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It’s been a busy start to the year for Europe’s tech ecosystem. We’ve already had five new unicorns born, €5.2bn raised, a $1bn acquisition and Sifted’s landed several scoops revealing that some of the continent’s most interesting investors — the likes of Plural and QuantumLight — are raising big new funds. To discuss the bumper start to 2026, host Amy Lewin is joined by contributing editor Éanna Kelly, who spends his days sussing out which companies are fast on the rise, which investors are getting in on the buzziest deals and which ecosystems and sectors are hotting up. They also cover the 26 startups Sifted will be watching especially closely (and why) and what investors tell us they have planned for the next 12 months. Read Sifted Predicts here: https://sifted.eu/studio/sifted-predicts-european-tech-2026 Explore Sifted Pro here: https://sifted.eu/sifted-pro Sign up to the Sifted Daily here: https://sifted.eu/newsletters 

How do you spot Europe’s next unicorn founder before anyone else does? And where can investors still make outsized returns? This week on the Sifted Podcast, host Amy Lewin is joined by Linda Rottenberg, founder of global tech network Endeavor, one of the world’s most influential communities of high-growth entrepreneurs. For nearly three decades, Linda has backed founders long before they hit the mainstream, including Bending Spoons’ Luca Ferrari and ElevenLabs’ Mati Staniszewski. Endeavor is built on a simple idea: that world-class entrepreneurs can come from anywhere — not just Silicon Valley. Today, Endeavor supports more than 3,000 entrepreneurs across 50+ countries, whose companies include over 90 unicorns.  Amy and Linda discuss what Europe’s most successful founders have in common, why investors should be looking beyond the usual hotspots and how Endeavor Catalyst, the organisation’s investment arm, is backing companies at the scale-up stage as it raises a new fund.

If you’ve been following the recent wave of data centre announcements across Europe, you’ll have noticed one thing: governments are suddenly obsessed with compute. Why is that — and how will France, the UK and others fare in the AI infrastructure arms race? Can startups really compete with Big Tech and is this a sector VCs can play in? This week, host Amy Lewin is joined by senior reporters Daphné Leprince-Ringuet and Freya Pratty to dig into the fast-moving — and expensive — world of AI infrastructure, from data centres and GPUs to energy and political power plays. The conversation also explores the risks of overbuilding, parallels with failed battery gigafactories and the unresolved tension between Europe’s dreams of “sovereign AI” and reliance on Nvidia. Plus: what does all this mean for climate tech and local communities  — and is AI infrastructure the safest bet investors can make, or the next bubble waiting to burst? Sign up to Sifted's AI newsletter here: https://sifted.eu/newsletters 

If 2025 was the year of the AI agent, what will 2026 be? Which companies will make headlines — for all the right, or all the wrong, reasons? And will optimism around Europe’s startup ecosystem continue to mount, or will geopolitical tensions throw spanners in the works? On this episode of the Sifted Podcast, news editor Martin Coulter joins editor Amy Lewin to discuss what they think will be the big topics this year in European startups and VC — and what you, our dear listeners, should be watching out for.  They cover:  If — or when — the AI bubble will burstWhich shiny sectors will attract a lot of venture funding What the year might hold for ‘sovereign’ tech startupsWhich tech billionaire might run for president (in Europe)What developments are likely to be in store for the VC industry This episode was produced by Maya Dharampal-Hornby. Further reading:  A spacetech IPO, a robot decacorn and a (European) entrepreneur running for president: Sifted’s predictions for European tech in 2026Sign up to Sifted’s Daily newsletter 

When NATO announced plans to launch a €1bn innovation fund back in 2022, heads turned. €1bn? To invest in defence and security? Backed by 24 countries? At the time, most European VCs were still incredibly wary of backing defence companies — and nothing like this had ever been attempted before. Three years on, host Amy Lewin is joined on the Sifted Podcast by Dame Fiona Murray, current chair and former vice-chair of the Nato Innovation Fund (NIF), to take stock of how the experiment is playing out. Since becoming operational in 2023, the fund has faced significant scrutiny. Four of its original founding partners have left, one of them pursuing legal action over a compensation dispute, while former chair Klaus Hommels stepped into a new role last September following questions around potential conflicts of interest. Amy and Fiona discuss these controversies, as well as what the fund is actively looking to invest in today, the structural challenges facing Europe’s defence tech startups and what still needs to change if European nations are to build long-term technological resilience in an increasingly unstable world.  

