Freya Pratty

Freya Pratty is a senior reporter and investigations lead at Sifted. Follow her on X , LinkedIn and Bluesky

Operator-led VC firm Plural targeting up to €1bn for new fund
Exclusive
January 20, 2026
Operator-led VC firm Plural targeting up to €1bn for new fund
Four years after launch, Plural would be managing one of Europe’s largest funds
Freya Pratty, Anne Sraders and Amy Lewin
British Business Bank takes £25m stake in Octopus Energy-spinoff Kraken
News
January 20, 2026
British Business Bank takes £25m stake in Octopus Energy-spinoff Kraken
The bank has also pledged £50m apiece to two UK deep tech funds
Freya Pratty
The people with power at Nvidia-backed Nscale
List
January 15, 2026
The people with power at Nvidia-backed Nscale
Who’s behind the hyped company?
Freya Pratty
Angel investors most likely to behave inappropriately towards founders, new survey finds
Data
January 14, 2026
Angel investors most likely to behave inappropriately towards founders, new survey finds
"Silence is being used as a pragmatic survival strategy"
Freya Pratty
Nick Clegg: ‘Europe is competing with one arm tied behind its back’
The big interview
January 14, 2026
Nick Clegg: ‘Europe is competing with one arm tied behind its back’
European tech should look very different to Silicon Valley, says former Meta VP
Freya Pratty and Martin Coulter
Leaked pitch deck reveals Yann LeCun’s plan to build ‘first world model for business’
Exclusive
January 13, 2026
Leaked pitch deck reveals Yann LeCun’s plan to build ‘first world model for business’
Sifted reported earlier this week that LeCun has poached key team members from Meta and Google DeepMind
Freya Pratty and Anne Sraders
Inside Hiro Capital's €500m plan for European startups: 'We can shift the dial'
Analysis
January 12, 2026
Inside Hiro Capital's €500m plan for European startups: 'We can shift the dial'
Deeptech-focused VC firm wants to stamp out the ‘valley of death’ plaguing late-stage companies
Martin Coulter and Freya Pratty
LocalGlobe, Jaan Tallinn and Guardian owner: Who will make money from the $1bn Faculty acquisition?
Analysis
January 12, 2026
LocalGlobe, Jaan Tallinn and Guardian owner: Who will make money from the $1bn Faculty acquisition?
Faculty's largest shareholder is New York-based growth fund Apax Digital
Freya Pratty
Nscale aiming for $2bn fundraise, reports say
News
January 9, 2026
Nscale aiming for $2bn fundraise, reports say
Nscale has signed partnerships with Nvidia and OpenAI
Freya Pratty
Lightspeed-backed Plan A acquired for €55m
News
January 8, 2026
Lightspeed-backed Plan A acquired for €55m
Plan A was part of a cohort of carbon accounting companies which received significant investor interest in 2021 and 2022
Freya Pratty
European tech policy in 2026: What to expect
Analysis
January 8, 2026
European tech policy in 2026: What to expect
The tech policies you should be tracking this year
Freya Pratty
12 people to watch in European tech in 2026
List
January 7, 2026
12 people to watch in European tech in 2026
We asked founders and investors to nominate the people they think will shape the ecosystem in 2026
Freya Pratty
14 people in European tech who mattered in 2025
List
December 24, 2025
14 people in European tech who mattered in 2025
2025: the year of the bro-caster
Freya Pratty and Éanna Kelly
Operating losses and a delayed US launch raise questions for $5bn Fuse Energy
Analysis
December 24, 2025
Operating losses and a delayed US launch raise questions for $5bn Fuse Energy
Filings for one of Fuse's UK entities show an operating margin of – 48%
Freya Pratty
11 UK companies VCs will be watching in 2026
List
December 23, 2025
11 UK companies VCs will be watching in 2026
We asked investors from Balderton, Atomico and more which UK startups they’ll be keeping an eye on in 2026.
Freya Pratty
NATO Innovation Fund reduces salaries from €677k a year to ‘fair market rate’
Exclusive
December 22, 2025
NATO Innovation Fund reduces salaries from €677k a year to ‘fair market rate’
NIF declined to comment on how much it now pays its partners
Freya Pratty
Fuse Energy raises $70m backed by Balderton and Lowercarbon Capital
News
December 18, 2025
Fuse Energy raises $70m backed by Balderton and Lowercarbon Capital
Nik Storonsky’s VC firm QuantumLight also joined the round
Freya Pratty
European Innovation Council appoints new board at ‘existential’ moment for region’s tech sovereignty
News
December 18, 2025
European Innovation Council appoints new board at ‘existential’ moment for region’s tech sovereignty
Former Breakthrough Energy VP Ann Mettler and Italian economist Francesca Bria join the organisation
Freya Pratty
Nvidia’s VC arm backs PolyAI in $86m Series D round
News
December 15, 2025
Nvidia’s VC arm backs PolyAI in $86m Series D round
British Business Bank contributes £15m to conversational AI startup
Freya Pratty
The EU wants you! …to manage €5bn
Analysis
December 12, 2025
The EU wants you! …to manage €5bn
The European Innovation Council published its criteria in a callout for VC firms to manage the new deeptech fund
Anne Sraders and Freya Pratty
Is EU Inc a pipe dream?
Analysis
December 12, 2025
Is EU Inc a pipe dream?
“EU Inc has to happen or we’ve failed"
Freya Pratty
Exclusive: Lakestar leads $14m investment for Cambridge AI spinout Matta
Exclusive
December 10, 2025
Exclusive: Lakestar leads $14m investment for Cambridge AI spinout Matta
Matta is part of a wider cohort of robotics startups which have enjoyed significant investor interest this year
Freya Pratty
NATO Innovation Fund forced to pay €52k to former partner
Exclusive
December 9, 2025
NATO Innovation Fund forced to pay €52k to former partner
Founding partner Thorsten Claus earned almost €700k a year at the taxpayer-funded firm, court documents from August reveal
Anne Sraders and Freya Pratty
Visionaries and 20VC back ‘AI for patents’ startup Solve Intelligence after 10-fold revenue increase
News
December 9, 2025
Visionaries and 20VC back ‘AI for patents’ startup Solve Intelligence after 10-fold revenue increase
The founders of Tinder, Deel, Ironclad, Canva, Pigment and Hugging Face joined the round
Freya Pratty

