Sifted
Sifted is a London-based media brand and subscription intelligence platform for the European startup ecosystem, backed by the Financial Times. It provides editorial coverage, proprietary data tools (Deals, Investor, Market, M&A Trackers), regional rankings, and tiered Pro subscriptions serving investors, founders, and corporates.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Sifted does
Sifted is a London-based media brand and subscription intelligence platform serving the European startup ecosystem, backed by the Financial Times. Founded in 2018, the company publishes daily editorial coverage spanning 40+ European countries and operates a portfolio of proprietary data tools — Deals Tracker, Investor Tracker, Market Tracker, and M&A Tracker — built on a proprietary dataset covering 100,000+ European startups. Sifted also produces the Sifted 250, regional Sifted 100 leaderboards (UK & Ireland, France & Benelux, Southern Europe), AI 100, B2B SaaS Rising 100, and Consumer 100 rankings, which function as ecosystem reference standards.
The company monetizes through a tiered subscription model: a free tier for registered users and startups (with the Sifted for Startups program requiring quarterly data contributions), a Pro Single Seat tier at £1,750/year offering data tools and exclusive intelligence, and a quote-based Enterprise tier with custom onboarding and dedicated account management. Additional revenue streams include digital advertising, newsletter and event sponsorships, and paid tickets for the annual Sifted Summit and virtual Sifted Talks. The audience — 4.5M average monthly website visits, 500,000+ email subscribers, and 3.39M combined social following — is concentrated at 98% senior decision makers across investors (94% of audience overlaps with startups/scaleups).
Sifted's distribution channels combine owned editorial, six email newsletters, podcasts, virtual events, and the Sifted Summit. Strategic partnerships include the Financial Times (flagship backing and editorial), Statista (co-development of the FT European Start-up Hubs ranking), and a broad sponsor base including Nebius, Box, Marriott Harrison, Sapphire, Lazard, Redalpine, N47, and AVP. Sifted raised £4M in seed funding from ScaleUp Capital in November 2021 and has not announced further priced rounds.
Sifted firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sifted
- Legal name
- Sifted (EU) Ltd
- Website
- https://sifted.eu
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Sifted is a London-based media brand and subscription intelligence platform for the European startup ecosystem, backed by the Financial Times. It provides editorial coverage, proprietary data tools (Deals, Investor, Market, M&A Trackers), regional rankings, and tiered Pro subscriptions serving investors, founders, and corporates.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Sifted industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Startup Media and Market Intelligence
- akta.pro primary industry
- News & Content Aggregation Portals (BPAMAAAI)
Keywords
Where Sifted is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Sifted business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Pro Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions providing access to intelligence reports, data tools, and exclusive newsletters. Single seat at £1,750/year, Enterprise tier priced on request.
- Advertising and Sponsorships: Digital advertising, branded content, newsletter sponsorships, and event sponsorships targeting senior decision makers, startups, scaleups and investors in the European tech ecosystem.
- Free Tier Access: Limited article access and newsletter delivery to registered users, creating pipeline for paid subscriptions.
- Events Revenue: Paid tickets for Sifted Summit and other events including networking opportunities, stages, and exhibition spaces.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Free tier for general ecosystem players |
| Freemium | Others | Free tier for startups at all funding stages |
| Subscription | Annual | Individual data-driven insights subscription |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Team/company data intelligence solution |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels9 records
Sifted product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sifted operates a subscription-based media and intelligence platform delivering news, analysis, and proprietary data tools focused exclusively on the European startup ecosystem. The core product is Sifted Pro, offering verified data on early-stage startups, investment-grade sector briefings, and downloadable tracker tools covering deals, investors, markets, and M&A activity. The platform is supported by editorial coverage, newsletters, virtual events, podcasts, and the annual Sifted Summit conference.