When Markus Villig founded Bolt 12 years ago, it was one of dozens trying to take on Uber. Today, it’s the only major European ride-hailing company left — worth €7.4bn and expanding across taxis, scooters, car rental and delivery. This week, Europe editor Mimi Billing sits down with Markus to discuss why it’s now almost impossible to build a new ride-hailing network, why he thinks Europe is sleepwalking into a “disaster” on self-driving cars and physical AI, and how he’s helping shape Estonia’s defence tech landscape. Markus also explains why founders should engage more with politicians, what Europe needs from a single capital market — and his experience as the youngest board member of any US public company, thanks to buy now, pay later giant Klarna.

Kanishka Narayan, the UK’s AI minister, joins us on the Sifted Podcast hot off the heels of the big reveal of UK chancellor Rachel Reeves’ latest budget, which announced some fairly positive moves for Britain’s entrepreneurs — as Amy and Kanishka discuss in this episode. In his role as AI minister — which he’s had for just two months — Kanishka holds some pretty chunky responsibilities: including ensuring that the UK seizes upon the opportunities AI presents to us — and leverages tech for growth. In this episode of the Sifted Podcast, Amy asks Kanishka if he thinks the UK is moving fast enough on adopting and regulating AI, what the biggest risks the technology poses to the nation are and where he thinks the government should put its resources to have the most positive impact on the tech sector.

Few founders have the know-how — or the guts — to take on Apple. But Carl Pei, founder and CEO of London-based startup Nothing, is one of them. Nothing makes smartphones and earphones at a fraction of Apple’s price, has shipped millions of units, raised $200m in September at a $1.3bn price tag — and is now exploring AI-native devices and apps. In this episode, host Amy Lewin sits down with Carl to explore how Nothing is approaching prototyping new devices, why Europe has struggled to produce globally successful hardware startups and what a future of personalised phones might actually look like. Carl also shares how spending time in China taught him the hardware ecosystem’s secrets, why India represents one of the biggest opportunities of our lifetime and which early-stage founder he has on his radar.

It’s that time of year again: Atomico’s State of European Tech report has landed. In case you don't have the time to wade through its mammoth 183 charts, this week host Amy Lewin is joined by senior reporter Miriam Partington to bring you the report’s most surprising findings, with a focus on talent. And it paints a rosy picture: respondents say it’s getting easier to recruit and retain top-tier talent in Europe, and the continent’s pool of senior tech tech employees has grown faster than the US over the last decade. But do founders actually feel that shift on the ground? And how much appetite is there to finally fix Europe’s long-lamented market fragmentation? And why, a decade on, is the gender funding gap showing no signs of closing? Read Atomico’s report, here: https://www.stateofeuropeantech.com/ Read our top highlights, here: https://sifted.eu/articles/state-european-tech-report-2025 Read about the Mistral and SAP partnerships, here: https://sifted.eu/articles/france-germany-partnership-mistral-sap Read about why VCs are ditching the boardroom for operator life, here: https://sifted.eu/articles/vcs-becoming-operators If you would like to sponsor the podcast, please email [email protected]

This week it's another special episode from the Sifted Summit, with senior reporter Kai Nicol-Schwarz sitting down with serial entrepreneur Alex Depledge — founder of Resi and Hassle.com, and now entrepreneurship advisor to UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves. Alex shares her experience of navigating government and trying to make changes for the UK's tech sector, and discusses how to tackle the exodus of startup talent from the country. Her and Kai get into how to unlock more late stage capital for high-growth companies, how pension funds can play a bigger role and how the UK government is bringing in business experience to help guide policy. Want to sponsor the podcast? Email [email protected] to express your interest. PLUS: Take our listener survey here: https://form.typeform.com/to/WbVxsSv7 (T&Cs apply)

