Podcast
Scaling Europe
Hosted by Sebastian Johnson · ENGLISH
Every week Seb Johnson sits down with 5 of Europe's best builders and investors to talk about what's going on in European Tech.
Prior guests include the founders of Lovable, Cleo, Voi an Zilch, as well as top VCs from 20VC, Index, Balderton and Creandum.
230episodes
Episodes
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Stanislaw Kastory and Mikolaj Firlej, Co-founders and General Partners at Expeditions: Backing Europe's defence startups with €197m fund
4w ago00:21:50Tap to summarizeExpeditions is one of Europe's only venture funds dedicated to defence and security startups. The firm recently closed its second fund at €197m.Stanislaw Kastory and Mikolaj Firlej are Co-founders and General Partners at Expeditions. The firm backs early-stage teams across defence, cybersecurity, quantum and space technology. The new fund plans to make around 40 early-stage investments, with half its capital reserved for follow-on rounds.The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel. Check them out here: https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjkSponsors:Chargebee: https://www.chargebee.com/events/beelieve/london/2026SurrealDB: https://surrealdb.com/Airwallex: https://www.airwallex.com/uk?utm_source=other&utm_medium=partner_referral&utm_campaign=v01_emea_multi_ib_dg_prtmk_mofu_scalingeuropeLovable: https://lovable.dev/Timestamps:0:00 - Introduction0:08 - Expeditions closes its €197m second fund1:04 - How raising fund two differed from fund one4:23 - Fund one's early bets in defence tech7:10 - What's different about fund two's strategy9:40 - Where Europe's biggest defence gaps are12:36 - How Expeditions finds and evaluates startups16:20 - Do European countries compete for their own defence champions?19:52 - Financing war vs. financing European defence
Transcribe →Jacomo Corbo, CEO & Co-Founder at PhysicsX: Helping companies design & manufacture industrial products faster
Jul 1700:24:03Tap to summarizePhysicsX helps companies design and manufacture industrial products faster, using AI instead of traditional physics simulation.Jacomo Corbo is CEO and Co-Founder of PhysicsX. Its technology helps manufacturers cut defects and lower costs, from casting aerospace parts to smelting aluminum more efficiently. The company recently raised a $300m Series C at a $2.4bn valuation, more than doubling its Series B valuation in under a year.The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel. Check them out here: https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjkSponsors:Chargebee: https://www.chargebee.com/events/beelieve/london/2026SurrealDB: https://surrealdb.com/Airwallex: https://www.airwallex.com/uk?utm_source=other&utm_medium=partner_referral&utm_campaign=v01_emea_multi_ib_dg_prtmk_mofu_scalingeuropeLovable: https://lovable.dev/Timestamps:0:00 - Introduction0:16 - What PhysicsX does2:24 - Real-world use cases4:32 - PhysicsX's $300m Series C6:50 - The scaling laws behind PhysicsX's models7:46 - Scaling up to meet demand9:51 - Selling to incumbents vs newer manufacturers15:02 - Selling to Europe vs the US19:00 - The Deutsche Telekom and NVIDIA partnership20:46 - What industrial engineering will look like in five years
Transcribe →Francesco Sciortino, Co-Founder & CEO of Proxima Fusion: Building the critical power infrastructure for clean energy
Jul 1600:24:06Tap to summarizeProxima Fusion recently raised €411m at a €2.4bn valuation, the largest funding round in European fusion. The company is building a fusion reactor designed to produce clean, safe energy continuously, without the risk of a runaway reaction.Francesco Sciortino is Co-Founder and CEO of Proxima Fusion. The company has around 200 people working across Munich, Zurich and Oxford. Proxima's next milestone is a full-scale magnet that will prove the reactor design works, expected by the end of 2027.The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel. Check them out here: https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjkSponsors:Chargebee: https://www.chargebee.com/events/beelieve/london/2026SurrealDB: https://surrealdb.com/Airwallex: https://www.airwallex.com/uk?utm_source=other&utm_medium=partner_referral&utm_campaign=v01_emea_multi_ib_dg_prtmk_mofu_scalingeuropeLovable: https://lovable.dev/Timestamps:0:00 - Introduction0:09 - Proxima Fusion's €411m raise0:50 - What fusion actually is4:04 - Why Proxima bets on stellarators over tokamaks9:29 - What's changed to bring investors on board11:42 - Inside the Bavarian government partnership16:12 - The next milestone: the Stellarator Model Coil18:29 - Publishing the Stellaris power plant design20:38 - Supply chain risk for fusion magnets
Transcribe →Max Buchan, CEO of Valarian: BREAKING: Valarian raised $50m Series A
