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4 DAYS AGO

E716 | This Week in European Tech with Dan Bowyer, Lomax Ward & Harry Destecroix

Welcome back to Upside, where Dan Bowyer of SuperSeed and Lomax Ward of Outsized Ventures, joined by Harry Destecroix, MBE, of SCVC unpack the forces shaping European venture, deep tech and capital. This week’s conversation reflects a system shifting: Europe is writing bigger checks, physical AI is moving into focus, and the economics of AI are starting to change. The question is no longer where innovation happens.It is where value accrues. The stack isn’t just scaling. It is being contested. What's covered: 00:00 Intro and the week’s themes02:00 Europe’s €15B fund-of-funds and the capital gap08:00 Seed vs growth: where Europe is actually underfunded14:00 Bezos’ $100B physical AI strategy20:00 Roll-ups vs rebuilds in the industrial economy25:00 China’s token model and the cost collapse of AI31:00 Security, sovereignty and model choice36:00 Innovate UK and founder-led policy41:00 Capex vs revenue: the emerging imbalance47:00 Predictions and market direction52:00 Deals of the week

4 days ago

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59 min
16 MAR

E711 | This Week in European Tech with Dan Bowyer, Mads Jensen & Lomax Ward

In this episode of Upside, Dan Bowyer, Mads Jensen of SuperSeed and Lomax Ward of Outsized Ventures unpack a week where geopolitics, AI arms races and Europe’s tech momentum took over the headlines. A new oil shock triggered by tensions around the Strait of Hormuz threatens global energy flows and raises the spectre of another inflation cycle with direct consequences for venture capital and startup funding. At the same time, the economics of modern warfare are shifting rapidly, with cheap drones and fast-iteration defence technology reshaping how conflicts are fought and who builds the tools. Against that backdrop, Europe delivered a surprisingly strong week for tech: France produced the continent’s first $1B seed “Instacorn”, Revolut finally secured its UK banking licence, and new proposals could finally push Europe closer to unified capital markets. Meanwhile in AI, the race for chips, coding platforms and infrastructure continues to accelerate, from Nvidia’s looming announcements at GTC to Meta building its own inference silicon and the meteoric rise of AI coding startup Cursor. This isn’t just a tech news cycle. It’s energy markets, AI infrastructure, and European innovation ecosystems moving at the same time. What’s covered • The Strait of Hormuz oil shock and its ripple effects on venture markets • Ukraine’s emergence as a real-time defence innovation ecosystem • The shifting economics of warfare: cheap drones vs expensive missiles • Europe’s first $1B AI seed round and the rise of frontier labs in Paris • Yann LeCun’s new “world models” bet and the next frontier in AI • Capital markets integration and whether Europe can finally unify funding • Cursor’s $50B trajectory and the future of AI coding platforms • The AI chip war: Meta’s inference silicon vs Nvidia’s dominance • AI layoffs and whether productivity narratives are masking pandemic over-hiring

16 Mar

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37 min
23 MAR

E712 | Nvidia’s $1T AI Bet, Hyperscaler Risk & The Real AI Battleground | Upside

This week on Upside, Dan Bowyer and Mads Jensen of SuperSeed and Lomax Ward of Outsized Ventures unpack a moment where AI infrastructure, enterprise adoption and market risk are all moving at once. Nvidia is laying out a path toward a $1 trillion AI market, driven by major advances in inference performance. At the same time, hyperscalers are investing at unprecedented levels — with AI capex increasingly supported by debt rather than free cash flow. But the real shift is happening higher up the stack. The AI race is moving away from pure model performance and toward distribution, enterprise control and monetisation. This episode explores: • Nvidia’s roadmap and the scaling of AI infrastructure • Hyperscaler capex and the return of balance sheet risk • Why the AI battleground is shifting to enterprise • OpenAI’s monetisation challenge and strategic positioning • The growing gap between AI capability and adoption • Where value actually accrues in the AI stack • And how hyperscalers are reshaping startup opportunities This isn’t just another AI cycle. It’s infrastructure, capital and business models being rewritten at the same time. Chapters 00:00 Intro02:00 Nvidia GTC and inference leap07:00 The trillion-dollar AI question12:00 Hyperscaler capex and leverage18:00 Models vs distribution23:00 OpenAI’s strategy28:00 Enterprise AI battleground34:00 Market risk and concentration39:00 Capability vs adoption45:00 Where value accrues50:00 Startups vs hyperscalers55:00 Europe policy signals Upside is a weekly deep dive into the forces shaping European venture, AI, defence and deep tech. Hosted by:Dan Bowyer (SuperSeed)Mads Jensen (SuperSeed)Lomax Ward (Outsized Ventures) About Upside

23 Mar

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1hr 4min
25 MAR

E713 | Marta Sjögren, Paebbl on Scaling Carbon-Storing Materials Through Capital and Industrial Alignment

