Episode 147: Emmet King: Founding Partner at J12 Ventures – AI Bubble: Hype vs. Reality

Is Europe really at an AI crossroads — or are we already picking a lane? This week on the EU-Startups Podcast, Marcin Lewandowski sits down with Emmet King, Founding Partner at J12, VC with presence in Stockholm, London, and Paris, backing founders early at the frontier of AI, to unpack what the AI moment actually looks like on the ground for European founders. Emmet argues that Europe has world-class AI talent, but faces real constraints in capital deployment, energy capacity, and regulatory timing. The question isn’t “can Europe build iconic AI companies?” — it’s whether we’ll move fast enough on energy, compute, and policy to let them scale here. Together, we dig into: • What “Europe at an AI crossroads” means in practical terms for founders today • Where talent density is an advantage — and where capital, energy, and regulation still bite • Why calling AI a “bubble” is lazy, and where the froth really is (application layer) • Where the real compounding value lies: infra (DataCrunch, etc.) vs applied AI (Dropcode, Kovant, Pistachio, Dema…) • Energy reality: China’s lead, US flexibility, and how Europe can close the gap • The non-negotiables for building an AI startup in Europe in 2026 • What kind of regulation timing helps, instead of smothering, AI scaleups • Signals that the tide is turning: talent flows, new strategies, infra investment • A concrete “order of operations” for Europe: capital, energy, compute, data, visas We also run through a quick rapid-fire round: • Europe’s AI superpower — and kryptonite • One regulation to keep, one to rewrite • How to spot the copilot mirage (shiny but 0.2% impact) • What proves an infra startup can actually compound • And Emmet’s finish to: “AI isn’t a bubble if we…” Takeaways • Europe has the AI talent to build global leaders — but still underpowers them with capital, energy, and policy. • The AI “bubble” narrative is lazy; froth is in shallow apps, while infra quietly compounds. • Energy capacity and compute access are now strategic levers, not back-office concerns. • Winning AI startups in Europe will be trust-first, productivity-proven, and talent-dense. • Europe’s path is clear: align capital, energy, compute, data, and visas around its best teams. Chapters 00:00 – Introduction to AI in Europe 03:10 – Europe at an AI Crossroads 08:16 – Energy Infrastructure and AI 10:41 – The AI Bubble Debate 18:01 – Non-Negotiables for AI Startups 22:55 – J12’s Investment Lens & Thesis 26:22 – If Europe Led for a Day: What to Fix First 31:16 – Contrarian Bets, Safe Bets & Myths 35:14 – Rapid Fire with Emmet King If you’re building AI in Europe — or thinking about where to found your next company — this conversation is a roadmap, not a hot take. If you haven't already.... Subscribe to the EU-Startups Podcast on YouTube! Or follow along on your other favorite podcast platforms... Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4QU85dN... / Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ee/podcast... Follow EU-Startups on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/eu-startups-menlo-media/ Visit our Website: https://www.eu-startups.com/ Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://www.eu-startups.com/newsletter/ #ai #technology #startup #investing #business