech right now?

sifted.eu/articles/luko-…