Europe’s industrial future will be defined not by ambition, but by execution. In this episode, Marta Sjögren (Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Paebbl) joins Carmel Rafaeli (Founding Partner, The Table) and Andreas Munk Holm to explore what it really takes to build and scale deep tech companies in Europe. Paebbl is turning captured CO₂ into permanent mineral form—replacing emissions-intensive materials like cement while removing carbon from the atmosphere. But as Marta explains, the real challenge isn’t just scientific. It’s aligning capital, timing, and conviction. They discuss: – Why deep tech companies fail (and it’s rarely the tech) – Fundraising as a system of signals, not storytelling – How to evaluate investors beyond capital – Designing capital stacks for industrial scale – Why rounds stall—and how to build real momentum – The role of co-CEO leadership in complex companies The conversation also highlights the structural funding gap for women-led climate ventures—and how The Table is working to change it. This episode is part of Leaders Shaping a Resilient Planet, spotlighting founders building Europe’s industrial future with discipline, depth, and long-term conviction. Listen now and follow for more.

25 Mar

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43 min
6 MAR

E707 | Ash Pournouri (Belong), Sundar Arvind (Mozart AI) & Daniel Waterhouse (Balderton Capital): AI Music, Control and the Next Creative Era

This special episode is an inside look at AI music from three very different vantage points: the builder, the investor, and the industry insider. Andreas is joined by Sundar Arvind, CEO & Co-Founder at Mozart AI, building a collaborative generative audio workstation; Daniel Waterhouse, General Partner at Balderton Capital; and Ash Pournouri, Co-Founder of Belong, entrepreneur, producer, and former manager of Avicii. Together, they unpack how AI is reshaping music creation, how serious investors underwrite risk in a litigious industry, why “one-click songs” miss the point, and whether AI expands creativity or commoditizes it. If you want a grounded view of where the real fault lines are — rights, training data, authorship, collaboration, and the psychology of creativity — this is it. Share What’s covered: 00:40 Mozart AI’s vision: a collaborative generative audio workstation 05:10 DAWs, EDM, and why tech has always expanded music creation 06:35 Why “one-prompt songs” optimise for quantity, not craft 09:20 Underwriting AI music: how VCs think about billion-dollar incumbents 13:00 Is this a new instrument or a 100x larger market? 18:45 Are professional artists already using AI tools? 21:00 Copyright, training data, and legal diligence in AI music 25:15 Philosophically: what are “rights” when machines learn from music? 33:40 Diffusion models explained simply: how AI generates sound 36:30 The return of the band? Multiplayer music creation 40:00 Ash Pournouri joins: the industry’s instinct is protection 44:10 “You can’t stop development”: why demand always wins 48:50 Packaging matters: AI as tool vs AI as replacement 51:20 Lowering thresholds and democratization across decades 56:30 Five-year predictions? We’re on the vertical part of the curve 58:10 The “vibe coding” moment for music

6 Mar

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55 min
27 FEB

E703 | Max Bray and Juliet Bailin, Kindred Capital VC: LP Conviction, $15B Funds & The Venture Barbell

What exactly are LPs buying when they allocate to venture today and do they still believe in it? In this episode, Andreas sits down with Max Bray and Juliet Bailin, both Venture Partners at Kindred Capital VC to unpack what’s really happening beneath the fundraising headlines. Max brings the raw perspective of trying to raise a first-time fund in 2025 with unicorn-founder GPs, strong angel track records, and still struggling to secure second meetings. Juliet brings the sharper counterpoint: LP frustration isn’t always ignorance. Sometimes it’s a rational response to how venture has been practiced, especially around transparency, liquidity discipline, and the unrealistic expectation that a GP should be world-class at everything. This is a conversation about: LP behavior in uncertain cycles The myth of the “full-stack investor” Why solo GP economics are brutal Whether software still needs venture And why the fund model is splitting at the extremes Not hot takes. Not doom. Just honest mechanics. Share What’s Covered: 01:04 Max’s 2025 fundraising reality: even strong “on-paper” stories struggle to get second calls 03:46 LP rotation: capital moving toward liquidity, security, and shorter-duration bets 05:08 LP frustration: transparency gaps + liquidity decision-making 07:09 LPACs as sparring partners, not governance theatre 09:31 Europe’s structural issue: too few LPs and GPs have lived full cycles 12:47 The “full-stack investor” myth: investing + fund management + compliance + IR 14:46 Solo GP economics: why 2/20 breaks at the small end 26:08 The barbell thesis: platforms on one end, specialists on the other 27:56 Software defensibility compression in the AI era 30:24 Will AI decentralize outcomes — or centralize them further? 33:10 The rise of AI roll-ups and alternative capital models 35:19 The “middle-market squeeze” — real or overhyped? 39:34 What founders actually care about when choosing a fund

27 Feb

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37 min
2 DAYS AGO

E717 | Jessica Persson, Scania on Why Most Corporate VCs Are Built for a World That No Longer Exists

