Scaling Europe

Fuse Energy has already crossed $500m in annualised revenue and grown 10x.

Alan Chang, Co-founder and CEO of Fuse Energy, says the company’s real constraint is not capital but hiring enough great engineers. The business continues scaling in the UK energy market and is preparing to expand into new products and markets.

The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel - check them out here:

https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjk

Sponsors:

SurrealDB: The multi-model database for AI agents. Check them out here: https://surrealdb.com/

Omni: The AI analytics platform trusted by fast-growing companies like Perplexity, Synthesia, and dbt Labs. Check them out here: https://omni.co/

Venture Comet: The platform that gives startups and scale-ups real-time equity tracking, daily business insights and automated management information. Check them out here: https://venturecomet.com/

Timestamps:

00:00: Introduction and overview of Fuse Energy’s milestone growth in 2025

02:30: What drives customer retention and minimal churn

05:00: Talent as the primary growth constraint

09:00: Growth outlook for 2026 and expansion strategy

13:00: Recruiting worldwide and maintaining company culture amid scaling

17:30: Fundraising, profitability, and capital discipline

21:00: Views on European tech ecosystem and investing attitudes

24:30: Strategic bets on energy infrastructure and fusion

28:30: Energy consumption as economic proxy and complexity of climate goals

33:00: Founder mindset and operational challenges

36:30: Climate tech perspective and talent misallocation

41:30: AI adoption and closing remarks

AI adoption inside companies still looks far messier than the hype suggests, with teams using different tools, uneven security standards and little visibility into how AI is actually used day to day.

Justas Morkūnas, COO at nexos.ai, is building around that problem with a no-code agent platform designed to help companies move from prompt to outcome while keeping security and control in place, especially for the power generalists inside organisations who want practical results rather than complex tooling.

The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel - check them out here:

https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjk

Sponsors:

SurrealDB: The multi-model database for AI agents. Check them out here: https://surrealdb.com/

Omni: The AI analytics platform trusted by fast-growing companies like Perplexity, Synthesia, and dbt Labs. Check them out here: https://omni.co/

Venture Comet: The platform that gives startups and scale-ups real-time equity tracking, daily business insights and automated management information. Check them out here: https://venturecomet.com/

Timestamps:

0:34 - Introduction to nexos.ai

1:13 - Importance of security in AI tools

2:40 - nexos.ai's growth and funding success

5:26 - Preparing for the next funding round

6:42 - Discussing goals for 2026

8:20 - Importance of attitude in AI adoption

9:50 - Impact of AI tools on businesses

12:32 - Launching AI agents for productivity

13:28 - Optimizing AI delivery processes

14:05 - Building nexos with a strong team

15:29 - Recruiting talent in a vibrant city

18:13 - Key use cases for AI agents

The $23B Wiz acquisition has become the largest venture-backed M&A in history, a milestone moment for the tech industry and the cybersecurity ecosystem. In this conversation,

Shardul Shah, Partner at Index Ventures and an early backer of Wiz, reflects on the long relationship with the founders that began years before the company existed and why conviction in people, more than markets or products, continues to guide how he thinks about investing.

The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel - check them out here:https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjk

Sponsors:

SurrealDB: The multi-model database for AI agents. Check them out here: https://surrealdb.com/

Omni: The AI analytics platform trusted by fast-growing companies like Perplexity, Synthesia, and dbt Labs. Check them out here: https://omni.co/

Venture Comet: The platform that gives startups and scale-ups real-time equity tracking, daily business insights and automated management information. Check them out here: https://venturecomet.com/

Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction to Scaling Europe show

0:36 - Guest introduction: Shardul Shah

1:40 - Importance of people in investment decisions4:08 - Assessing conviction versus delusion in investing

6:27 - Importance of ambition in industry growth

7:11 - Trusting intuition in investment decisions

9:30 - The role of founders in investment success

10:21 - Challenges of pattern matching in founders

12:51 - Evolving craft of decision-making

14:31 - Importance of trust in founder relationships

16:09 - Quick connections with entrepreneurs

18:20 - Key question for entrepreneurs on offers

Alan has grown from a small French startup into one of Europe’s most ambitious digital health companies, reaching €785M ARR and a €5B valuation after Index first backed the company in 2017.

Jan Hammer, Partner at Index Ventures, reflects on that journey from the early investment to today and what it takes to build a company capable of scaling across markets and transforming healthcare systems.

