Startup Europe — The Sifted Podcast

John Collison, cofounder of Stripe, discusses the challenges faced when starting Stripe and the importance of naivety. The chapter also includes discussions on the challenges in the European startup ecosystem, the skepticism surrounding Mistraau, and the adoption of a small model in the developer community. Moreover, the transformative technology of the business, Monza's expansion into the US market, and the announcement of their new US CEO, Connor Walsh, are covered.

This week we discuss:02:07 — Improbable’s refocus on the metaverse sees big reduction in losses04:46 — ‘The economics of trading equity for compute are not great’ — Mistral releases its first model07:15 — Dutch arm of vertical farming startup Infarm declared bankrupt11:22 — US eyes British startups in chip sovereignty bid13:50 — UK-France AI rivalry heats up with dual summits14:48 — Why is applying for EU funding such a nightmare?Get yourself a ticket to the Sifted Summit here.

This week it’s a long form interview with Reshma Sohoni. In 2007 she cofounded the London-based venture fund Seedcamp, which has backed leading European tech companies like UIPath, Wise and Revolut. Reshma sat down remotely with Sifted’s Amy Lewin to share her thoughts on what she’s seeing in the market today, and lessons learnt from more than a decade and a half of investing in startups.

European startup valuations decrease as more startups sell at discounted prices. Getir's valuation reduces 4x in new $500m funding round. French startups experience a fire sale with many selling at lower valuations. German HR tech company Personio plans to double US workforce. Smart chatbot maker DRUID raises $30m for US business expansion. Opportunities to capitalize on America's $369bn climate bill discussed.

Sachin Duggal, founder and CEO of Builder.AI, talks about competition for talent, building culture, and the future of software development. They discuss limitations of low code, give examples of apps built, discuss AI innovation and model usage, building a community of freelancers and onboarding dev shops, reasons for choosing London over Silicon Valley, and finding the balance between growth and sustainability.

This week we discuss:02:55 US AI startup Poolside raises $126m seed round and relocates to France05:50 Klarna cuts losses and sees “huge opportunity” in generative AI08:10 N26 CPO Gilles BianRosa steps down, becomes supervisory board member08:42 Babylon finds buyer for its UK business (and GP at Hand service)10:02 Dutch VC PhotonVentures bets all on photonic chips with new €100m fund16:23 Hackers are watching your startup. Not many are prepared for the attack

This podcast discusses weight-loss drugs in Europe, struggles of Getir, NorthVolt's funding raise, Scottish startup ENOUGH fundraise, NatureMetrics' biodiversity focus, and the impact of the global run on AI hardware on startups.

Allegations of sexual harassment and workplace misconduct at a top European VC firm. DN Capital's founder accused of bullying and creating a culture of misogyny. DN Capital denies allegations and launches an independent investigation. Discussion on the broader implications of mistreatment of women in the male-dominated venture capital industry. Challenges faced by individuals in speaking out against misconduct at VC firms. Reflections on the impact and reaction to the allegations, emphasizing the need for change within the industry.

This week we discuss:01:10 How much RingCentral paid for those Hopin assets              Was Hopin really such a failure?03:41 Dutch startup Meatable raises $35m to scale cultivated pork products07:58 Build-a-bot workshop: deepset.ai raises $30m for personalised AI models10:58 Who's going to buy Babylon?19:20 The machines have eyes: How GenAI is giving warehouse robots vision

This week we discuss:01:07 Johnny Boufarhat steps down as CEO of Hopin04:55 Prima Materia makes third startup investment — into longevity08:31 European VCs see exodus of women investors11:58 The ‘crazy’ £20bn subsea cable to bring Moroccan solar power to the UK22:38 Can French startups overcome their elitist image?