Good morning, tech reporter Beatrice Nolan here, stepping in for Allie Garfinkle. I've just come back from Slush, a major European tech event with a strong focus on startups. Despite the weather living up to its name, with temperatures falling to a chilly 26°F, plenty of founders and investors were ready to face the snow.
TL;DR
- Slush event in Helsinki highlighted European tech founders' confidence despite regulatory concerns.
- Europe's talent advantage, lower cost of talent, and less frenzied AI scene are key strengths.
- Founders see Europe as a strong location for AI development and building product companies.
- EU proposes regulatory simplification to address concerns about harming the bloc's competitive standing.
Helsinki saw over 13,000 attendees, comprising 3,500 investors and 6,000 startups and scaleups. The majority, 80%, traveled from European nations, predominantly from Northern Europe, Germany, and France, though also from Central and Southern Europe.
Over recent years, the region has faced considerable criticism from both investors and major technology firms. These entities have expressed concerns regarding the EU's more stringent regulatory environment, particularly its AI Act. This legislation has been accused of hindering progress and placing Europe at a disadvantage in the worldwide competition for artificial intelligence advancements.
Still, European founders and investors are feeling confident—and that’s all down to talent.
“I’ve never been more bullish about Europe,” Creandum founder Staffan Helgesson said during a panel. “There are a lot of things we need to fix here, but we have great founders, investors, and talent. Europe has a talent advantage right now, with the U.S. Cutting down on immigration.”
The “cost of talent” is also much lower, according to Gravis Robotics CEO Ryan Luke Johns.
“I think that some of the initiatives in the U.S. That have made it hard for foreign students to be confident moving in and getting a visa, and knowing that they’re going to be able to stay, have driven a lot of those students into Switzerland and into Europe, and that’s bringing up the talent density very, very quickly,” he told Coins2Day.
Europe's less frenzied AI scene was highlighted by founders at Slush as a distinct advantage for emerging companies, despite the prevailing excitement around AI.
Laurent Sifre, a former DeepMind engineer and now-CTO of the French AI startup H-company, told Coins2Day that Europe was brimming with untapped AI talent, something that has become notoriously difficult and expensive to secure in the Bay Area. “Europe’s real advantage is its world-class talent: people who don’t dream of Big Tech, but of building zero-to-one, moving fast, and working with purpose. It’s a huge asset for our ecosystem,” he said.
Later that day, Anton Osika, CEO of the Swedish AI “vibe-coding” unicorn Lovable, also attributed a significant portion of the company’s swift expansion to Europe’s tech landscape. Osika noted that the slower pace of the AI market in Europe, compared to Silicon Valley, has proven advantageous for the company.
“Everyone kept telling me that to be successful, I had to move to Silicon Valley. I resisted that and we kept the company in Stockholm, bringing talent from the U.S. To work for us…Europe is in many ways a better place for AI development and especially for building a product company,” he said.
Last week, it was also reported that the EU was proposing a plan plans to reduce certain significant privacy and AI legislation, possibly to alleviate concerns that stricter regulations are harming the bloc's competitive standing. This adjustment, which has already encountered some opposition, follows extensive lobbying from major technology companies, Donald Trump, and influential figures such as former Italian prime minister and ex-ECB head Mario Draghi. The Commission is characterizing these modifications as a “simplification” of the regulations, not a dilution.
However, Helsinki's atmosphere was unanimous: Europe's tech sector is thriving. This sentiment was echoed by the banner at Slush's entrance, which proclaimed: “Still doubting Europe? Go to Hel!”
Beatrice Nolan
X: @beafreyanolan
Email: [email protected]
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VENTURE DEALS
- Sorcero, a Washington, D.C.-based AI-powered intelligence platform for life sciences, raised $42.5 million in Series B funding. NewSpringGrowth led the round and was joined by LeawoodVentureCapital and BluVentures.
- NestHealtha health care platform based in New Orleans, La., intended for families, secured $22.5 million in Series A investment from SociumVentures, AmboyStreetVentures, ImpactAmericaFund, and others.
-Anniea developer of an AI model for dental practices, based in Lehi, Utah, secured $4 million in seed funding. LasOlasVentureCapital and ChicagoVentures led the round and were joined by GambaVentures and others.
PRIVATE EQUITY
- Majesco, a portfolio company of ThomaBravo, agreed to acquire Vitecha cloud-native benefits administration software provider based in New York City. The financial details were not revealed.
- TAAssociates acquired a minority stake inAerisa San Jose, Calif.-based company specializing in IoT technology and expertise. The financial details of the agreement were not made public.