2023 SPEAKERS
Mike Butcher
Founder, The Europas / Editor-at-Large, Techcrunch
Viktoriya Tigipko
Founding and Managing Partner, TA Ventures
Andrey Kolodyuk
Managing and Founding Partner, AVentures
Jenny Ruth Hrafnsdottir
Founding Partner, Crowberry Capital
Rainer Markle
General Partner, HV Capital
Pippa Lamb
Partner, Sweet Capital
Ekaterina Almasque
General Partner, OpenOcean VC
Ryan Heath
Global Technology Correspondent, Axios
Leo Schwartz
Crypto, Regulation, Cybercrime Reporter, Fortune Magazine
2024 AGENDA
> Mark your calendars for 11 November as The Europas Tech Startup Awards take over La Distillerie Lisbon! 🌍
Doors open for registration at 13:00. The event kicks off at 14:00 with an inspiring agenda featuring exclusive talks, panels, and pitches and ends with a networking drinks all in the relaxed atmosphere of Lisbon's La Distillerie.
14:05 - 14:30
VC Panel: A Tale of Two Markets: Is AI Skewing the Market? A Deep Dive into the Impact of AI on Valuations, Investments, and Market Trends
In the US, investments into AI captured half of all VC funding in Q2 –driven by the billion-dollar mega rounds of CoreWeave and xAI. In Europe, a similar trend is occurring. France’s Mistral and the UK’s Wayve both raised hundred million dollar rounds. But behind these megarounds into AI, lies a more complex reality for venture capital, one that is rapidly being shaped and reshaped by unpredictable politics and a constantly shifting economic environment.
Beyond the AI sector, valuations continue to show signs of pressure, with flat and down rounds reaching 10-year highs.
Startups and investors hoping for a step-up between rounds are more likely to be disappointed.
This panel brings together leading VCs to discuss AI’s impact on investing, current valuations, and how geopolitical and public market trends are affecting both investors and startups. As many startups that raised capital during the pandemic highs return to the market, the panel will explore what’s next for these companies and how both founders and investors should adjust their expectations.
15:00 - 15:20
Coffee break
15:20 - 15:45
Discussion Panel - AI Regulation
AI Regulation: The EU's AI Act introduced in 2021 is one of the world's first regulatory framework's to address AI. We ask our panel of experts, including the EU's Eoghan Oneill to understand what the Act wants to achieve and what this means for European companies innovating with AI.
15:45 - 16:05
EIC Fireside Chat / How the EIC Supports Startups
In this fireside chat, Mike Butcher talks to Lars Frølund, the European Innovation Council's deeptech expert and the CEO of Axelera, the Netherlands based chip startup that received EIC funding. Aside from investment, how does the EIC ensure startups are fully supported. Where are they placing their bets? How does the EIC help de-risk private investment? How does EIC investment help lead to more ambitious EU startups.
Lars Frølund
Axelera
16:35 - 16:55
Coffee Break
17:10 - 17:35
Journos Panel - The Year Ahead, The Year Gone By
In one of the Europas best loved panels, we invite some of the world's leading tech journos to talk about the biggest stories of the year, what they are covering and what they think the wider impact is of these important stories. Special focus will be on AI, and how they view the race to control and monetise it, and what that means for society.
17:35 - 17:55
Closing fireside chat
What's next for this technology that has the potential to both reshape the world for the better and to upend every aspect of life as we know it? How close are we to AIG, and what does a person who's spent their life working in AI, think about the new world order its creating?
17:55 - 18:10
Awards