Mads Jensen from SuperSeed shares insights on AI and investment strategies, while Lomax Ward from Outsized Ventures delves into AI integration in the UK's financial sector and stablecoins. Andrew Scott discusses the implications of the UK government's partnership with OpenAI and the challenges of national sovereignty in tech. The group debates AI's role in public services, the urgency for strategic investments, and explores how stablecoins could reshape finance. They also tackle the intersection of technology and governance, revealing the future of the European tech landscape.
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insights INSIGHT
Early UK-AI Government Deal
UK government's deal with OpenAI aims to boost public sector productivity but currently remains vague and preliminary.
Pilot projects like Humphrey, a ChatGPT-powered assistant, indicate cautious initial integration in civil service workflows.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
NHS AI Opt-In Proposal
Fast track AI adoption in NHS with opt-in schemes allowing patients faster diagnostics using novel AI tools.
This accelerates technology adoption, provides valuable data sets, and offers patients faster care despite regulatory delays.
insights INSIGHT
AI Sovereignty Risks
Using US AI technology in UK public services risks compromising digital sovereignty and exporting strategic national resources.
AI models trained on UK public data under US companies' control raise accountability and governance concerns.
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Welcome back to another episode of the EUVC Podcast, your trusted inside track on the people, deals, and dynamics shaping European venture. This week marks a major milestone — Episode 50! To celebrate, Dan Bowyer, Mads Jensen of SuperSeed and Lomax from Outsized Ventures, and Andrew J. Scott return to unpack the headlines and trends shaping the European tech landscape.
From the UK government’s OpenAI partnership and what it means, to the missed boat on stablecoins, and to AI outperforming the brightest minds in math—this episode cuts deep into the future of tech, sovereignty, and competitiveness in Europe.
Whether you're a founder navigating policy shifts, an investor eyeing infrastructure plays, or just an AI-curious policy wonk—this one’s for you.
Here's what’s covered
00:00 | Celebrating Episode 50 The gang reflects on hitting a podcasting milestone and shares quick updates from Denmark, Paris, and a beachside founder retreat.
03:30 | OpenAI x UK Government: A Real Deal? The UK’s MOU with OpenAI is meant to boost public sector productivity—but is it too flimsy to matter? The hosts debate if this partnership is toothless signaling or meaningful progress.
06:00 | Can AI Actually Transform Public Services? From “Humpfree the Chatbot” to NHS waitlists, the panel weighs in on the real-world use cases, and how opt-in AI diagnostics could solve the NHS backlog.
09:30 | The Bigger Picture: AI Sovereignty and Strategy With the UK relying on US players (OpenAI, Anthropic, Nvidia), are we compromising our digital sovereignty? Andrew drops the big question: Is this the modern equivalent of exporting raw strategic resources?
14:00 | US vs UK AI Plans: Build, Baby, Build vs. Think, Baby, Think The team compares the UK's thoughtful “consultancy-style” AI strategy with the US’s aggressive, deregulatory action plan—complete with eagles and executive orders.
19:00 | Policy Recommendations from the Pod From national compute backbones and Buy-UK mandates to AI visa fast-tracks and sovereign LLMs — the panel proposes big ideas Europe should act on today.
25:00 | Stablecoins: UK’s Missed Opportunity While Japan, Singapore, and the US regulate stablecoins, the UK is just starting consultations. Why? And what’s at stake?
30:00 | Dollar Dominance Reinvented Mads explains how stablecoins are reinforcing US economic control — and how UK hesitation risks long-term relevance in fintech.
34:00 | Ideas for UK Leadership in Stablecoins Could interest-bearing stablecoins become London’s new edge? Could we reclaim fintech innovation by embracing DeFi rails?
38:00 | AI Wins Gold at the Maths Olympiad Google’s DeepMind and OpenAI hit gold-level scores at the IMO. The gang discusses the leap in AI’s creative reasoning and what it means for R&D, drug discovery, and Europe’s scientific leadership.
43:00 | Should Europe Build Its Own Sovereign Research Hub? From CERN-for-AI to training sovereign models, the crew asks whether public sector moonshots are the right way to compete.
48:00 | Deal of the Week: Eurazeo’s €650M Fund for AI Scaleups In a capital-constrained landscape, Eurazeo closes a rare growth fund to back Europe’s AI champions.
50:00 | Wildcard: AI vs. Raccoons Andrew shares a niche but hilarious use case for computer vision AI: keeping raccoons out of houses. No joke.
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