Welcome back to another episode of Upside at the EUVC Podcast, where Dan Bowyer, Mads Jensen of SuperSeed, and this week’s guest Andreas from EUVC unpack what’s happening in European venture capital.
This week: Nvidia’s meteoric rise (and first signs of slowdown), Apple’s clash with UK regulators, and why regulators may be fighting yesterday’s battles. Plus: Trump’s Intel equity grab, whether governments should hold stakes in strategic industries, and what Europe can learn from Airbus and Ørsted. Finally, what digital sovereignty really means for Europe in an age of AI, energy bottlenecks, and geopolitical dependency.
Here’s what’s covered:
00:01 Nvidia’s Reality Check: From 20% of Nasdaq to slowing 5% quarterly growth.
00:06 Apple vs UK Regulators: The 30% “Apple tax” and post-Brexit CMA ambitions.
00:13 Competition vs Regulation: Why IBM and Microsoft fell by creative destruction, not regulators.
00:21 Trump’s Intel Shakedown: Retroactive equity grabs and should states take stakes?
00:29 Europe’s State Aid Constraints: Airbus, Ørsted, and why Europe can’t do national champions like the US or China.
00:36 The UK Buying AI: £573M in H1 government contracts, Microsoft & Palantir dominance.
00:49 Defining Sovereignty: Europe’s dependency on US tech and Chinese production.
00:57 Europe’s Luxury Beliefs: Outsourcing energy, defense, and manufacturing — and why pension reform is key.
01:02 Closing Takeaways: Sovereignty is more than regulation — it’s about competing, investing, and not being naïve.
