Welcome to a new episode of the EUVC podcast, where Dan Bowyer and Mads Jensen of SuperSeed and Lomax from Outsized Ventures dive deep into the macro and micro of European venture, joined this week by special guest Chris Elphick, Head of Venture Capital at the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA).
Together, they pull back the curtain on the real stories shaping VC—from pension reform to geopolitical shocks, blackout readiness, and the transatlantic battle for AI and aerospace dominance.
Here’s what’s covered:
07:40 Politicians Using AI: Tech Literacy or National Security Risk?
12:01 UK Local Elections: Rise of Reform & Political Fragmentation
18:20 Trump’s Tariffs: Recession Risk & Global Trade Realignments
22:33 Heart Aerospace Flies to LA: A Blow to Europe?
28:04 UK VC Fundraising Rebounds—but Where’s the LP Money?
33:42 The Pension Problem: Zero UK Pensions Backing UK VC?
48:58 NATO x Deeptech: Europe’s First Combat Robots?
52:35 Portugal’s Great Blackout: A Warning for Renewable Grids
1:03:00 Show Me the Money: Can Pension Reform Really Unlock Capital for UK VC?
Watch it here or add it to your episodes on Apple or Spotify 🎧. Chapters for easy navigation are available on the Spotify/Apple episode.
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✍️ Show notes
UK VC’s Scale-Up Gap: The Pension Problem in Sharp Relief
Despite fundraising rebounding to ~£4B in 2024, only 7.6% of that came from pension funds—and none from UK pensions. Chris Ellick of the BVCA explains how the Mansion House Compact, LTAFs, and a potential “Nova Scheme” could fix that. Still, many challenges remain, especially around fee structures and regulatory alignment.
Mads and Lomax weigh in with urgency: “AI is happening now,” Mads insists, noting that if the UK doesn’t mobilize capital quickly, it will fall behind the US and China. Lomax adds: “This isn’t just a VC problem—this is GDP, employment, and innovation.”
Heart Aerospace Heads West: Deeptech Defection?
The Swedish maker of hybrid electric planes is relocating to LA, citing proximity to investors and customers. Despite government pushes and strong early-stage investment, Europe still lags the US in scale-up capital. The team discusses how Europe can build the conditions to keep its deeptech champions at home.
Blackout Resilience in Renewable Grids
Lomax’s lived experience of a nationwide blackout in Portugal highlights the fragility of aging power grids as countries ramp up wind and solar. The team breaks down “synchronous condensers,” the £2.5B UK fix, and why startups in microgeneration, batteries, and grid software could be the next big thing.
AI Corner: Microsoft, Google & Cursor Hit 30%+ AI Code Generation
From Microsoft and Google reporting 30% of code generated by AI to Cursor surpassing 1 billion lines/day, the conversation explores the productivity impact—and the role of European VCs in supporting foundational model innovation.
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