The hosts start by recapping Slush, explaining why it remains one of Europe’s top startup events and how to get real value by planning meetings and side events early. They then dive into the hot question of whether we’re in an AI bubble, debating if and when it might burst and whether investors can realistically stay long innovation while trying to short the AI trade. The conversation shifts to Italy, highlighting how 2025 is shaping up as one of the strongest years ever for Italian VC with robust round volumes. A major focus is a biotech spinoff from Imperial College working on biopesticides, leveraging more than 15 years of gene-editing research and tailwinds from EU plans to cut chemical pesticide use by 2030, backed by new climate-tech fund Algebris. They also cover a deep-tech water measurement startup that uses cosmic neutrons to monitor soil moisture and water flows, opening applications in agriculture, drought management, landslide prevention and leakage detection in city infrastructure. Finally, they unpack the rise of defense tech and dual-use technologies in Europe, including a large new European defense and security fund supported by the European Investment Fund, and reflect on what this means for future Italian dealflow.

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