Upside #44 - Cybercrime Up, UK Govt Investments Up, Nuclear Up, War... Down.

Upside - The *real* stories affecting European Venture.This week Mads, Lomax and I discuss: AI cybercrime, UK govt investing in tech/AI, cheap energy (nuclear isn't), Tesla’s RoboFail, 996 and founder work-life balance, AI growth but is the revenue good? and the shock flip between private vs. public markets.01:24 – Cyber-Security: Rising Threats 43 % of UK businesses hit by cyber-crime last year; avg. of 2,000 attacks/week in Q1 2025. 02:07 – AI-Enabled Attacks & Geopolitical Impact AI tools lower the barrier for sophisticated attacks by state-sponsored or rogue actors - new front in modern warfare by economic disruption.04:12 – Kinetic vs. Cyber Warfare The mix of traditional (kinetic) and cyber fronts.07:20 – Government Spending Review: Big Picture Rachel Reeves’s 3-year spending framework amid a weak UK economy: £120bn on infrastructure; £43bn for science & innovation; £2bn AI Action Plan.16:50 – Energy Landscape & Nuclear The UK’s high industrial energy costs (6× US); sovereignty & intermittency issues; nuclear offers clean baseload and sovereignty but at what cost?19:21 – Fusion & Long-Term Energy Tech Recent fusion advances (Tokamak West’s 22 min plasma) and Proxima Fusion’s €130 m Series A, but 20 yr horizon remains.25:51 – Tesla’s Robotaxi Roll-Out Tesla’s delayed Austin launch (moved from June 12→22); cost comparison vs. Waymo.28:34 – Europe’s AV Landscape: The Brexit Dividend Wayve’s UK partnerships (Nissan, Uber, spring 2026 trial at L4 autonomy) versus EU’s slower L2/3 regs.32:26 – Founder Work Ethic Debate Heated talk around “996” & extreme hustle: Lomax quotes Paul Graham on youth vs. age advantages.37:00 – AI Revenue Growth & SustainabilityLLM businesses doubling revenue every 2 months; examples: Anysphere’s $500m ARR, Lovable’s €61m ARR; concerns around gross margins, churn & long-term profitability.46:14 – Private vs. Public Market Performance First time in 25 yrs that private markets underperform public across 1/3/5/10 yr horizons (State Street report): “Magnificent 7” driving public returns. A shake-out & opportunity ahead as private seeks its illiquidity premium.52:00 – Notable DealsMultiverse (ES) – €189m Series B for LLM compression tech (95 % size reduction)Oxford Ionics → IonQ – $1bn+ acquisition of UK trapped-ion quantum spin-out55:47 – Closing & Condolences Dan sends thoughts to those affected by the Air India crash, and wraps up with thanks and next-week teasers.