Startup Europe — The Sifted Podcast

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?
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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 burst
Which shiny sectors will attract a lot of venture funding 
What the year might hold for ‘sovereign’ tech startups
Which 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 2026
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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.