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Upside

Dan Bowyer & Mads Jensen - SuperSeed

74 episodes

1 day ago

Hosts: Dan Bowyer, Lomax Ward, Mads Jensen Episode summary This week we cover Trump’s Greenland rhetoric and the broader implications for NATO, European defence spending, and sovereignty. Then we dive into the tech and markets that (quietly) moved: Meta’s acquisition of Manus, Octopus/“Kraken” spinning out as a major energy-software player, Discord’s IPO momentum, Revolut’s Turkey expansion via license acquisition, and why UK pensions are underperforming (plus what reform could actually fix)....

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Entrepreneurship

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Hosts: Dan Bowyer, Lomax Ward, Mads Jensen Episode summary This week we cover Trump’s Greenland rhetoric and the broader implications for NATO, European defence spending, and sovereignty. Then we dive into the tech and markets that (quietly) moved: Meta’s acquisition of Manus, Octopus/“Kraken” spinning out as a major energy-software player, Discord’s IPO momentum, Revolut’s Turkey expansion via license acquisition, and why UK pensions are underperforming (plus what reform could actually fix)....

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Entrepreneurship

Episodes (20/74)

Upside

2025 Christmas Special - It’s a Wrap!

With European VCs Lomax, Mads, Andrew and Dan 2025 year-in-review for European tech: capital, unicorns, geopolitics, AI, health, defence, and space space spaaaace. 01:25 – European tech in numbers $45bn into European startups (flat vs 2023–24, still ~½ of 2021 peak).28 new unicorns in 2025 (up from 14 in 2024).US dominates: ~$250bn private tech funding.VC fundraising still tight (~$10bn into European funds).Exits are back: Wiz–Google, Klarna IPO, SMG IPO.04:16 – 2025 in one sentence Dan: “Ext...

1 week ago

1 hour 3 minutes

Upside

Why Company Sovereignty Matters - China's $1trn Surplus Flood Zone - European Punching

Upside is a weekly pod that looks at the global news headlines and works out what really matters for European tech, venture, startups and investing. With European VCs - Lomax Ward, Dan Bowyer and Mads Jensen What’s on the docket this week: •SpaceX mega-raise / IPO noise: “what are you really buying?” •“Europe’s euro success”: North–South polarity flipping •China’s $1T+ goods trade surplus + what it means for Europe •US defence spend reality check •AI corner: chips, models, and AI bubble chatt...

2 weeks ago

43 minutes

Upside

Europe’s Comeback - Brexit 2.0 - Another ‘Code Red’ & Roll Up Roll Ups

Upside #69 - For the real news behind the headlines affecting European venture, startups and investing. Every week Mads, Lomax, Andrew and myself (Dan) get together and chat. Bending Spoons 01:27 Berkshire-like roll-up; mostly debt-funded; big integration/tech-debt execution risk. 3:30 “US→Italy arbitrage”—cut expensive US costs, rebuild with top Italian talent + high-efficiency culture; cash-cow ops; high employee satisfaction. 05:13 Success likely hinges on better distribution/ops than prev...

3 weeks ago

45 minutes

Upside

God AI - A German Ecosystem Deepdive - Part Time VCs - Google Hot Or Not?

Upside #68 w/ Robin Haak (Robin Capital), Lomax (Outsized), Mads and Dan (SuperSeed). Topics: Germany’s slowdown • Social media bans • UK budget • Solo GPs • N26 • Europe vs Big Tech • AI Corner 01:21 – Robin’s Background 100+ investments, 8 unicorns. Co-founded SmartRecruiters → sold to SAP ($100M ARR). Former GP at Revaya (€600M AUM). Now building a 50-year solo GP franchise. 03:58 – Social Media Ban for Under-16s Mads: EU Parliament pushes advisory resolution; strong evidence social media ...

1 month ago

50 minutes

Upside

We Get Slush’d - Germany Gets Space’d - As TPU’s Crush

This week in Upside #67 Mads returns from Slush with 24 one-to-ones under his belt and a head full of insights. Dan and Lomax dig into Germany’s €35B space strategy, the surprising data behind immigrant-founded unicorns, and Europe’s defence-IPO boom. They break down Vinted’s huge secondary, the EU’s attempt to kill cookie banners, and the UK’s sudden wave of AI investment initiatives. In AI Corner: why 70% of AI startups now ship on open-source models, Google’s new TPU-trained Gemini 3, and ...