Most corporate venture capital models were built for a world that no longer exists. They were designed for software cycles and optional innovation. Today, venture is shaped by deep tech, supply chains and industrial scale. In this EU CVC episode, Jessica Persson (Scania) joins our hosts Jeppe Høier and Andreas Munk Holm (EUVC Corporate) to explain why corporate venture must evolve from a side activity into a core strategic capability. Scania’s approach reframes venture entirely: not as access to startups, but as a way to position the company inside a changing system. In this episode: 00:00 Why most CVC models are outdated 04:30 From outsourced to embedded venture 12:10 Deep tech changes everything 20:45 The cap table as a system 28:30 Strategic returns = financial returns 35:00 Preparing for multiple futures

2 days ago

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43 min
25 FEB

E702 | Lubomila Jordanova, Plan A: Climate Isn’t “Over”

Climate isn’t “over.” But building in climate has entered a new chapter, defined by shifting regulation, politicized narratives, buyer confusion, and a market that funded dozens of overlapping platforms. In this episode, Andreas and co-host Carmel Rafaeli, Founding Partner at The Table, sit down with Lubomila Jordanova, Co-founder & CEO of Plan A, just weeks after Plan Ajoined forces with Diginex, the NASDAQ-listed sustainability technology company, at the end of 2025. The conversation is part of Leaders Shaping a Resilient Planet, a series spotlighting exceptional founders in climate tech who happen to be women. The focus is not identity as a theme, but execution as a discipline. These are operators building in some of the most complex and capital-intensive parts of the real economy. This is not an acquisition recap. It is a clear-eyed discussion about what it takes to build and responsibly exit a climate tech company in a market that is maturing quickly. What’s covered: 00:52 The Table: co-investing community + the Foundation’s recoverable grants model 02:05 Introducing Lubomila Jordanova and Plan A 02:45 The acquisition: why Plan A chose to lead consolidation 04:35 Fundraising logic → acquisition logic: what changed 06:40 Founder outcome vs VC outcome: how alignment works in an exit 11:30 “The truth is where the real economy sits”: what carbon software actually sells 13:30 The uncomfortable line: “glorified consulting with a digital angle” 15:05 What VC portfolios get wrong in climate: return distribution, capital stack, secondaries 16:55 Why “climate” can’t be one bucket: hardware vs SaaS vs reporting 20:00 Managing investor perception: visibility, bias, and boardroom baggage 23:15 The broader financial pyramid: VC vs public markets vs real-economy signals 27:35 Post-exit reality: why a public-company KPI lens changes the conversation 31:10 Three founder learnings (humility, ecosystem, real-world problems) 33:55 A rare founder truth: pregnancy during the exit + building with “more hats than one”

25 Feb

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35 min
9 MAR

E708 | This Week in European Tech with Dan Bowyer, Mads Jensen & Lomax Ward

This week on Upside, Dan Bowyer, Mads Jensen (SuperSeed) and Lomax Ward (Outsized Ventures) unpack a moment where energy, AI and geopolitics collide. The ongoing conflict in the Middle East is threatening one of the world’s most important energy routes. AI companies are discovering that governments may ultimately control frontier models. And hyperscalers are committing hundreds of billions to AI infrastructure while venture investors quietly debate whether the cycle is overheating. The conversation explores: • Why energy shocks ripple directly into venture markets• How modern warfare is shifting toward startup-speed innovation• The clash between Anthropic and the Pentagon• Whether AI layoffs reflect real productivity gains or pandemic over-hiring• The massive infrastructure bet powering the AI boom• Germany’s productivity wake-up call for Europe• And why Europe is still capable of deep-tech moonshots like fusion This isn’t just a news cycle. It’s capital, sovereignty and technology power shifting at the same time. 🎧 Listen if you’re building or investing in AI, defence, deep tech or European venture. #euvc #VC #VentureCapital #Investing #TheEuropeanVC #Podcast #Tech #Startup

9 Mar

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1hr 8min
13 MAR

E710 | Helen McShane, Young Lives vs Cancer and Zoe Peden, Ananda on Mission-Driven Capital: When a 60-Year-Old Frontline Charity Becomes an Investor

Healthcare startups rarely fail because of bad technology. They fail because the system won’t let them in. In this episode, Andreas speaks with Helen McShane, who leads the Innovation Lab at Young Lives vs Cancer, and Zoe Peden, Partner at impact venture firm Ananda, about a new experiment in healthcare innovation: a charity investing directly in startups. After more than 60 years supporting children and families affected by cancer, Young Lives vs Cancer has deep insight into where the system works — and where it doesn’t. Through its Innovation Lab, the charity is now deploying mission capital to support startups building solutions for young cancer patients. Their first investment: £30,000 into Little Journey, a platform designed to help children prepare for medical procedures. Helen and Zoe explore how charities can combine institutional knowledge with venture discipline to help startups navigate complex healthcare systems and accelerate adoption where it matters most. In this episode: Why healthcare startups struggle with adoption What “mission capital” means in practice How charities can support startup innovation Why credibility and partnerships often matter more than cheque size

13 Mar

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23 min

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