Upside
This week's happenings in startup and investing land. Getting underneath VC, and discussing how to better support the European startup eco-system.
Every week we share what's been on our mind and get under the skin of VC, investing, startups and founder psychology.
From the team behind SuperSeed who invest in technical teams solving difficult business problems.
The network is run on LinkedIn so join me there - https://www.linkedin.com/in/danbowyer/
With full interview audio and video uploaded to all major outlets.
Love to hear from you - dan@superseed.com
Upside
Has AI Hit Its Glass Ceiling? Quantum IPOs at 500x Rev?! & Siri Goes Google!
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Upside is a weekly show that looks behind the headlines that will affect European venture, start-ups and investing.
On the show this week:
3:03 — SpaceX IPO day: pop, flop or nothing-burger?
7:16 — OpenAI files for IPO — own OpenAI at $1tn or Anthropic at $965bn?
9:50 — Bending Spoons files for Nasdaq: Europe's app-Berkshire
14:01 — ECB's first hike since 2023, and Iran
14:35 — European Quantum Week: inside OQC's £260m round
24:45 — Quantum sensing: navigation without GPS
31:08 — Fable & Mythos: Anthropic's new model and the AI glass ceiling
41:30 — AI safety, ENISA and CADA: the European sovereignty angle
46:17 — Lumen Sovereign: Britain's first sovereign frontier model
54:55 — UK AI Hardware Week: the £1.1bn plan & the Playground Global cheque
1:05:50 — WWDC: Siri reborn with Google Gemini under the hood
1:06:58 — Deal of the week: ICEYE (Finland)
1:07:56 — Deal of the week: Neura Robotics (Germany)
1:10:30 — The week ahead: SpaceX trades, Bending Spoons, AI Act loosening, Accenture
This week's guest Callum Stewart — Investment Principal, Bullhound Capital
Hosts Mads Jensen (SuperSeed) & Andrew Scott (7percent Ventures)
Links & sources
Quantum
OQC Series C: https://oqc.tech/company/newsroom/series-c
BBB £100m into OQC: https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/news-and-events/news/british-business-bank-commits-ps100m-oxford-quantum-circuits
Quobly €115m Series A: https://www.quobly.io/press-releases/quobly-secures-e115-million-series-a-to-bring-silicon-based-quantum-computers-to-market
IQM upsized PIPE: https://thequantuminsider.com/2026/06/02/iqm-and-real-asset-acquisition-corp-announce-upsized-146-million-pipe-with-new-commitment-from-ilmarinen/
Anthropic — Fable & Mythos
https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-fable-5-mythos-5
https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/09/anthropics-claude-fable-5-is-a-version-of-mythos-the-public-can-access-today/
https://the-decoder.com/anthropic-releases-claude-fable-5-and-mythos-5-with-major-gains-in-coding-and-science/
ENISA / Mythos access: https://thenextweb.com/news/anthropic-mythos-eu-enisa-cybersecurity-access
Lumen Sovereign
https://cosine.sh/blog/building-lumen-sovereign-uk-industry-coalition
https://tech.eu/2026/06/08/cosine-secures-industry-backing-for-britain-s-first-sovereign-frontier-model/
UK AI Hardware Week
Gov £1.1bn plan: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/a-decisive-shift-to-power-british-ai-new-11-billion-plan-to-back-chip-firms-boost-computing-power-and-skills-for-the-ai-revolution
BBB / Playground Global: https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/news-and-events/events/silicon-valley-deeptech-vc-playground-global-launch-uk-support-british-business-bank
AMD up to £2bn: https://ir.amd.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/1288/amd-commits-up-to-2-billion-to-accelerate-ai-innovation-and-research-in-the-united-kingdom
WWDC / Siri
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/06/apple-unveils-next-generation-of-apple-intelligence-siri-ai-and-more/
EU rejects exemption: https://www.techtimes.com/articles/318136/20260610/eu-rejects-apple-siri-ai-exemption-commission-says-dma-never-blocked-launch.htm
Deals of the week
ICEYE €450m: https://tech.eu/2026/06/09/iceye-raises-eur450m-at-eur10b-valuation-as-demand-for-sovereign-space-intelligence-accelerates/
Neura Robotics: https://www.ft.com/content/237f10c2-b2b2-490b-bec1-8864e0a22772
