Startup Europe — The Sifted Podcast

Erin Platts, the former UK CEO at Silicon Valley Bank and now CEO of Octopus Ventures, shares her insights on a tumultuous period in banking. She details the weekend of the SVB collapse and the frantic efforts to safeguard startups' funds. Erin discusses the challenges faced by Octopus Titan and her strategies for revitalizing its performance. She emphasizes the need for diverse capital sources and reflects on the startup community's support during crises. Erin also advocates for a pro-innovation government stance to enhance the UK's capital markets.

Luciana Lixandru, a partner at Sequoia Capital and architect of its European expansion, shares her insights on building $100bn companies in Europe. She discusses the exciting potential of startups like Trade Republic and Revolut in fintech and AI. Luciana emphasizes the need for strong founder-market fit and agility in execution while navigating high valuations. She highlights London's emergence as a central hub for AI and fintech, and warns about Europe's market fragmentation being a significant challenge that startups must overcome.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt discusses the undervalued potential of AI, suggesting current bubbles can foster innovation. He emphasizes lessons from Ukraine's military automation and proposes how Europe can strengthen its tech sector to compete globally. Schmidt also critiques existing valuations of AI firms, debates the risks of self-improving agents, and addresses the urgency of Western responses to automated warfare. He encourages European founders to aim for ambitious growth rather than quick exits, highlighting opportunities in regulated AI applications.

This week the Sifted Podcast comes to you live from Italian Tech Week, where Amy sat down with Milda Jasaitė, the head of second-hand marketplace Vinted's new investment arm: Vinted Ventures.It's fairly unusual in Europe for a startup like Vinted, that's only been profitable for a couple of years, to launch a venture arm but, as Milda explains, it's a trend that's far more common in the US.They discuss why a relatively young startup needs an investment arm and the kinds of companies that Milda is looking to back.They also get into how being representing her nation as an ice hockey player makes her a better professional, what can be done to get more women into senior leadership positions and onto company boards — and how Lithuania's startup scene is shaping up.PLUS: Take our listener survey here: https://form.typeform.com/to/WbVxsSv7 (T&Cs apply)This podcast was brought to you by HSBC Innovation Banking, the bank built for innovation.

On this week’s Newsroom episode, where we ask our journalists what they’re hearing as they report on Europe’s tech industry, Amy's joined by senior reporter Anne Sraders.Anne reports on one of the continent’s most hyped sectors: defence tech, a market that is booming as governments put large sums of cash behind plans to rearm in the face of increasing Russian aggression. Meanwhile, Amy has been at Resilience, a conference full of startups, soldiers and spies who are all figuring out which new technologies will be assisting Europe’s militaries in the coming years.They discuss why the VC herd is flocking around drone startups — and where they could be looking instead; the companies trying to future proof European supply chains; and just how likely it is that significant public money will flow into innovative startups, rather than the big primes.PS. Please take our short-and-sweet listener survey here.

This week Amy is joined by Zoe Hewitt, VP of talent at legendary Silicon Valley VC firm Sequoia, where she helps its portfolio companies find and hire talent based in Europe.That makes her one of the continent's best informed people as to what is going on with tech talent today, in a world where startups and scaleups are ripping up the hiring rulebook, as AI changes the art of company building.Zoe knows where top talent wants to work, how to spot a future founder, what 'the office of the CEO' really means and which roles are most in-demand (and highly remunerated!)In this episode she unpacks why management layers are thinning, how the role of CEO is changing and gives her tips for founders and tech employees wondering how to future-proof themselves in a fast-changing world of work.PS. Please take our short-and-sweet listener survey here.

Ever fancied hearing Brad Pitt speak flawless Mandarin? That’s the kind of trick Synthesia’s hyper-realistic video avatars can pull off.The London-based unicorn, which uses generative AI to make videos for corporate training and internal comms, has been a big hit among enterprise users — its customer list includes more than 80% of the Fortune 100, and it hit $100m ARR in April this year.It seems to be a pretty solid business model — and investors certainly like it. But where will the company take its technology next, how safe are its avatars from deepfake misuse and when might it brave an IPO?CEO Victor Riparbelli isn’t shy about sharing his views on that front, recently declaring the London Stock Exchange a “complete disaster.”On this week’s episode, host Amy and senior reporter Kai Nicol-Schwarz put Synthesia’s avatars to the test, dig into its move into agentic AI and ask what, if anything, could go wrong for the AI unicorn.Sign up to our deeptech and AI newsletter here: https://sifted.eu/members/login?newsletter=deeptechTake our listener survey here: https://form.typeform.com/to/WbVxsSv7 (T&Cs apply)

Mike Turner, partner at law firm Latham and Watkins, has a bird’s eye view of Europe’s startup ecosystem: which sectors are on the up and which are on the down; which VCs play nice and which don’t; and why more and more founders are getting edged out of their companies.On this week’s episode of the podcast, Mike sits down with host Amy to discuss why climate tech's monetisation model remains unknown, the growth in strategic buyers’ M&A activity and how European governments will react to sovereign wealth funds turning up on startups’ cap tables.————————Want a new pair of headphones? Tell us what you think of the podcast and enter our prize draw, here: https://form.typeform.com/to/WbVxsSv7

It’s pretty fun being the frontman of the world’s fastest-growing company, says Anton Osika. But being swarmed by enthusiastic users, opportunistic investors and beady-eyed journalists can occasionally have its downsides.It’s no surprise everyone wants a piece of Lovable founder and CEO Anton. Last month, just eight months after its launch, Lovable was crowned Europe’s newest unicorn when it raised $200m at a $1.8bn valuation, and hit $100m ARR. On this week’s episode of the podcast, Anton sits down with host Amy to discuss the company's push into enterprise, hiring mistakes he’s made and the challenges of building Europe’s startup du jour in public.————————Want a new pair of headphones? Tell us what you think of the podcast and enter our prize draw, here: https://form.typeform.com/to/WbVxsSv7This episode was brought to you by HSBC Innovation Banking, connecting you with what's next.

Miriam Partington, a senior reporter at Sifted and author of the Startup Life newsletter, dives into the dual nature of AI's impact on startups. She discusses how AI is enabling small teams to scale while simultaneously threatening entry-level jobs. The conversation highlights the shift from specialists to adaptable generalists in hiring practices and the evolution of engineering roles. Miriam also explores the challenges startups face in maintaining brand trust amidst a flood of AI-generated content and the resurgence of hustle culture.