Welcome back to another episode of Upside at the EUVC Podcast, where Dan Bowyer, Mads Jensen of SuperSeed, Andrew J Scott of 7percent Ventures, and Lomax unpack the forces shaping European venture capital.
This week, veteran journalist Mike Butcher (ex-TechCrunch Europe, The Europas, TechFugees) joins the pod. From the creator economy eating media brands, to Europe’s fragmented ecosystem and the capital gap that just won’t die, we dive into EU-Inc, Draghi’s unfulfilled reforms, ASML’s surprise bet on Mistral, Europe’s defense awakening, Klarna’s IPO, and quantum’s hot streak.
Here’s what’s covered:
00:01 – Mike’s Reset
TechCrunch Europe closes; Mike reflects on redundancy, summer off, dabbling in social and video.03:00 – Media Evolution & Creator Economy
From ’90s trade mags → TechCrunch → The Europas & TechFugees. Blogs as early social media; today’s creators (MrBeast, Bari Weiss, Cleo Abram) echo that era. Bloomberg pushes reporters front and center as media becomes personality-driven.06:45 – Europe’s Ecosystem & Debate Culture
Europe isn’t Silicon Valley’s 101 highway — it’s dozens of fragmented hubs. Conferences like Slush, Web Summit, VivaTech anchor the scene, but the missing ingredient is debate. US VCs spar on stage then grab a beer; Europe is still too polite.12:00 – All-In Summit Debrief
Mads’ takeaways from LA: Musk on robotics (the “hand” bottleneck), Demis Hassabis on AGI (5–10 yrs away), Eric Schmidt on US–China AI race, Alex Karp on Europe’s regulatory failures. The Valley vibe captured, but it’s only one voice.17:00 – EU-Inc & Draghi Report
Draghi’s 383 recommendations, just 11% implemented. €16T in pensions sit mostly in bonds; only 0.02–0.03% flows into VC (vs 1–2% in the US). Permitting bottlenecks: 44 months for energy approvals. Panel calls for a Brussels “crack unit,” employee stock option reform, and fixing skilled migration.35:00 – Deal of the Week: ASML × Mistral
ASML leads a €2B round in Mistral at €11B valuation. Strategic and cultural fit (Netherlands ↔ Paris) mattered more than sovereignty. Mads: 14× revenue is a bargain vs US peers. Andrew: proof Europe’s VCs are too small — corporates must fill the gap. Lomax: ASML knows it’s a one-trick pony with 90% lithography share; diversifying into AI hedges risk.49:00 – Defense & Industrial Base
Russian drones hit Poland, NATO urgency spikes. UK pledges defense spend to 2.5% GDP by 2027, but procurement bottlenecks persist. Poland cuts red tape under fire; UK moves at peacetime pace. Andrew: real deterrence is industrial capacity. Mike: primes must be forced to buy from startups; dual-use innovators like Helsing show the way.59:00 – Klarna IPO & the Klarna Mafia
Klarna IPOs at $15B (down from $46B peak). Oversubscribed; Sequoia nets ~$3.5B; Atomico 12M → 150M. A new “Klarna Mafia” of angels and operators will recycle liquidity back into Europe’s ecosystem.01:03:00 – Quantum’s Hot Streak
PsiQuantum ($7B, Bristol roots), Quantinuum ($10B, Cambridge), IQM (Finland unicorn), Oxford Ionics’ $1B exit. Europe has parity in talent but lacks growth capital. Lomax: “Quantum is hot, but a winter will come.” Andrew: Europe can win here — if the money shows up.01:05:00 – Wrap-up
The pod ends on optimism: Europe may not own AGI, but in quantum it has a fair fight.
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✍️ Show Notes
Mike’s Reset
Mike opens by sharing how TechCrunch Europe shut down after Yahoo’s sale, and how the team was made redundant. Rather than rushing back in, he took the summer off — testing new formats on social, making video, and reflecting on what comes next.
Media Evolution & The Creator Economy
Mike walks us through his career — from trade mags in the dot-com boom, to freelancing at TechCrunch in 2006, and eventually building the European team. Along the way he launched The Europas awards and TechFugees during the refugee crisis.
