In this episode of Upside we’re digging into the real stories behind the headlines affecting European Venture.
The UK’s Cost-Cutting Drive – DOGE’esque?
UK government’s plan to cut civil service costs using AI-driven efficiencies. Public sector pensions estimated between £2.5-5 trillion – is cost-cutting enough? Will AI and startups play a role in optimising government spending?
Project Europe – But Will Talent Just Leave?
20VC’s Harry Stebbings launches Project Europe to fund under-25s with €200K for startups. Inspired by the Peter Thiel Fellowship, but will it stop US firms poaching European talent? Lomax questions if we need more pre-seed funding or if growth capital is the real gap. Mads gives a history lesson on how Europe fell behind the US in venture capital.
AI Corner: Anthropic, Manus, & Google’s Larry Returns
Anthropic scales annualised revenue from $1B to $1.4B in three months. Manus.im emerges as a powerful AI agentic platform (built on Claude 3.7). Larry Page launches Dynatomics, an AI startup focused on manufacturing. Microsoft explores alternatives to OpenAI, testing DeepSeek for Co-Pilot. Mistral shifts focus from LLMs to AI applications (finance, OCR, and tables).
The Market Meltdown – MAG7 Down $2.7 Trillion
Nvidia, Tesla, and others take a hit, erasing trillions in market value. Meta is the only MAG7 stock that didn’t drop. Could Trump’s tariff-driven trade wars be purposefully fuelling market volatility? Is this a short-term dip, or are we heading into a full-blown recession?
IPOs & M&A – Are We Finally Back?
63 IPOs in the US this year – up 90% from last year, but uncertainty looms. CoreWeave and Hinge Health file for IPOs, but timing may not be ideal. Figma, once blocked from an Adobe acquisition, now eyes public markets. The AI-powered startup Moveworks exits to ServiceNow for nearly $3B.
Deals of the Week
Lomax’s pick: Thorizon (Netherlands) raises €12M for next-gen nuclear reactors.
Dan’s pick: Stroll (France) raises €12M for AR-powered neurorehabilitation.