Freya Pratty

Operator-led VC firm Plural targeting up to €1bn for new fund

British Business Bank takes £25m stake in Octopus Energy-spinoff Kraken

The people with power at Nvidia-backed Nscale

Angel investors most likely to behave inappropriately towards founders, new survey finds

Nick Clegg: ‘Europe is competing with one arm tied behind its back’

Leaked pitch deck reveals Yann LeCun’s plan to build ‘first world model for business’

Inside Hiro Capital's €500m plan for European startups: 'We can shift the dial'

LocalGlobe, Jaan Tallinn and Guardian owner: Who will make money from the $1bn Faculty acquisition?

Nscale aiming for $2bn fundraise, reports say

Lightspeed-backed Plan A acquired for €55m

European tech policy in 2026: What to expect

12 people to watch in European tech in 2026

14 people in European tech who mattered in 2025

Operating losses and a delayed US launch raise questions for $5bn Fuse Energy

11 UK companies VCs will be watching in 2026

NATO Innovation Fund reduces salaries from €677k a year to ‘fair market rate’

Fuse Energy raises $70m backed by Balderton and Lowercarbon Capital

European Innovation Council appoints new board at ‘existential’ moment for region’s tech sovereignty

Nvidia’s VC arm backs PolyAI in $86m Series D round

The EU wants you! …to manage €5bn

Is EU Inc a pipe dream?

Exclusive: Lakestar leads $14m investment for Cambridge AI spinout Matta

NATO Innovation Fund forced to pay €52k to former partner

Visionaries and 20VC back ‘AI for patents’ startup Solve Intelligence after 10-fold revenue increase