Startup Europe — The Sifted Podcast

This week we discuss:00:53 Aleph Alpha raises $500m Series B in one of Europe’s largest AI rounds ever03:56 What the pitch deck from Adaptive, a new AI startup raising at a $100m valuation, tells us07:15 French startup Quandela raises €50m to manufacture commercial quantum computers11:03 Swedish startup wants to ‘stream energy like music’ on electric roads to charge cars as they drive18:21 10x more money goes to VC funds owned by all-male vs all-female teams

This week we discuss:02:26 Web Summit announces former Wikimedia boss as new CEO04:16 More unions sign up to Klarna strike on Nov 706:36 Benetton scion moves into tech investing with new €30m fund09:40 How a “miracle” weight-loss drug created Europe’s most valuable company, and a startup investment machine17:23 UK gears up to major AI summit under the shadow of its own lack of regulation

This week we discuss:02:05 French early-stage startups get a €500m funding boost in 2024 budget04:33 Northvolt’s $20bn listing in Stockholm — a win for European stock exchanges07:20 Solar energy storage breakthrough could make European households self-sufficient12:30 Quantum computing is not a threat to national security. So why can't Europe work together?20:35 Founder to reality TV star — a shortcut to startup success?This podcast is brought to you by Harper James, a national full-service law firm designed to support ambitious businesses. Having supported over 3,500 businesses, Harper James isn’t a run-of-the-mill law firm. It has transformed the traditional law firm model through unique price plans, smart technology and teams of almost exclusively senior lawyers — giving you affordable, commercial and high quality legal advice.If this sounds too good to be true, then head over to harperjames.co.uk and see for yourself. While you’re there, you’ll find 100s of resources to help your journey from startup to scaleup and beyond.

Discussion on the legalization of cannabis in Germany and its implications for startups, fintech regulator's agreement with Modulr, the merger between German fund La Famiglia and General Catalyst, the funding secured by Northvolt founder's heat pump startup, and the rise and fall of health tech company Babylon.

This week on the podcast we’re joined by Alex Kendall, CEO of self-driving car company Wayve, for a long-form interview on the challenges of getting autonomous vehicles onto our roads. Alex discusses how to win public trust for this technology, how he sees a future world filled with “embodied AI” and about how Elon Musk followed Wayve’s approach to self-driving tech.This podcast is brought to you by Harper James, a national full-service law firm designed to support ambitious businesses. Having supported over 3,500 businesses, Harper James isn’t a run-of-the-mill law firm. It has transformed the traditional law firm model through unique price plans, smart technology and teams of almost exclusively senior lawyers — giving you affordable, commercial and high quality legal advice.If this sounds too good to be true, then head over to harperjames.co.uk and see for yourself. While you’re there, you’ll find 100s of resources to help your journey from startup to scaleup and beyond.

John Collison, cofounder of Stripe, discusses the challenges faced when starting Stripe and the importance of naivety. The chapter also includes discussions on the challenges in the European startup ecosystem, the skepticism surrounding Mistraau, and the adoption of a small model in the developer community. Moreover, the transformative technology of the business, Monza's expansion into the US market, and the announcement of their new US CEO, Connor Walsh, are covered.

This week we discuss:02:07 — Improbable’s refocus on the metaverse sees big reduction in losses04:46 — ‘The economics of trading equity for compute are not great’ — Mistral releases its first model07:15 — Dutch arm of vertical farming startup Infarm declared bankrupt11:22 — US eyes British startups in chip sovereignty bid13:50 — UK-France AI rivalry heats up with dual summits14:48 — Why is applying for EU funding such a nightmare?Get yourself a ticket to the Sifted Summit here.

This week it’s a long form interview with Reshma Sohoni. In 2007 she cofounded the London-based venture fund Seedcamp, which has backed leading European tech companies like UIPath, Wise and Revolut. Reshma sat down remotely with Sifted’s Amy Lewin to share her thoughts on what she’s seeing in the market today, and lessons learnt from more than a decade and a half of investing in startups.

European startup valuations decrease as more startups sell at discounted prices. Getir's valuation reduces 4x in new $500m funding round. French startups experience a fire sale with many selling at lower valuations. German HR tech company Personio plans to double US workforce. Smart chatbot maker DRUID raises $30m for US business expansion. Opportunities to capitalize on America's $369bn climate bill discussed.

Sachin Duggal, founder and CEO of Builder.AI, talks about competition for talent, building culture, and the future of software development. They discuss limitations of low code, give examples of apps built, discuss AI innovation and model usage, building a community of freelancers and onboarding dev shops, reasons for choosing London over Silicon Valley, and finding the balance between growth and sustainability.