Mads draws parallels between the blog era of the 2000s and today’s creator economy: MrBeast, Barry Weiss, Cleo Abram. Mike agrees — blogging was social media, and today media is personality-driven. Outlets like Bloomberg now push reporters front and center to match this shift.
Europe’s Vibe: Fragmentation & Debate Culture
Mike reflects on 20 years of European tech. The dream of pulling everyone together proved harder than expected — it’s not Silicon Valley’s 101 highway, it’s dozens of fragmented hubs. Still, marquee events like Slush, Web Summit, and VivaTech have anchored Europe’s scene.
The missing ingredient? Robust debate. In the US, VCs and founders spar on stage then grab a beer after. Europe is still too polite. Mike calls for more candidness, more “kicking the tires,” and less deference — to build confidence without losing honesty.
All-In Summit Takeaways
Mads shares highlights from LA:
Elon Musk on robotics — the hardest problem is “the hand,” with 26 actuators and no supply chain.
Demis Hassabis — AGI isn’t 2 years away, it’s 5–10.
Eric Schmidt — US focuses on AGI, China pushes ahead with applied AI.
Alex Karp (Palantir) — Europe is wasting its talent through poor regulation and weak industrial strategy.
Mike notes the All-In crew captured the Valley conversation, but cautions they’re just one voice.
EU-Inc & Draghi Report
The group unpacks Europe’s slow progress:
Only 11% of Draghi’s 383 recommendations implemented.
€16T in pensions sit mostly in bonds; just 0.02–0.03% flows into VC, vs 1–2% in the US.
Permitting bottlenecks cripple infrastructure build-out — 44 months for an energy project approval.
Employee stock options remain over-taxed, making it hard to attract and reward talent.
Skilled migration is down despite record net migration — the wrong people are leaving, the right ones can’t get in.
Andrew calls for a “crack unit” in Brussels to push reforms; Lomax highlights underinvestment in R&D (2.2% of GDP vs US 3.5%, Korea 5.5%).
Deal of the Week – ASML × Mistral
Europe’s biggest deeptech deal in years: ASML leads a $2B round in Mistral, valuing the French LLM startup at ~$11B.
Mike: strategic fit and cultural proximity (Netherlands ↔ Paris) matter more than sovereignty politics.
Mads: at ~14× revenue, the deal is rational — and a bargain vs US valuations.
Lomax: ASML knows it’s a “one-trick pony” with 90% lithography share; investing in AI hedges its monopoly risk.
Andrew: shows Europe’s VCs are too small to write growth checks — corporates step in.
Defense & Industrial Base
Against the backdrop of Russian drones hitting Poland, Europe’s defense gaps loom large.
UK commits £250M to regional defense hubs, with a promissory note to hit 2.5% of GDP by 2027.
Andrew: real deterrence comes from industrial capacity, not just budgets — and Europe is dangerously hollow.
Lomax: Poland is cutting procurement red tape under fire; the UK still moves at peacetime pace.
Mike: dual-use startups (e.g., Helsing) and drone firms are moving, but primes must be forced to buy from smaller innovators.
Klarna IPO & the Klarna Mafia
Klarna IPOs at $15B — down from a $46B peak, but oversubscribed.
Sequoia returns billions; Atomico makes a 12M → 150M gain.
A new “Klarna mafia” of angels and operators will recycle liquidity into Europe’s ecosystem.
Mike: “Long may they reign.”
Quantum’s Hot Streak
PsiQuantum ($7B), Quantinuum ($10B), IQM unicorn, Oxford Ionics’ $1B exit — Europe has real parity in quantum research and talent.
Lomax: “Quantum is hot, but a winter will come.”
Andrew: Europe can win here — but only if growth capital shows up.
The pod ends on optimism: Europe may not own AGI, but in quantum it has a fair fight.
💡 One-Liner Takeaway
Europe’s next act hinges on fixing capital markets, permitting, and pensions — so that when frontier tech like AI and quantum hit, Europe scales the winners here, not in the US.
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