Startup Europe — The Sifted Podcast
Get to know the brightest and boldest names in European tech with Sifted’s weekly podcast, hosted by John Thornhill and Freya Pratty. John interviews the founders, operators and investors building Europe’s most exciting startups and Freya, in conversation with Sifted’s expert journalists, pulls back the curtain on the most intriguing companies they’ve been reporting on.
Episodes
188 episodes
Interview: Layoffs and large language models in healthcare with Kry’s Johannes Schildt
This week it’s another long form interview and we’re joined in the studio with Johannes Schildt from Stockholm-based digital healthcare provider Kry. After a tough 2022, the founder reflects on dealing with layoffs at the company, pausi...
The man trying to stop the AI apocalypse
This week we discuss:03:54: Starting to take off: German rocket maker Isar Aerospace raises $165m06:43: Europe’...
Interview: Seven-figure salaries and AI sovereignty, with Entrepreneur First's Matt Clifford
This week it's a longer form interview with Matt Clifford, founder of early stage investor and startup builder Entrepreneur First. He's also recently been appointed as an AI advisor to the UK government, so we brought him into the Sifted studio...
How the government saved SVB UK
This week we're doing a special episode looking at the Silicon Valley Bank crash, why it happened, why the tech sector was so exposed and how the government stepped in to help save the UK subsidiary of the business.We’re joined by speci...
In conversation with Klarna’s Sebastian Siemiatkowski
This week we’ve got a special episode focusing on Swedish tech. Sifted has been visiting the Nordic Nation for our Stockholm Sessions event, where we caught up with founders working in everything from electric-powered boats to a plan to build a...
Inside Klarna’s $1bn annual loss — its biggest ever
This week we discuss:02:18 Revolut reports its first-ever year of profit05:29 Klarna...
Interview: Transferwise founder Taavet Hinrikus on going over to the VC dark side
This week it's a long form interview with founder-turned-investor Taavet Hinrikus. He's half a year into his journey as a VC and says that his new fund Plural is going to do things differently. He came into the Sifted studio to tell us about wh...
Can this Bill Gates-backed electric plane really stay in the air?
This week we discuss:01:13 Lumai lands £1.1m grant to achieve ‘world’s fastest computation’ and power the AI revolution04:16
Ukraine special: Founders on the frontline
In this special episode of Startup Europe, Sifted’s central and eastern Europe correspondent Zosia Wanat looks under the surface of some of the continent’s most resilient startups.Based on extensive interviews with Ukrainian founders, t...
Meet Europe’s biggest competitor to OpenAI
This week we discuss:01:59: Germany launches €1bn fund for climate and deeptech scaleups05:33:
Entrepreneurs are outraged as Tech Nation shuts down after losing government support, leaving talent visa scheme in limbo
This week we discuss:02:33: PASQAL lands €100m after ‘world-first’ real-life quantum computer use05:17:
Interview: Will speedy grocery ever be profitable? Delivery Hero’s Milena Lazarevska, VP of quick commerce
This week we're back with a longer form interview, digging into one of the most hyped tech sectors in recent times: speedy grocery delivery. After startups in the space raised millions in 2021 — shooting to massive valuations in a matte...
Britishvolt has gone bust: what went so wrong?
This week we discuss:Britishvolt goes into administrationCazoo's CEO steps down<...
The former spy who's helping VCs interrogate founders
This week we discuss:01:08: OXcan raises $3.7m to scale its cancer detection tech04:35
Generative AI: Why are investors getting so excited?
This week we discuss:01:45 What are the new EU policies startups should watch out for in 2023?08:26
Interview: Pleo CTO Meri Williams on Elon Musk, unsustainable hiring and diversity in tech
This week we're bringing you a longer form interview with Meri Williams, CTO at Pleo and formerly CTO at Monzo and Healx. Meri's got a reputation for being one of the best in the business at growing and sustaining technical teams at startups an...
Checkout.com is no longer Europe’s most valuable startup
This week we discuss:01:13 How are startup valuations worked out?05:54 Ba...
Gorillas investors are having to stump up $100m to have their company bought
This week we discuss:01:17 Gorillas investors to pay $100m to secure Getir all-stock buyout, sources say04:40
Scammers are increasingly targeting Monzo, Revolut and Starling customers. Why?
This week we discuss:01:45 Klarna posts big losses in latest financial results06:19
Interview: Danny Rimer from Index Ventures on crypto, pay rises and investing in Figma
This week we've got a bonus episode for you, recorded while Amy was off at the Slush startup conference in Helsinki. It's a conversation with veteran tech investor and Index Ventures partner Danny Rimer, who's sat on the boards of household nam...
FTX fallout hits Europe: Starling clamps down on crypto
This week we discuss:(04:24) Starling Bank blocks crypto payments in wake of FTX collapse(06:01)
Interview: Ready Player Me's Timmu Tõke on the metaverse, identity and advice for Mark Zuckerberg
This week we're bringing you the second in our new series of extended interviews with the big names and rising stars of Europe's tech and startup scene.This episode features a conversation with Timmu Tõke, founder of Ready Player Me — a...
Uncovering the Spotify founder's secretive new startup
This week we discuss:03:35 Anything World raises $7.5m06:16 Crypto payment star...