Upside #46 - Is Big Tech Britain On Track? Bubble or Boom?

🎙️ Episode Highlights

00:00 – Market Pulse: We’re So Back Baby!
US IPOs are red-hot (CoreWeave, Circle), S&P nearly at ATH, and Q2 GDP forecasts hit 3.5%.
The resurgence in AI and crypto-led optimism despite fiscal clouds.

03:00 – Bubble or Boom?
Are we heading into bubble territory?
US deficits are ballooning, but M&A tailwinds and LP liquidity look promising.

05:00 – The Sentiment Effect
Economic psychology: consumer sentiment drives GDP.
Europe’s problem? It talks itself down. The US? Belief + boldness.

06:50 – Big Tech Bets on Britain
Amazon pledges £40B UK investment (data centres, fulfilment, even a film studio).
British Business Bank expands to £25B. Visma chooses London IPO over Nasdaq—confidence win?

14:00 – UK’s 10-Year Industrial Push
Gov’t targets AI, defence, creative, and energy—aiming to slash grid connection delays.
Electricity costs still a major drag. Can policy execution catch up to rhetoric?

18:00 – The UK’s Economic Reality Check
High inflation + stagnant growth = stagflation-lite.
£66B in working-age benefits forecast by 2029. Labour’s internal revolt blocks real reform.

27:00 – Tariff Tensions Mount
Trump trade wars return: EU braces for July 9 deadline. Retaliation looms.
Could German auto exports be the pressure point?

32:00 – AI in the Wild
Apple eyes Perplexity. DocuSign sues scrappy 2-day clone.
Seed-strapped startups exit for millions without VC - Paradigm shift or PR hype?

37:00 – Copyright Battles Begin
Meta & Anthropic win round one using “transformative use” defence.
The big legal fight (OpenAI vs NYT) still looms.

41:00 – Robotaxi Rollout?
Tesla demos driverless fleet in Austin - damp squib? Still lagging Waymo.
Real progress or just share-price theatre?

43:00 – Europe’s Bay Area Dream
Can Europe become Silicon Valley? Should we can we?
It’s not about funding - it’s confidence, imagination, and embracing failure.

51:00 – Optimism Please!
Q2 earnings optimism and promising chip efficiency breakthroughs.
Markets strong, founders bold, and Europe's moment (maybe) coming.