Upside #62 w/ Dan and Mads from SuperSeed plus Ben from Bullhound Capital
Key Topics
• Fundraising climate in European for VC - friend or foe?
• Goldman Sachs’ Industry Ventures acquisition - getting into alternatives?!
• Nobel Prize in Economics: Why does this matter to VC and Europe?
• What's fuelling the AI bubble headlines? Hype vs fundamentals
• China’s physical AI advantage - have they won AI already?
• Europe does have a strategic path
• Deal of the Week: ecoRobotix
03:01 – VC Fundraising Outlook
• Post-2021 pullback continues.
• Flight to top brands: most LP capital going to top 30 funds.
• More government/EU money = policy strings.
• Low DPI but potential relief from Klarna IPO.
• Market consolidation = stronger survivors.
07:08 – LP Sentiment
• Big AI rounds crowding noise → more space for overlooked gems.
• Growing interest in early-stage, AI, defence, resilience.
09:23 – GS Buys Industry Ventures - Why?
• Traditional finance deeper in VC.
• Secondary liquidity engine + huge data moat (700 funds / 10k co’s).
• Smart strategic move for Goldman.
12:36 – Nobel Prize in Economics?
• Aghion & Howitt’s work proves innovation drives growth — VC validated.
• Missing pieces: state de-risking, catch-up growth, China’s dual strategy.
20:42 – AI “Bubble” or Just Massive Bets?
• OpenAI’s trillion-dollar compute plans (NVIDIA, AMD, Broadcom, Oracle).
• OpenAI vs Google monetisation war.
• Circular financing risk with negative margins down the stack. Will retail be left holding the baby?
• Long-term value in vertical AI with data moats.
31:11 – China’s Physical AI Advantage
• Western Execs return “shaken” from dark factories.
• BYD rising fast.
• China deploying “good enough” open-source AI into everything.
39:24 – Europe’s Playbook
• JP Morgan’s $1.5T “security & resiliency” plan shows capital *can* be mobilised.
• Europe’s challenge: reallocate pension/government capital to productive tech.
45:43 – Deal of the Week: ecoRobotix
• Swiss physical AI agri-robotics.
• Precision spraying cuts pesticide use 95%.
• €90M Series D led by Highland Europe & McWin.