This week, Daphné Leprince-Ringuet is joined by head of research Jonathan Sinclair and senior reporter Kai Nicol-Schwarz to unpack the state of AI in Europe. Funding for European AI-native companies has nearly doubled to €8.9bn this year, and acquisitions hit a record high of 18 last month — all while valuations continue to climb. But do the numbers tell the full story? The trio digs into insights from Sifted’s inaugural AI ranking, alongside recent reporting, to explore questions like: Should France still be considered Europe’s AI hub? Why do 95% of GenAI pilots fail at big corporations? And when is the AI bubble going to burst? Read the report here: https://sifted.eu/rankings/ai-100-2025 Want to sponsor the podcast? Email [email protected] Plus take our listener survey here: https://form.typeform.com/to/WbVxsSv7

This week host Amy Lewin sits down with Erin Platts, CEO of Octopus Ventures. Erin joined Octopus at the beginning of this year after a two decade stint at Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), where she oversaw UK operations throughout its dramatic collapse in 2023. Erin walks Amy through the climactic weekend that SVB went under, revealing what really happened behind the scenes as industry partners scrambled to keep startups’ cash safe. The pair also dig into the state of venture in the UK, including the ups and downs faced by Octopus Titan, the £1.4bn listed fund that’s shed almost £600m in value since 2021 — and how Erin plans to steady the ship. They also discuss her views on the Mansion House Accord, her role on the UK government’s industry taskforce and why Octopus Ventures has experienced such high churn in recent years. Want to sponsor the podcast? Email [email protected] Take out listener survey here: https://form.typeform.com/to/WbVxsSv7 (T&Cs apply)

This week it’s another special episode recorded live at the Sifted Summit, with host Amy sitting down with Sequoia Capital’s Luciana Lixandru. Luciana, who established the legendary Silicon Valley firm's presence in Europe in 2020, discusses the continent’s “Act Two”, and ambitions to build $100bn companies. She talks about what Sequoia looks for in founders, how to build a defensible AI business and why she believes London is becoming the centre of Europe’s AI renaissance. Luciana and Amy also discuss the resurgence of robotics, why fintech still matters and how founders can balance building in Europe with winning in the US. Want to sponsor the podcast? Email [email protected] to express your interest. PLUS: Take our listener survey here: https://form.typeform.com/to/WbVxsSv7 (T&Cs apply)

This week it's the first in a series of special episodes recorded in front of a live audience at the Sifted Summit, and we're kicking off with a bang: a fireside discussion between former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Sifted's founder and editorial director John Thornhill. They discuss the ongoing AI revolution, with Eric arguing that the technology is actually undervalued today, and why "industrial" bubbles can actually be a good thing after they burst. He also talks about what the rest of the world can learn from Ukraine when it comes to automation in the defence sector, and about how Europe can compete on the global stage in the new AI economy. PLUS: Take our listener survey here: https://form.typeform.com/to/WbVxsSv7 (T&Cs apply)

This week the Sifted Podcast comes to you live from Italian Tech Week, where Amy sat down with Milda Jasaitė, the head of second-hand marketplace Vinted's new investment arm: Vinted Ventures. It's fairly unusual in Europe for a startup like Vinted, that's only been profitable for a couple of years, to launch a venture arm but, as Milda explains, it's a trend that's far more common in the US. They discuss why a relatively young startup needs an investment arm and the kinds of companies that Milda is looking to back. They also get into how being representing her nation as an ice hockey player makes her a better professional, what can be done to get more women into senior leadership positions and onto company boards — and how Lithuania's startup scene is shaping up. PLUS: Take our listener survey here: https://form.typeform.com/to/WbVxsSv7 (T&Cs apply) This podcast was brought to you by HSBC Innovation Banking, the bank built for innovation.