Welcome back to another episode of Upside at the EUVC Podcast, where Dan Bowyer, Mads Jensen of SuperSeed and Lomax from Outsized Ventures unpack what’s happening in European tech and venture capital.
This week: Why Series A in Europe now often means “multi-seed” and what founders should do about it, Germany’s €100B industrial policy push and whether it can actually deliver, and the Bank of England’s rate cut as a red flare for the economy. Plus: the OECD’s warning on corporate underinvestment, why the EU’s Chips Act 2.0 risks missing the AI boom, and the latest in the global AI race from GPT-5 rumours to billion-dollar raises. Also: Clay’s $100M relationship-intelligence war chest, N8N’s unicorn momentum, and a Spanish autonomous tractor that’s rewriting farm economics.
🎧 Here's what's covered:
01:12 Series A Reality Check: US vs Europe timelines, bridge rounds, and why naming matters.
06:04 The Multi-Seed Era: How European founders should think about funding milestones.
10:47 Germany’s €100B Deutschlandfonds: Ambition, execution risk, and industrial policy priorities.
17:58 UK Rate Cut at 4.0%: Red flare for growth, modest boost for VC competitiveness.
22:31 OECD on Corporate Investment Stagnation: Why regulatory drag is Europe’s silent growth killer.
29:44 Europe’s Chips Act 2.0: From missed targets to high-value manufacturing opportunities.
38:11 AI Corner – GPT-5 Rumours & Claude 4.1: Funding surges and the open-source shift.
45:27 IP & AI Models: Data leakage risks and the Napster-era copyright parallel.
52:03 Deals of the Week: Clay, N8N, and Voltrac’s autonomous tractor breakthrough.
57:46 Closing Takeaways: Focus, speed, and execution as Europe’s competitive levers.
🎧 Listen on Apple or Spotify — or queue it for later with chapters ready to go.
✍️ Show Notes
Series A – Moving Goalposts
In the US, it now takes ~2.5 years to hit Series A (was 1.5 a decade ago), with graduation rates halved to ~11%.
In Europe, the average is ~18 months — but rounds are smaller and often just US-style seeds with a different label.
“We have a naming problem. Many European Series As are still seeds in US terms.” – Andrew
Why it matters: Multiple seed extensions are now the norm in Europe. Founders should optimise for runway and traction, not the optics of an “A” badge.
Germany’s €100B Deutschlandfonds
€10B public capital aiming to unlock €100B in private investment for defense, energy, and raw materials — part of a €500B infrastructure and climate package.
“The growth of Germany is critical for the EU — infrastructure spend could be the bigger game changer.” – Mads
Why it matters: Execution and governance will determine whether this is transformative industrial policy or another slow-moving headline.
UK Rate Cut: A Red Flare
The Bank of England cut rates by 25bps to 4.0% (5–4 split vote) despite inflation ticking back up.
“It’s a red flare — growth is weak and inflation sticky.” – Mads
Why it matters: For startups, lower rates make VC more competitive versus fixed income, but this isn’t a macro green light.
OECD: Corporate Investment Stuck in Neutral
Investment is still 20% below pre-GFC trends in advanced economies.
UK example: Water utilities paid £83B in dividends vs £230B in infrastructure since privatisation.
“We’ve had 15 years of short-termism — shareholder appeasement over building the future.” – Andrew
Why it matters: Regulatory drag is swallowing tech’s productivity gains. Every delay is a market opportunity for startups that can move faster.
European Chips Act 2.0
The 2023 Act aimed for 20% global share by 2030 — but may only reach 5%. Intel pulled out, approvals dragged, focus stayed on low-end chips.
“We should focus on high-value chips where Europe can win — AI, defense, robotics — not commodity fabs.” – Mads
Why it matters: Europe can still play a strategic chip role, but only if it chooses ambition over consensus.
AI Corner
GPT-5 rumoured “soon” per Sam Altman — 18 months since GPT-4.
Claude 4.1 from Anthropic improves code reliability.
OpenAI releases its first open-source model since GPT-2.
Funding blitz: OpenAI raising $8B; Mistral chasing $10B; Perplexity also back in market.
“Open source will win long-term — but the money’s in the application layer.” – Mads
Why it matters: OSS isn’t free money, but it can be a moat if wrapped with enterprise-grade tools and services.
Deals of the Week
Clay – $100M at $3.1B. Relationship intelligence platform.
N8N – Series C, offers above €2B valuation. No-code automation with global pull.
Voltrac – Spain’s autonomous electric tractor. 70% fewer parts, €30K/year cheaper to run.
💡 One-liner takeaway:
From Series A funding reality checks to billion-euro industrial bets, Europe’s challenge is clear — focus, speed, and execution will decide who wins the next decade.
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