Jul 1400:21:56Tap to summarizeValarian has raised a $50m Series A led by NEA, just over a year after a $20m Seed. The company built Acra, an infrastructure layer that lets organizations run sensitive AI systems securely on any cloud, from public cloud to on-prem or the edge.Max Buchan is Founder and CEO of Valarian. The company signed $43m in contracts in its first quarter alone and expects to do about $100m this year.The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel. Check them out here: https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjkSponsors:Chargebee: https://www.chargebee.com/events/beelieve/london/2026SurrealDB: https://surrealdb.com/Airwallex: https://www.airwallex.com/uk?utm_source=other&utm_medium=partner_referral&utm_campaign=v01_emea_multi_ib_dg_prtmk_mofu_scalingeuropeTimestamps:0:00 - Introduction0:16 - Valarian's $50m Series A led by NEA2:06 - What Acra actually does2:51 - Enterprise and defence customers4:52 - Why sovereignty matters to customers6:44 - Where the growth is coming from7:49 - Inside the Series A round9:37 - UK government support and new investors11:38 - Plans for the next 6 to 12 months16:09 - The biggest risk: hiring and execution18:01 - Bringing on a new head of revenue
Transcribe →Jon Steinback, Co-Founder and CEO at Marker: BREAKING: Marker raised $13m Seed
Jul 900:15:45Tap to summarizeMarker just came out of stealth and raised a $13m Seed led by Index Ventures. Marker is an AI editor built to help writers develop their ideas and get feedback throughout the writing process. Jon Steinback is Co-Founder and CEO of Marker. He and co-founder Ryan Bowman built it to support the whole writing process, from thinking through drafting to editing. The result is a modern word processor made for people who believe in the craft of writing. The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel. Check them out here: https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjk Sponsors: Chargebee: https://www.chargebee.com/events/beelieve/london/2026 SurrealDB: https://surrealdb.com/ Airwallex: https://www.airwallex.com/uk?utm_source=other&utm_medium=partner_referral&utm_campaign=v01_emea_multi_ib_dg_prtmk_mofu_scalingeurope Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction0:20 - Marker's seed round and coming out of stealth0:57 - What Marker actually is1:41 - Who Marker is built for3:33 - How Marker's product took shape4:39 - Finding the balance between AI and human writing6:52 - Why these investors backed Marker9:20 - Jon's time at DeepMind10:52 - How Marker will use the funding13:04 - The goal behind coming out of stealth14:33 - Marker's long-term vision
Transcribe →Laura McGinnis, Partner at Singular: Growing Singular's London office to back UK founders
Jul 900:19:26Tap to summarizeSingular is a European early-stage venture capital firm investing from Seed through Series B, with portfolio companies including Aikido, Vibe, Basecamp and Spore.Bio. Laura McGinnis is joining Singular as a Partner. She previously spent several years in venture at Balderton Capital. In London, she'll focus on building out the firm's presence and backing UK and Ireland founders earlier in their journey. The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel. Check them out here: https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjk Sponsors: Chargebee: https://www.chargebee.com/events/beelieve/london/2026 SurrealDB: https://surrealdb.com/Airwallex: https://www.airwallex.com/uk?utm_source=other&utm_medium=partner_referral&utm_campaign=v01_emea_multi_ib_dg_prtmk_mofu_scalingeurope Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction0:10 - Laura's move to Singular0:58 - Why Singular appealed to her2:22 - How the opportunity came together3:33 - The type of founders Singular backs5:31 - Moving from a large firm to a small, nimble team8:21 - What success looks like in her first months10:10 - Why Singular is doubling down on the UK and Ireland13:33 - Finding an edge to meet founders earlier15:38 - Advice for operators breaking into VC
Transcribe →Sai Shivareddy, Founder and CEO at Nyobolt: Building the critical power infrastructure for the AI world
