unzip.media podcast

European VCs, startups, and startup associations have been unhappy with the European Parliament recently — all because of the potential implementation of the “28th regime” for European startups, aka EU Inc., aka “European Start-Up and Scale-Up company” (ESSU). The European Parliament is working on a suggestion of how to implement the idea — but the ecosystem isn't quite happy. Andrii Degeler dug deeper into the issues and their roots and talked to MEP Rene Repasi, who wrote the first proposal, and Maximilian Henning, tech reporter at Euractiv. If you're feeling strongly about the 28th regime idea, let the Commission know — now is the time! Fill out the public consultation questionnaire before September 30: https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/14674-28th-regime-a-single-harmonized-set-of-rules-for-innovative-companies-throughout-the-EU/public-consultation_en00:00 LinkedIn is unhappy 00:50 What is EU Inc.?02:05 What's a regulation, and what's a directive? 03:04 A list of issues raised by startup associations04:56 Rene Repasi explains the choice for a directive11:37 Why focus on killer acquisitions?14:47 Preventing relocations — really?17:18 The alleged lack of startup voices in the proposal20:56 Maximilian Henning's take on the situation29:51 What happens next?

In this episode, let's talk about European deep tech with its veteran observer, Robin Wauters, known as the founding editor of Tech.eu, as well as journalist and editor at TNW and TechCrunch at the dawn of European tech.

We caught up at EIC Summit 2025 to talk about what Robin has been up to after selling Tech.eu to the media company Webrazzi, his fascination with deep tech, and what it'd take for Europe to become successful on this playing field.

A big bonus toward the end: Robin's (rather optimistic) take on the future of media in today's world, squeezed between generative AI and adversarial political agendas.

Check out Robin's deep tech-focussed newsletter: https://europeandeeptech.beehiiv.com/

How is Hollywood using AI to get rid of excessive f-words? We're going to find out an interview with Thomas Macaulay of TNW, who recently wrote a story about a British film director who ended up being an AI startup co-founder.

0:00 Intro

02:15 Hollywood and computational creativity

03:43 The story of Flawless

05:40 How do you remove the f-word without re-filming?

08:01 Solving the dubbing issue

09:30 A sidebar on film dubbing in Ukraine in the 1990s

11:40 Why AI is a sensitive subject in Hollywood

13:15 An example of Flawless' tech

13:55 How did you find this story?

14:30 The actors' reaction to the product

17:11 The dangers of AI video generation

18:25 What the rise of generative AI means for journalists?

21:10 The journalistic process of Thomas Macaulay

24:40 It's a wrap!

Here are the links mentioned in this episode:

- Inside the AI startup refining Hollywood — one f-bomb at a time: https://thenextweb.com/news/ai-startup-flawless-edits-hollywood-movies-dubbing-actors

- Flawless: https://www.flawlessai.com/

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In this podcast episode, we're unpacking the story of the “Universal charging directive” that recently came into force in the EU. Our guest in the studio, Callum Booth, wrote a story on the initiative for The Verge — and will now discuss what it actually means for us Europeans, as well as share a few things that didn't make it into the piece.

In the second part of the show, Callum talks about The Great Uncoupling — a journey towards independence from his smartphone through… re-cluttering his life with more single-purpose devices.

00:00 Intro

01:15 The Universal Charging directive

05:55 What is Apple doing to comply?

08:40 What else is included in the regulation

10:45 Unification of fast charging

15:30 Bonus: Things that weren't included in the story

21:20 Is Europe overreaching with this regulation?

23:05 Part II: The Great Uncoupling

27:25 What you still need the smartphone for

28:40 The current progress in the journey

32:25 Real-life differences to note

36:15 Wrapping up

You can find Callum's newsletter The Rectangle on Substack: https://therectangle.substack.com/

Like our podcast? Leave a review, a comment, and recommend the show to your friends and colleagues — it'd mean the world to us!