Upside #30 - Can Europe win AI, Fusion & Quantum?

In this episode of Upside, hosts Dan and Mads from SuperSeed are joined by Ben Prade, Partner at GP Bullhound. Topics covered:

State of European Venture Capital 
Geopolitics & VC - the Munich Security Conference, JD Vance, European autonomy in defence and tech, China filling the void

VC Fundraising & LPs
AI and defence are hot baby! Shift from US pension to government cash, VCs must engage in ecosystem building, economic policies influencing VC strategies.

The Future of European VC 
European VC has outperformed the US in IRR (20.8% vs 18.2%) over the last decade. We're nailing AI, Fusion and Quantum.

Quantum: Hype vs Reality
Microsoft's Majorana 1 Quantum Chip, cautious optimism, power PR and viable quantum computing by 2030.

Grok 3 
Grok 3 is out, speed and benchmarks vs Claude and GPT 4.5.

Fusion
France’s CEA West Tokamak reactor sets a new record with 22 minutes of continuous fusion, limitless clean energy, realistic timelines for commercial fusion.

Startup Funding Dynamics - Go big early?
Peter Walker’s Carta report:
Theory 1: AI reduces startup costs, meaning less = more.
Theory 2: AI increases competition, making capital more crucial for scaling.
= Seed Strapping

Asteroid Mining 
Spotlight on Karman Plus, autonomous asteroid mining. Government funding in space.