The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel - check them out here:

https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjk

Sponsors:

SurrealDB: The multi-model database for AI agents. Check them out here: https://surrealdb.com/

Omni: The AI analytics platform trusted by fast-growing companies like Perplexity, Synthesia, and dbt Labs. Check them out here: https://omni.co/

Venture Comet: The platform that gives startups and scale-ups real-time equity tracking, daily business insights and automated management information. Check them out here: https://venturecomet.com/

Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction to Scaling Europe show

1:02 - Alan's impressive growth and valuation

2:10 - Expansion into international markets

4:40 - Signing contracts with French government departments

6:04 - Building scalable technology infrastructure

7:25 - AI's role in healthcare personalization

8:30 - Achieving operational profitability with AI

10:54 - Backing exceptional entrepreneurs in AI sectors

12:37 - Entrepreneurs making magic in tough industries

13:40 - AI as an enabler in complex sectors

15:01 - Assessing entrepreneurs and their commitment

17:10 - Importance of network density for entrepreneurs

Large companies already run on thousands of APIs and internal systems, which makes connecting AI to the systems that actually run a business far more complex than it first appears.

Sean Blanchfield, Founder of Jentic, discusses why this integration challenge is becoming one of the biggest obstacles for enterprise AI and why he believes a new infrastructure layer will be needed to manage how AI interacts with enterprise software. With Jentic, he is building technology designed to securely connect AI agents to those systems and enable automation across complex organisations.

The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel - check them out here:

https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjk

Sponsors:

SurrealDB: The multi-model database for AI agents. Check them out here: https://surrealdb.com/

Omni: The AI analytics platform trusted by fast-growing companies like Perplexity, Synthesia, and dbt Labs. Check them out here: https://omni.co/

Venture Comet: The platform that gives startups and scale-ups real-time equity tracking, daily business insights and automated management information. Check them out here: https://venturecomet.com/

Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction to Scaling Europe show

0:34 - Guest introduction: Sean from Jentic

1:23 - Jentic's role in AI enterprise integration

2:57 - Security risks with AI applications

5:26 - New infrastructure layer for AI applications

8:00 - Building a new platform for enterprises

9:22 - Scaling problems in AI integration

10:20 - Importance of API enablement in enterprises

11:07 - Overview of business foundations

12:05 - Challenges with point solutions in enterprises

14:15 - Future of workflow automation in AI

17:00 - Importance of workflow control

18:40 - Future of business processes and workflows

21:00 - Opportunities for AI in small economies

Entrepreneurs First has raised $200m in fresh capital to continue backing founders before they even have a team or an idea. The firm has built its model around identifying ambitious individuals early in their careers and helping them turn that potential into companies.

Jonny Clifford, Partner at Entrepreneurs First, explains why many of the world’s best potential founders never start companies in the first place and how EF tries to change that by investing in people first, a model that has already produced companies like Magic Pony, Cleo and PolyAI.

The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel - check them out here:

https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjk

Sponsors:

SurrealDB: The multi-model database for AI agents. Check them out here: https://surrealdb.com/

Omni: The AI analytics platform trusted by fast-growing companies like Perplexity, Synthesia, and dbt Labs. Check them out here: https://omni.co/

Venture Comet: The platform that gives startups and scale-ups real-time equity tracking, daily business insights and automated management information. Check them out here: https://venturecomet.com/

Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction to Scaling Europe show

1:47 - Entrepreneurs First raises $200 million

2:46 - Explanation of EF's investment model

5:09 - Impact of California trips on founders

7:27 - Unparalleled ambition in founders

8:15 - Founders returning to the UK after US

9:02 - Evolution of the EF model over time

12:20 - Supporting second companies of successful founders

14:37 - Importance of supporting founders' journeys

15:30 - Need for hands-on founder experience

17:01 - Plans for aggressive growth and funding

19:12 - Shift in founder profiles towards non-technical

Wordsmith AI builds legal AI specifically for in-house legal teams, helping companies bring legal work back inside the business instead of relying on external counsel. The company already works with hundreds of organisations including BT, Deliveroo, Remote and Skyscanner and has been growing rapidly as demand for tools that automate internal legal work accelerates.

Ross McNairn, CEO of Wordsmith AI, built the company around a very narrow customer group from the start, focusing only on in-house legal teams rather than trying to serve the entire legal market, a decision that helped the product spread early through word of mouth among legal teams.

The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel - check them out here:

https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjk

Sponsors:

SurrealDB: The multi-model database for AI agents. Check them out here: https://surrealdb.com/

Omni: The AI analytics platform trusted by fast-growing companies like Perplexity, Synthesia, and dbt Labs. Check them out here: https://omni.co/

Venture Comet: The platform that gives startups and scale-ups real-time equity tracking, daily business insights and automated management information. Check them out here: https://venturecomet.com/

Timestamps:

0:33 - Introduction to Scaling Europe show

2:00 - Growth statistics and market demand

3:40 - Importance of product feedback from clients

5:40 - Engineers spend time with customers

6:24 - Moving to the US for business growth

8:00 - Importance of being close to customers

9:02 - Plans for market entry in the US

10:56 - Importance of building a good product

11:40 - Tools for scaling efficiently

12:50 - Internal enablement and tooling strategies

15:28 - Focus on quality over quantity in talent

16:17 - How we hire talent now

18:30 - Importance of being upwind of problems

20:50 - Environment for raising capital today

Cloudsmith is building a new generation platform for managing the software supply chain, challenging long-established players like JFrog and Sonatype while scaling from its roots in Belfast to large enterprise customers around the world.

