E544 | This Week in European Tech with Dan, Mads & Lomax

Welcome back to another episode of Upside at the EUVC Podcast, where

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unpack what’s happening in European tech and venture capital.

This week: Why Series A in Europe now often means “multi-seed” and what founders should do about it, Germany’s €100B industrial policy push and whether it can actually deliver, and the Bank of England’s rate cut as a red flare for the economy. Plus: the OECD’s warning on corporate underinvestment, why the EU’s Chips Act 2.0 risks missing the AI boom, and the latest in the global AI race from GPT-5 rumours to billion-dollar raises. Also: Clay’s $100M relationship-intelligence war chest, N8N’s unicorn momentum, and a Spanish autonomous tractor that’s rewriting farm economics.

🎧 Here's what's covered:

• 01:12 Series A Reality Check: US vs Europe timelines, bridge rounds, and why naming matters.
• 06:04 The Multi-Seed Era: How European founders should think about funding milestones.
• 10:47 Germany’s €100B Deutschlandfonds: Ambition, execution risk, and industrial policy priorities.
• 17:58 UK Rate Cut at 4.0%: Red flare for growth, modest boost for VC competitiveness.
• 22:31 OECD on Corporate Investment Stagnation: Why regulatory drag is Europe’s silent growth killer.
• 29:44 Europe’s Chips Act 2.0: From missed targets to high-value manufacturing opportunities.
• 38:11 AI Corner – GPT-5 Rumours & Claude 4.1: Funding surges and the open-source shift.
• 45:27 IP & AI Models: Data leakage risks and the Napster-era copyright parallel.
• 52:03 Deals of the Week: Clay, N8N, and Voltrac’s autonomous tractor breakthrough.
• 57:46 Closing Takeaways: Focus, speed, and execution as Europe’s competitive levers.