Welcome to a new episode of the EUVC podcast, where our good friends Dan Bowyer from SuperSeed, in discussion with Andrew J. Scott, Founding Partner at 7percent Ventures, and Lomax Ward, General Partner at Outsized Ventures, cover recent news and movements in the European tech landscape 💬
Here’s what’s covered:
01:22 Klarna's IPO and European Market Insights
04:19 AI, Tariffs, and Future Predictions
24:35 European Venture Capital Trends
25:52 Generative AI and Market Speculations
29:56 Challenges in the European Tech Ecosystem
35:30 UK AI Sector Report Insights
46:22 Exciting Deals and Future Prospects
Watch it here or add it to your episodes on Apple or Spotify 🎧, with chapters for easy navigation available on the Spotify/Apple episode.
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✍️ Show notes
Signs of a UK Revival Amid AI Shifts and Venture Uncertainty
Universal’s plan to open a UK theme park by 2031 near Bedford, generating 28,000 jobs, is interpreted as a symbolic win for post-Brexit Britain. In a venture landscape rocked by macroeconomic uncertainty, like Klarna’s delayed IPO and European startups grappling with tariff volatility, the park signals investor confidence in the UK as a destination for major capital projects. Meanwhile, Wayve’s $1.3B deal with Nissan to integrate its self-driving tech is another UK bright spot, suggesting the nation may regain ground lost to the US and EU in innovation-led growth.
Across the tech ecosystem, AI is reshaping priorities. Shopify’s CEO urged teams to justify hires by proving AI can't do the job, a stance echoed across scale-ups as capital remains tight. The AI Futures Project adds a speculative edge, mapping out superintelligence paths and underscoring excitement and anxiety. Yet the broader sentiment, per the conversation, is “head down and build.” AI’s hype cycle may lead to a bloodbath, but infrastructure and real-world adoption (like AVs and defense tech) are maturing fast. Europe’s opportunity lies in talent, capital reform, bold policymaking, or risk irrelevance.
Tariffs, Trump & European Venture: Noise or Real Risk?
Tariff tensions driven by Trump’s latest 90-day reprieve have thrown European VCs into analysis mode. While the global 10% rate and 125% on China haven’t sparked immediate disruption, the mood is jittery.
Some VCs are dusting off “RIP Good Times”-style memos, but the advice is to keep building. Most early-stage startups, particularly in software, remain unaffected. The risks are more nuanced for hardware and biotech, especially as Series A+ founders weigh European manufacturing costs versus the tariff-proof but pricier US. The market dip has caused some belt-tightening, but also opened opportunities: as public markets wobble, venture capital regains its edge in capital competition.
More broadly, the uncertainty tilts capital flows toward Europe and Latin America. With unreliable US markets, some LPs are searching for safer geopolitical ground. Initiatives like France’s “Safe Place for Science” and widening US-German bond spreads hint at a subtle pivot. For European founders, the key message is: don’t let macro volatility derail micro execution. While tariff noise and political theatre dominate headlines, the fundamentals of early-stage building—team, product, execution—remain unchanged. For now, it’s heads down, cash conscious, and keep going.
State of Venture Q1’25 Report
CB Insights’ Q1 2025 State of Venture report paints a picture of soaring global funding, driven by an AI gold rush. With $121B invested globally, one-third of it from OpenAI’s eye-watering $40B round, venture capital is back at peak 2022 levels. AI dominated, accounting for 20% of all deals, with eight early-stage rounds above $100M. M&A also broke records, with 12 +$1B exits, but again skewed by a single $33B deal (Wiz). While early-stage deal sizes rose to $2.7M, deal count continues to slide, down 28% YoY, pointing to intensified capital concentration.
Europe’s role? Largely a footnote. No +$100M AI rounds came from the continent. Two of the top 10 global deals were European (YourWorld and Isomorphic Labs), and even US-led. The UK posted its weakest funding share in five years, while France, Germany, and the Nordics gained modest ground. European CVC dropped 40% YoY, and only two to four unicorns emerged in Q1, depending on how you count them.
UK AI Sector Report: Promising Signals, Persistent Gaps
Tech Nation’s Q1 2025 UK AI report confirms that while UK AI is growing, it’s doing so from a low base. The UK boasts 2,300 VC-backed AI companies worth a combined $230B, and raised $1.03B this quarter. But the UK's share feels marginal when stacked against the $121B deployed globally, and OpenAI’s $40B raise alone. The report highlights strong vertical players like Synthesia, Eleven Labs, and Luminance, but also blurs lines by classifying older software firms as "AI," muddying true sector insights. The absence of Isomorphic Labs’ $600M round only underlines how underpowered the UK’s data still feels.
Barney Hussey-Yeo’s quote in the report hits hardest: the UK lacks the ambition and infrastructure to match its talent. Founders are told to “grow cautiously,” not “think bigger.” The blockers, capital and talent, are fixable, yet policy still underemphasizes growth. Insights from Stan Boland (FiveAI) echo this: retain top talent, raise mentorship quality, stop propping up zombies, and inject real capital. The UK has the ingredients for AI success. What it needs now is boldness.
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🗓️ The VC Conferences You Can’t Miss
There are some events that just have to be on the calendar. Here’s our list, hit us up if you’re going, we’d love to meet!
0100 Emerging Europe 2025 | 📆 14-16 May 2025 | 🇭🇺 Budapest, Hungary
GITEX Europe 2025 | 📆 23 - 25 May 2025 | 🇩🇪 Berlin, Germany
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