Before becoming CEO of the company, Glenn Weinstein spent eight years as a U.S. Navy pilot before moving into software, later holding leadership roles at companies including Twilio and joining Cloudsmith to help take the developer infrastructure platform into the enterprise.

The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel - check them out here:

https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjk

Sponsors:

SurrealDB: The multi-model database for AI agents. Check them out here: https://surrealdb.com/

Omni: The AI analytics platform trusted by fast-growing companies like Perplexity, Synthesia, and dbt Labs. Check them out here: https://omni.co/

Venture Comet: The platform that gives startups and scale-ups real-time equity tracking, daily business insights and automated management information. Check them out here: https://venturecomet.com/

Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction to Scaling Europe show

1:00 - Glenn discusses Cloudsmith's mission

2:00 - Glenn's background in software and military

3:00 - Transitioning Cloudsmith to enterprise solutions

5:28 - Product roadmap and AI integration

6:41 - Demand for programming around ML models

7:27 - Building amidst market selloff challenges

9:20 - Cloudsmith's role in local tech community

10:38 - Cloudsmith's US revenue dominance

11:58 - Building a US go-to-market team

14:02 - Cloudsmith's cloud-native platform advantage

15:37 - Focus on improving developer experience

16:18 - Growth target of 100% each year

19:12 - Role as AI infrastructure for the future

20:23 - Focus on efficiency and gross margin

Harmonic is building what it calls a startup discovery engine, used by investors to find founders earlier than traditional deal flow ever allowed. At Slush in Helsinki, I spoke to Darri Atlason, Head of Growth at Harmonic. He talks about how funds now track talent inside companies like DeepMind or Palo Alto Networks to spot potential founders before they even start a company. In some cases the signal moves incredibly fast, with investors discovering a startup on Harmonic and getting a term sheet out within 24 hours.

The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel - check them out here: https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjk

Sponsors:

SurrealDB: The multi-model database for AI agents. Check them out here: https://surrealdb.com/

Omni: The AI analytics platform trusted by fast-growing companies like Perplexity, Synthesia, and dbt Labs. Check them out here: https://omni.co/

Venture Comet: The platform that gives startups and scale-ups real-time equity tracking, daily business insights and automated management information. Check them out here: https://venturecomet.com/

Timestamps:

0:24 - Introduction to the Scaling Europe show

1:00 - Harmonic's role as a startup discovery engine

2:00 - Use cases for sourcing and evaluating startups

3:00 - Importance of early investment signals

3:44 - Importance of having a winning reason

4:10 - Role of growth in marketing explained

4:54 - Creative marketing strategies discussed

6:37 - Impact of authentic customer content

European tech is now a $3.8tn ecosystem, and Niklas Zennström has seen the entire journey from quitting his job around the dotcom crash to building Skype and later founding Atomico to back the next generation. He explains why technology now sits at the core of Europe’s future GDP growth and why unlocking Europe’s own institutional capital could determine whether the next wave of global tech leaders are not just built here, but owned here too.

The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel - check them out here: https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjk

Sponsors:

SurrealDB: The multi-model database for AI agents. Check them out here: https://surrealdb.com/

Omni: The AI analytics platform trusted by fast-growing companies like Perplexity, Synthesia, and dbt Labs. Check them out here: https://omni.co/

Venture Comet: The platform that gives startups and scale-ups real-time equity tracking, daily business insights and automated management information. Check them out here: https://venturecomet.com/

Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction to Scaling Europe show

1:00 - Niklas Zennström discusses his entrepreneurial journey

3:30 - Importance of tech in Europe

5:49 - GDP growth driven by technology innovation

9:02 - Pension funds' conservative investment strategies

10:37 - Need for global companies headquartered in Europe

12:28 - Importance of entrepreneurial partners

14:01 - Institutional investors' understanding of venture

17:12 - Need for more late-stage capital in Europe

18:56 - Ambition of European founders today

20:50 - Friction in Europe affects scaling

25:22 - Powerful speeches at Davos and Italian tech week

27:19 - Discussing climate policies and GDP growth

30:08 - Defining sovereignty in the tech landscape

31:51 - Monetizing consumers in the tech economy

34:54 - Need for European social networks

36:31 - Future of European technology development

38:09 - Discussion on Europe's tech sovereignty

39:44 - Importance of AI compliance with European values

42:40 - Notable founders and investment lessons