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 CapitalKey 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: ecoRobotix03:01 – 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.