Welcome back to another episode of Upside at the EUVC Podcast, where Dan Bowyer, Mads Jensen of SuperSeed and this week’s special guest Joe Knowles from Smedvig Ventures unpack what’s happening in European venture capital.

This week: Are we doomed to lag the US in wealth creation or is Europe finally closing the gap? Why a record $100B of M&A matters for exits and recycling capital, and how founders should think about selling vs going for gold. Plus: Porsche & Deutsche Telekom anchoring a €500M defence fund as Germany drops its taboos, the scramble for cheap energy and battery breakthroughs, and what GPT-5, Perplexity, and Nvidia tariffs tell us about Europe’s place in the AI race.

Here’s what’s covered:

• 00:48 US vs Europe in Wealth Creation: Compounders, unicorns, and Europe’s capital efficiency.

• 09:07 Late-Stage Funding Gap: Why pensions and IPO markets hold Europe back.

• 17:36 M&A is Back: Google’s $32B Wiz deal, Windsurf drama, and Europe’s “second tier” opportunity.

• 25:52 Why Exits Matter: Recycling capital and the venture flywheel.

• 27:09 Defence Tech Goes Mainstream: Porsche, DT, EIF and Germany’s cultural shift.

• 36:18 The Ethics Question: Dual use, deterrence, and uncomfortable truths.

• 41:22 Energy Corner: Lithium recycling, sodium-ion batteries, and Europe’s 4x US energy costs.

• 46:44 AI Needs Power: Grid bottlenecks, red tape, and planning reform urgency.

• 51:10 GPT-5 Launch: Unified model, user backlash, and coding benchmarks.

• 54:37 Perplexity vs Chrome: PR stunt or regulatory opening?

• 58:32 Chip Wars: Nvidia tariffs, Huawei delays, and why Europe needs Chips Act 2.0.

• 1:05:59 Shoutout to Italy: Record €655M H1 startup funding.