Product overview
Sifted is a media brand and intelligence platform for the European startup ecosystem, backed by the Financial Times. The core offering is Sifted Pro, a subscription-based platform providing investment-grade research, verified startup data, and market intelligence tools. Sifted Pro is available in tiers for individuals (Single Seat, £1,750/year), teams/companies (Enterprise, price on request), and free tiers for registered users and startups. The product portfolio centers on Sifted Pro alongside complementary content products: Sifted Briefings (research reports), Sifted Rankings/Leaderboards (fastest-growing startup rankings by region and sector), data tracker tools (Deals, Investor, Market, M&A Trackers), Sifted Reports (in-depth thematic reports), newsletters (Daily, AI & Deeptech, Fintech, Startup Life, Up Round, Pro Deals), Sifted Talks (virtual events), Podcasts (Startup Europe, Sifted Studio, The Oppawtunity), and the annual Sifted Summit conference. All products are accessible through the web platform at sifted.eu, with intelligence targeted at investors, corporates, consultants, founders, and service providers in the European startup ecosystem.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Sifted Pro Subscription-based intelligence product for European startup ecosystem participants. Available as Single Seat at £1,750 per year and as Enterprise for teams (quote-based, multi-year). Provides exclusive market news and intelligence powered by Sifted's proprietary data, access to a library of investment-grade briefings, verified data on early-stage startups, full access to downloadable Deals Tracker, Market Tracker, Investor Tracker, and M&A Tracker, exclusive Deals newsletter, early access to leaderboards, and Summit ticket discounts. Enterprise tier adds custom Deals Tracker alerts by country/size/sector/stage/round, a dedicated account manager, and tailored onboarding.
- Sifted for Startups Free subscription tier for startups at all funding stages. Provides unlimited article access, the Startup Life newsletter, quarterly industry barometer polls, and 10% off Sifted Summit tickets. Startups are required to update their company data every three months as a condition of participation.
- Sifted Briefings Investment-grade research briefings providing data-driven sector, geographic, and thematic analysis on Europe's startup ecosystem. Pro subscribers can explore existing briefings and request custom briefings on specific topics such as battery supply chain sustainability.
- Sifted Rankings Curated rankings of Europe's top startups and investors, including the Sifted 100 (fastest-growing startups by region such as France and Benelux, Southern Europe, UK and Ireland), the Sifted 250, AI 100, B2B SaaS Rising 100, Consumer 100, and investor activity rankings across sectors. Includes unicorn trackers and leaderboards.
- Sifted Reports In-depth intelligence reports on transformative trends in European tech across sectors, themes, and geographies. Available for free or Pro download. Recent examples include reports on European Dynamism, the Rise of AI Agents, and the Sifted AVP Transatlantic Founder Index.
- Sifted Talks Virtual events and expert panel discussions on topics including AI adoption, scaling strategies, fintech, climate tech, and venture capital. Typically one-hour sessions available live or on-demand, often sponsored by partners such as Box.
- Sifted Podcasts Audio content including the Startup Europe podcast (monthly long-form interviews with European tech leaders), Sifted Studio (partner-produced content), and The Oppawtunity (pet tech focus). Distributed on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
- Sifted Summit Annual in-person gathering for Europe's scaleup leaders, bringing together Series A+ founders, operators, and investors for paid-ticket conversations about scaling companies. Includes stages, exhibition spaces, and curated networking.
- Sifted Newsletters Curated email newsletters including Sifted Daily (Mon-Fri essential European tech news), AI & Deeptech (Mon), Fintech (Tue), Startup Life (Wed), Up Round (Fri), and the Pro-exclusive Deals newsletter (Mon). Over 125,000 total newsletter subscribers.
Quantifiable outcome
- 4.5M+ average monthly website visits
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Sifted
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Sifted technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Sifted partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- NebiuscoreNebius sponsors multiple Sifted reports including Sifted 100: France & Benelux 2026 and Sifted 100: Southern Europe 2026 leaderboards, providing funding for intelligence content production.
- BoxcoreBox sponsors Sifted Talks virtual events and 'The Rise of AI Agents 2026' report, engaging with Sifted's audience of startup founders and operators for brand positioning around AI and automation topics.
