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 CreationUS 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 ChallengeUS likely to win again; Europe risks falling far behind.Strategic gaps: compute, energy costs, slow policy response.(13:05) M&A BoomH1 2025: ~$100bn in deals (+155% YoY), led by Google–Wiz ($32bn).Hot areas: AI code gen, security, vertical apps.Europe well-placed in application-layer M&A and AI-enabled services.Exits recycle capital → critical for VC ecosystem health.(21:21) Defence Tech AwakeningPorsche & Deutsche Telekom launching €500m fund; Lakestar raising €250m.Cultural shift in Germany: mainstream corporates backing defence/dual-use.Small monetarily, but signals a tide change.(31:21) Energy & BatteriesBreakthroughs: lithium recycling (97%), sodium-ion at $10/kWh, EU gigafactories planned.Europe must cut energy costs (4x US levels).Nuclear, deregulation, and better storage key for AI competitiveness.(35:06) AI CornerGPT-5: Faster, unified model, free to ChatGPT’s 700M users. Incremental but strong in coding.Perplexity vs. Chrome: DOJ may force Chrome divestiture; Perplexity rumored buyer (PR stunt?).Economics: OpenAI at $500bn valuation despite $5bn losses; Anthropic ARR exploding ($1bn → $5bn in 7 months).(42:15) Chips & GeopoliticsUS restricting Nvidia chips to China; Trump proposes tariffed exports.Europe’s Chips Act stuck with outdated tech; Intel project canceled.Urgent need for “Chips 2.0” and partnerships with TSMC/Nvidia/ASML.(48:03) Closing NotesItaly’s record H1 (€655m raised).Europe’s momentum building across defence, energy, and venture.