1 month ago

47 minutes

Upside

Tech Sovereignty And Becoming Full Stack Nations

Each week a small bunch of us try and makes sense of the latest news affecting European venture. Upside #66 - The theme this week is back to tech sovereignty, what that really means, what’s trade, what’s security - and ultimately will we all become full stack nations? 01:04 – UK exit tax: what it was and why it was dropped The mooted UK “exit tax” (tax on unrealised gains when leaving the country), why it would be disastrous for founders, political “pitch-rolling” before budgets, and T...

1 month ago

53 minutes

Upside

A Baltic Boom, Matt Clifford Rouses, A Tale Of Two Quants

Upside Ep #65 - A Baltic Boom, Matt Clifford Rouses, A Tale Of Two Quants A weekly show that unpacks the shenanigans affecting European venture. Dan (host), Mads, Lomax, Special Guest: Jone (Yo neh) — Managing Partner, First Pick (Lithuania) 3:26 — Pre-seed vs Seed in the Baltics •Why pre-seed fits: seed still feels early; when companies inflect, foreign funds out-gun local check sizes. Funds in region typically €10–€100M AUM, so Series A+ is handed off. 05:39 — Foreign funds’ interest &...

1 month ago

1 hour

Upside

Should You Raise Right Now? Should Govts Buy Stocks? Should NVIDIA Have Bought Nokia?

The pod that unpacks the real news behind the clickbait affecting European venture. Hosts: Dan, Mads, Lomax, Andrew 02:41 — Bending Spoons deep dive Debt-fuelled roll-up, “Berkshire of consumer apps” analogy; Ukrainian peer Gentek noted; why more post-COVID roll-ups didn’t materialise. 04:34 — US debt vs Europe risk Market’s view on capital allocation/dynamism; Decacorns vs unicorns; power-law returns reinforce Botha’s point. 06:01 — “VC isn’t an asset class” debate Power-law concentration...

2 months ago

48 minutes

Upside

The Robots Are Here Already?! - UK Govt Wasting Time In AI Sandboxes - 28th Update.

Upside - the weekly pod exploring the real news behind the clickrage affecting European venture, startups and investing. Hosts: Dan, Mads, Lomax, Andrew 04:56 - Amazon, Robots & Europe’s Automation • Amazon aims for 75% robotised operations by 2033 in the US. • Automation = productivity growth, not mass layoffs. • Europe: >80% of warehouses still manual; Germany highly automated. • Debate: displacement vs. growth; Europe can't fall behind. 18:50 - AI & Europe’s Industrial Revolu...

2 months ago

1 hour

Upside

VC's Fun'raising - Has China won AI already? & The WHY behind bubble-talk AI

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 Fundra...

2 months ago

46 minutes

Upside

Upside #61 - Defence Special PLUS what IS the AI bubble really?

Voices: Nicholas Nelson (Archangel) • Dan • Lomax • Mads TL;DR Defence-first wins on capability and returns; primes are partners and channels.Helsing: buys platforms/revenue for access; layers AI—different from Anduril’s buy-TRL-tech + scale model.Beyond drones: biggest gap/opportunity is tactical EW.Procurement: more fast lanes (SOF, pilots); primes getting easier to work with.AI: real profits exist (esp. NVIDIA), but value chain is fragile; expect a correction, not a collapse. Picking win...

2 months ago

1 hour

Upside

Upside Ep #60 — Germany's White Gold, The UK's Red Ink, and Reinventing VC

🎧 Upside Ep #60 — “White Gold, Red Ink, and Reinventing VC” Hosts: Dan · Lomax · Andrew Recorded: Oct 2, 2025 01:00 – Quick News Highlights 🇺🇸 US Shutdown — $15B GDP loss per week; political theatre more than fiscal risk.🇬🇧 Labour Party Conference — Starmer’s 13% approval, OBR to cut productivity; £10B headroom could flip to £20B deficit.💰 UK recovers $5B from Bitcoin fraud (FT)🔐 UK demands Apple backdoor again (TechCrunch)🤖 OpenAI $500B valuation (FT)🌉 EF exits Europe, launches “Bridge” Bay...

2 months ago

59 minutes

Upside

Upside Ep #59 — UK at a Crossroads, AI Surge, Defence Tensions, H1B Shock

Yes we're European VCs so YES we're talking AI and defence! But there's still more of the pie to eat, so dig in. 02:00 🇬🇧 UK in the doldrums * Little to no growth (1.5% vs US 3.8%). * Inflation stubborn at 3.8%. * 130k jobs lost since last budget. * Housing, Heathrow, HS2 — stalled megaprojects. 06:30 📉 Structural weaknesses * UK pensions: only 4.4% in UK equities (vs 50% in past). * FTSE = $2.8T — smaller than Apple alone. * R&D spend at 1.7% vs US 3.5%. 10:00 🚀 Reasons for optimism * ...

