Ever fancied hearing Brad Pitt speak flawless Mandarin? That’s the kind of trick Synthesia’s hyper-realistic video avatars can pull off.The London-based unicorn, which uses generative AI to make videos for corporate training and internal comms, has been a big hit among enterprise users — its customer list includes more than 80% of the Fortune 100, and it hit $100m ARR in April this year.It seems to be a pretty solid business model — and investors certainly like it. But where will the company take its technology next, how safe are its avatars from deepfake misuse and when might it brave an IPO?CEO Victor Riparbelli isn’t shy about sharing his views on that front, recently declaring the London Stock Exchange a “complete disaster.”On this week’s episode, host Amy and senior reporter Kai Nicol-Schwarz put Synthesia’s avatars to the test, dig into its move into agentic AI and ask what, if anything, could go wrong for the AI unicorn.Sign up to our deeptech and AI newsletter here: https://sifted.eu/members/login?newsletter=deeptechTake our listener survey here: https://form.typeform.com/to/WbVxsSv7 (T&Cs apply)
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18:03
'Reverse acquihires are incredibly dangerous': Tech lawyer Mike Turner
Mike Turner, partner at law firm Latham and Watkins, has a bird’s eye view of Europe’s startup ecosystem: which sectors are on the up and which are on the down; which VCs play nice and which don’t; and why more and more founders are getting edged out of their companies.On this week’s episode of the podcast, Mike sits down with host Amy to discuss why climate tech's monetisation model remains unknown, the growth in strategic buyers’ M&A activity and how European governments will react to sovereign wealth funds turning up on startups’ cap tables.————————Want a new pair of headphones? Tell us what you think of the podcast and enter our prize draw, here: https://form.typeform.com/to/WbVxsSv7
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26:20
Lovable’s Anton Osika on churn, calculating ARR and his newfound celebrity status
It’s pretty fun being the frontman of the world’s fastest-growing company, says Anton Osika. But being swarmed by enthusiastic users, opportunistic investors and beady-eyed journalists can occasionally have its downsides.It’s no surprise everyone wants a piece of Lovable founder and CEO Anton. Last month, just eight months after its launch, Lovable was crowned Europe’s newest unicorn when it raised $200m at a $1.8bn valuation, and hit $100m ARR. On this week’s episode of the podcast, Anton sits down with host Amy to discuss the company's push into enterprise, hiring mistakes he’s made and the challenges of building Europe’s startup du jour in public.————————Want a new pair of headphones? Tell us what you think of the podcast and enter our prize draw, here: https://form.typeform.com/to/WbVxsSv7This episode was brought to you by HSBC Innovation Banking, connecting you with what's next.
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19:54
How AI is transforming startups — for better or worse
If you work at a tech startup, AI is a boon and a bane, empowering tiny teams to build at scale while wiping out entry-level jobs and flooding LinkedIn with “AI slop.”In this week's episode of the Sifted podcast, Amy is joined by senior reporter Miriam Partington, to discuss how founders and operators at Europe's fastest-growing companies are using AI.She shares what she's hearing about how the technology is hurting trust in brands, how engineering teams are being totally re-shaped and about why we're going from "an era of specialism to an era of generalism" in the talent market.Tell us what you think of the podcast: https://form.typeform.com/to/WbVxsSv7
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25:59
Quantum Systems CEO Florian Seibel: ‘Having a dictator has advantages’
Germany-based defence tech Quantum Systems is one of Europe's leading makers of military drones, having completed thousands of missions in Ukraine and signed contracts with governments around the world. The company raised a €160m Series C in May 2025, hitting unicorn status, and is seeing its revenue double year on year.On this week's episode of the Sifted Podcast, host Amy sits down with Quantum Systems’ CEO Florian Seibel to hear about what peace in Ukraine will mean for the growing defence tech industry, what the future holds for unmanned vehicles and why he thinks Europe could take a leaf out of China's book when it comes to long-term planning.Seibel, not one to mince his words, calls out the people and investors jumping on the defence tech hype, and explains how working in a war zone and competing against enemy Russian drones has been the ultimate motivator for innovation.
Get to know the brightest and boldest names in European tech with Sifted’s weekly podcast, hosted by Amy Lewin. She interviews the founders, operators and investors building Europe’s most exciting startups and, in conversation with Sifted’s expert journalists, pulls back the curtain on the most intriguing companies they’ve been reporting on.
Listen to Startup Europe — The Sifted Podcast, The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch and many other podcasts from around the world with the radio.net app
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