VC | E501 | This Week in European Tech with Dan, Mads & Lomax

EUVC

Welcome to a new episode of the EUVC podcast, where Dan Bowyer and Mads Jensen of SuperSeed and Lomax from Outsized Ventures gather to unpack the macro forces and micro signals shaping European tech and venture.
This week, the trio tackles one of the most geopolitically charged, capital-heavy, and morally complex episodes yet:

• The global reshuffling of power: Israel, Iran, Russia, and Ukraine
• Why defense is back—and what it means for VCs
• Europe's space ambitions and what the ESA's new satellite project signals
• China's trade plays and Europe's vulnerability in rare earths
• AI, IPOs, and why founders might want to stay private longer
• Surgical robots, ambient AI, and who’s building the future of healthcare

Plus: Daniel Ek gets flak, SPACs sneak back, and why VCs are now speed-running $15B deals in one week.
Here’s what’s covered:

• 02:00 War & Markets: Iran, Israel, oil prices & Bank of England holds
• 06:00 Defense Budgets: Why Europe is (finally) spending
• 10:00 VC Taboo: Why investing in weapons gets complicated fast
• 15:00 EIF Restrictions: Sex, gambling, and no defense
• 20:00 The Rise of Helsing: Europe’s $12B defense unicorn
• 24:00 Strategic Autonomy: Europe’s new military satellite constellation
• 30:00 ESA vs. Starlink: Earth observation gets serious
• 34:00 China, Trade Wars & Rare Earths: Why Europe’s exposed
• 40:00 EU-US Tariffs & Trump’s Pharma Threat
• 42:00 IPO Boom: Chime, Circle, and the SPAC comeback
• 47:00 CMR Surgical: UK’s $4B robot exit—is that enough?
• 53:00 Lessons from Intuitive Surgical & deeptech M&A
• 56:00 Deal of the Week: Nabla’s AI for clinicians, Helsing, and Scale AI’s lightning-fast cash
• 01:02:00 Founders in Government: Alex DePledge & Matt Clifford’s impact
• 01:05:00 Meta’s AI Transfers: Zuck goes full football transfer window