3 months ago

1 hour 1 minute

Upside

Upside #57 - What's Hot & Not in European Tech w/ Mike Butcher from TechCrunch

This week we chat with Mike the ex editor of TechCrunch, getting his take on the past, present and future of all things Euro-startup. Mads shares his thoughts on the All In Summit. We chat about defence strategies, pension funds and Euro cash injections, Germany moving and shaking their startup scene, Draghi's anniversary, the EU Inc guys / 28th regime - and what this all means for us in venture, for founders, investors and startups. 00:35 – TechCrunch Europe → reset Redundancies post-Yahoo ...

3 months ago

1 hour 5 minutes

Upside

Upside #56 - Most Euro Pension Cash Ever, The Power of Xi, & Let Chaos Reign

Let markets drive early-stage VC; fix EU growth/IPO capital via pension reform. Win AI as power users, not model builders. Geopolitics demands EU/ally coordination. Quantum’s having a moment. This week it's Mads, Lomax and Dan. All European early stage VCs looking behind the headlines to explore what's affecting venture, founders and investors. 00:00–03:07 — “28th regime” for EU VC?Dan proposes a structured EU venture vehicle 03:07–07:46 — Let chaos reign- Bottom-up or top-down? governments ...

3 months ago

43 minutes

Upside

Upside #55 - Digital Sovereignty vs Autarky

This week on Upside – It's a digital sovereignty deeper dive - what does it really mean, Nvidia is up but kinda not, Apple vs CMA - stormy teacup, and Governments Buying AI - which is a a great thing! Yes it is. With Mads, Lomax, Andreas and Dan. 00:52 – Why Nvidia is “the poster child” Picks & shovels of AI; outsized share of data-centre capex; sheer scale of valuation and index weight. 01:49 – Numbers that bend the mind $100B rev $25B net income quarter; growth decelerating (YoY stro...

4 months ago

1 hour 3 minutes

Upside

Upside #53 - EU vs US Wealth Creation, Energy Breakthroughs, M&A Boom Means?

For the real news behind the headlines affecting European venture. Hosts: Dan Bowyer & Mads Jensen, with Joe Knowles from Smedvig Ventures (01:15) US vs. Europe in Wealth Creation US dominates wealth & compounders due to internet hyperscalers. Europe: strong talent, growing startups, but weaker late-stage funding & exits. Pension fund restrictions and lack of capital allocation are core structural issues. (12:10) AI Race & Europe’s Challenge US likely to win again; Europe ri...

4 months ago

48 minutes

Upside

Upside #52 - More Chips Please - Be More German - No Easy A?

Upside #52 The weekly podcast for all things European venture, startups and investing. Each week we look behind the headlines for the real news affecting our ecosystem. VC Hosts: Mads, Andrew & Dan This week: Seed-to-Series A: harder or hype? Germany’s €100B Deutschlandfonds UK interest rate cut OECD’s corporate investment warning EU Chips Act 2.0 - 1.0 #fail AI Corner – GPT-5, Anthropic’s advances, open-source wars Deal of the Week 00:50 – Series A: Out of Reach? Really? US: Avg...

4 months ago

1 hour 8 minutes

Upside

🎙️ Upside #51 - Project Eurhope - SaaS Is Sexy Again - The EU US Trade Reality

Upside is for anyone interested in the European tech and startup ecosystem. We discuss the real stories that live behind the headlines. Recorded: Friday August 1st 2025 Hosts: VCs - Mads, Lomax, and Dan 00:50 – Big Tech Earnings Blowouts Massive Meta and MS uplift. Massive efficiency gains via AI, despite headcount cuts. Microsoft: $13B AI cloud run rate. Growth driven by CoPilot and Azure. 11:20 – Fundamentally Flawed Figures Inflation sticky around 2.9%. Rates stuck. Why equity mark...

5 months ago

1 hour 8 minutes

Upside

Upside #50 - Can Stablecoins Save The Dollar? UK vs US AI Strategies & The Red or Blue Pill?

Upside - for the real stories behind the headlines affecting European Venture. In this week's episode: AI in Public Services - OpenAI and the UK govt sign dealThe US vs UK AI plans - how do they compare?Stablecoins - what are they really and why are they not in the UK?Deepmind wins the IMO maths competition - so what?Deal of the Week01:50 – AI in UK Government and Public Services UK government signs an MOU with OpenAI to explore AI in public services. Introduction of “Humphrey,” a ChatGPT-pow...

5 months ago

1 hour 2 minutes