- Marriott HarrisonminorMarriott Harrison sponsors multiple Sifted 100 regional rankings including UK & Ireland leaderboards.
- Sapphire and LazardminorSapphire and Lazard co-sponsor the B2B SaaS Rising 100 report.
- RedalpineminorRedalpine sponsors the 'European Dynamism' report on key sectors where Europe can win.
- N47minorN47 sponsors the Sifted AI 100 2025 report.
- StatistacoreStatista partnered with Financial Times and Sifted to develop the 'FT Ranking: Europe's Leading Start-up Hubs 2026', providing research methodology and data verification.
- AVPminorAVP sponsors the '2025 Sifted AVP Transatlantic Founder Index' report.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Sifted competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- PitchBook: A market-leading private market data platform owned by Morningstar, providing deep VC, PE, and M&A intelligence. Competes with Sifted Pro's investor and M&A trackers while serving a broader institutional finance audience.
- Fortune: Established business media brand covering technology, finance, and startups including rankings (Fortune 500, etc.). Comparable as a legacy business publisher expanding into digital subscription intelligence for senior executives.
- CB Insights: A global market intelligence platform focused on private companies, technology markets, and emerging trends. Overlaps with Sifted's intelligence briefings and tracker products for enterprise customers.
- Bloomberg: Global financial and business media giant with extensive startup, VC, and tech coverage. Competes at the high end of Sifted's senior decision-maker audience and has substantially greater resources for international coverage.
Emerging players
- Tracxn: A startup and venture capital intelligence platform with global coverage of funding rounds, investors, and sectors. Comparable to Sifted Pro's data tracking capabilities with a more productized SaaS model.
Direct peers
- The Information: Subscription-based tech and startup news outlet targeting senior professionals with deep, paywalled reporting. Closest analogue to Sifted Pro's tiered subscription model and senior decision-maker positioning, though US-focused.
- Dealroom.co: European-headquartered startup and venture capital intelligence platform providing deal data, market sizing, and investor tracking. Directly comparable to Sifted Pro's data tools and overlaps in European VC customer base.
- TechCrunch: The dominant global startup and venture capital news outlet. Both Sifted and TechCrunch serve founders, VCs, and operators with daily startup news, analysis, and events, though TechCrunch is US-headquartered and broader in scope.
- Crunchbase: A leading subscription data platform tracking startups, funding rounds, and investors. Crunchbase directly overlaps Sifted Pro's Deals, Investor, and Market Trackers and serves the same enterprise customer base of VCs and corporate development teams.
- Beauhurst: UK-based high-growth company tracking and intelligence platform serving investors, corporates, and government. Closely comparable to Sifted for UK-focused startup data and tracker functionality, though less pan-European.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Sifted social profiles
Digital presenceSifted financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sifted leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Sifted funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sifted M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Sifted
What does Sifted do?
Sifted operates a subscription-based media and intelligence platform delivering news, analysis, and proprietary data tools focused exclusively on the European startup ecosystem. The core product is Sifted Pro, offering verified data on early-stage startups, investment-grade sector briefings, and downloadable tracker tools covering deals, investors, markets, and M&A activity. The platform is supported by editorial coverage, newsletters, virtual events, podcasts, and the annual Sifted Summit conference.
Is Sifted a public or private company?
Sifted is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Sifted founded?
Sifted was founded in 2018. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Sifted based?
Sifted is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Sifted make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Pro Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are advertising and Sponsorships, free Tier Access and events Revenue.
Who are Sifted's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are PitchBook, Fortune, CB Insights and Bloomberg. Tracxn is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are The Information, Dealroom.co, TechCrunch, Crunchbase and Beauhurst.
Does Sifted have an API?
No public API is recorded for Sifted.
What industry is Sifted in?
Sifted's product category is Startup Media and Market Intelligence. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMAAAI, News & Content Aggregation Portals.