Jul 800:24:09Tap to summarizeNyobolt is building fast energy storage systems for AI infrastructure, where data centres and robotics require far higher power density and faster charging than conventional technologies can provide.Sai Shivareddy is Founder and CEO at Nyobolt. The company spent years developing its technology before AI infrastructure created demand for it, and is now deploying its systems in robotics, with data centres as its next target market. The company recently raised a $60m Series C at a $1 billion valuation, making it one of the UK's newest unicorns.The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel. Check them out here: https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjkSponsors:Chargebee: https://www.chargebee.com/events/beelieve/london/2026SurrealDB: https://surrealdb.com/Airwallex: https://www.airwallex.com/uk?utm_source=other&utm_medium=partner_referral&utm_campaign=v01_emea_multi_ib_dg_prtmk_mofu_scalingeuropeTimestamps:0:00 - Introduction0:18 - Nyobolt's $60m Series C at a $1bn valuation0:56 - What Nyobolt builds2:52 - Real-world results and use cases7:22 - Working with Symbotic8:30 - Inside the Series C round11:53 - Scaling manufacturing while growing fast14:11 - Biggest bottlenecks to growth18:40 - Raising hardware-focused venture capital22:06 - Building a deep tech company from Cambridge
Transcribe →Carla Gómez Cano, Co-founder at THEKER: Theker Robotics’ generalist robots automate any factory task
Jul 700:19:05Tap to summarizeTHEKER Robotics builds robots that takes over the hardest physical labor inside heavy factories.Carla Gómez Cano is Co-founder at THEKER. Their robots that do manual, physical work, like moving packages, assembling parts and folding garments, and use smart software to handle any task or material on a single platform. The company recently raised an $85m Series A, one of the largest robotics rounds ever in Europe.The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel. Check them out here: https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjkSponsors:Chargebee: https://www.chargebee.com/events/beelieve/london/2026SurrealDB: https://surrealdb.com/Airwallex: https://www.airwallex.com/uk?utm_source=other&utm_medium=partner_referral&utm_campaign=v01_emea_multi_ib_dg_prtmk_mofu_scalingeuropeTimestamps:0:00 - Introduction0:12 - THEKER's $85m Series A0:54 - What THEKER's robots do today4:11 - Why THEKER skips pilots5:03 - Building a robotics company from Barcelona7:10 - Reconfigurable robots vs. humanoids10:02 - Biggest bottleneck: hiring13:01 - The robotics-as-a-service model16:14 - Biggest lesson: staying focused17:15 - What's next for THEKER
Transcribe →Toby Mather, Co-Founder of Rig: BREAKING: Rig raised $2.8 Pre-seed
Jul 100:22:00Tap to summarizeRig just raised $2.8 pre-Seed led by Emerge Capital to build infrastructure that helps companies use their internal data with AI. The platform connects existing data systems so teams can build AI apps, workflows and agents more easily.Toby Mather is Co-founder of Rig. He says the biggest challenge is no longer building AI applications, but giving them secure access to the right internal context. Rig is designed to solve that problem by connecting data from across a business without teams having to stitch together dozens of systems themselves.The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel. Check them out here:https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjkSponsors:Mishcon: https://www.mishcon.com/pop-ups/scaling-europeChargebee: https://www.chargebee.com/events/beelieve/london/2026SurrealDB: https://surrealdb.com/Timestamps:0:00 - Introduction0:12 - Rig’s $2.8 pre-Seed0:48 - What Rig is building1:37 - AI workflows in practice3:56 - Why Toby started the company6:37 - Why investors backed the round8:29 - Lessons from building a second company10:03 - Building an AI-native startup11:37 - Hiring for speed and learning14:11 - How AI is changing careers17:06 - Toby’s view on vibe coding19:34 - Priorities after the raise
Transcribe →Jonathan Godwin, CEO at Orbital: Orbital raised $50m Series B
Jun 2900:21:22Tap to summarizeOrbital recently raised a $50m Series B led by Plural to scale its AI platform for developing advanced materials.Jonathan Godwin is Co-founder and CEO at Orbital Industries. The company is using AI to discover a new GPU cooling material for data centres, with plans to apply the same technology to hardware and manufacturing across sectors such as semiconductors, energy and aerospace.The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel. Check them out here:https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjkSponsors:Mishcon: https://www.mishcon.com/pop-ups/scaling-europeChargebee: https://www.chargebee.com/events/beelieve/london/2026SurrealDB: https://surrealdb.com/Airwallex: https://www.airwallex.com/uk?utm_source=other&utm_medium=partner_referral&utm_campaign=v01_emea_multi_ib_dg_prtmk_mofu_scalingeuropeTimestamps:0:00 - Introduction0:20 - Orbital’s $50m Series B1:50 - Discovering a new GPU cooling material3:45 - The long-term vision for AI industrials5:50 - Raising deep tech before the AI boom8:20 - Why Plural backed Orbital11:20 - The Orb open-source model14:05 - Why Orb is open source15:15 - Why Orbital builds hardware, not just AI models20:40 - Building a mission-driven company
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