The Rundown: Edition 48 – Airspeed, Balderton, and tokenmaxxing

SoftBank pledges €75bn to French AI facility buildout

SoftBank has promised to invest up to €75 billion in a vast network of AI computing clusters in France. The Japanese multinational investment bank chose France mainly because it has abundant nuclear power and a faster process for approving AI facilities. FT

Goldman Sachs projects 100x revenue take-off for SpaceX

Amid SpaceX’s pitch to achieve a record $1.78 trillion IPO, Goldman Sachs has revealed that the valuation hinges on a 100-times revenue surge by 2030 for the company’s AI unit. Reuters

British semiconductor manufacturer takes on the world

Durham-based Pragmatic Semiconductor is scaling up its manufacturing capabilities and aiming to compete with the big hitters in the US and Asia. The Cambridge University spinout is aiming to ship billions of chips by the end of the year. Times

Southern Africa to get a $6.2bn data centre

US-based Convalt Energy has agreed to spend $6.2 billion to build a 1,200-megawatt hydropower project and an AI data centre in Lesotho. This marks the southern African nation’s largest-ever foreign investment and will help reduce its reliance on energy imports and create jobs. Bloomberg

Airspeed raises $20m Series A

Founded by former DeepMind research scientists, Airspeed is building the AI execution layer for enterprise revenue teams. The round was led by DN Capital, with participation from Vi Partners, Framework Venture Partners, and Atlassian Ventures, taking total funding to over $25 million. Pathfounders

Wordsmith secures £52.1m in new funding

The Edinburgh-headquartered legaltech has closed a £52.1 million Series B investment round, which included participation from Highland Europe and Index Ventures, among others. Wordsmith builds AI software for in-house legal teams, and is used by customers such as Sage and Starling. UKTN

Healthtech Semble closes £30m Series C

Semble has secured a £30 million Series C funding round to expand into leading healthcare groups. European growth investor Revaia led the round, with participation from Partech, and existing investors Mercia Ventures and Octopus Ventures made follow-on investments. EU-Startups

UCL and Cambridge spinout Gigaton secures $26m

Plural led the $26 million Series A in the UCL and Cambridge spinout, enabling Gigaton to scale AI-powered autonomous control systems for cement, steel, glass, and chemical plants. Gigaton builds AI software that controls heavy industry plants, capable of forecasting outcomes and autonomously adjusting operational parameters. Tech Funding News

Stablecoin, unstable timeline

The House of Lords’ Financial Regulation Committee has warned that the UK risks missing out on the potential benefits of stablecoin due to “excessive regulation”. Regulatory uncertainty has been a key blocker to the development of British digital money, with only 0.5% of stablecoins being in GBP. FT

Blair’s “blockbuster intervention”

Steve Rigby, CEO of Rigby Group, backs Sir Tony Blair’s “blockbuster intervention” as a necessary wake-up call, arguing Labour has drifted away from growth, enterprise and wealth creation, and is ignoring what businesses need to invest and expand. City AM

A very European AI opportunity

The ‘Europe’s AI Opportunity’ report examines the region’s AI trajectory. The AI industry is entering a new phase: rapidly becoming core business infrastructure, driving deployment and productivity gains across industries. As AI attracts most venture capital, success will depend on execution and real-world impact rather than model access alone. GP Bullhound

Is tokenmaxxing already over?

Tim Mills, Managing Partner at ACF Investors, welcomes the clampdown on tokenmaxxing, which he believes “artificially distorts usage statistics for non-productive reasons”. The debate around the practice serves as a “sensible check on the validity of utility”. Business Insider

Built in Europe with Balderton

The London-based VC firm has launched ‘Built in Europe’, a pan-European campaign supported by over 100 startup founders and CEOs, including Revolut, Lovable, Wayve, and Mistral. The initiative represents a step change, as Europe has the talent, capital, and experience to compete with the US and China in technology. tech.eu

Can we do it? Can the UK cut greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 90% in less than 15 years? Well, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has called for just that. He wants the UK to set a target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 87% by 2040. This proposed “carbon budget” – the seventh of its kind – would set out legally binding targets based on 1990 emission levels. While Miliband believes this would “protect family and business finances”, not everyone is on board with this (currently hypothetical) plan. The Conservatives pledged to scrap net-zero policies, calling the target “impossible”, while Reform is already making headway. The Suffolk County Council announced it plans to axe the authority’s climate emergency declaration and review all environmental projects. Either way, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) has recommended that Brits need to eat 25% less meat and 20% less dairy to help get the nation on track. Despite the fact that the UK is responsible for less than 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Will this mean the rise of foodtech and alternative products? Maybe it’s time to head on down to Subway for its new vegan sub.

From reimagining what we eat to rethinking how we live and work. Just look at tech journalist and author Joanna Stern, who spent a year “with the robots”. Stern turned herself into a “lab rat” last year and invited AI into “every corner” of her life – from answering texts to deciding what she ate to driving her around town to even becoming her lover. Perhaps not everyone’s ideal year of rest and relaxation, especially as much of Britain’s workforce is showing signs of AI fatigue. While 61% of workers feel overwhelmed by the rapid evolution of AI at work, nearly two-thirds of users say they occasionally choose not to use the tools available to them. That might be why the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has asked British businesses to share with its newly created AI Economics Institute how they use AI and its impact on their employees amid concerns about an impending jobpocalypse.

Whilst the weather may have cooled down, one thing that hasn’t is our red-hot list of upcoming events.

SuperReturn Venture
A leading gathering for LPs and GPs looking for new opportunities in a changing venture landscape
Discount: use code “FKR3646FIELD” for 10% off
When: 8-10 June
Where: Hotel Palace, Berlin

SuperReturn International
Where everyone who’s anyone in private markets meets
When: 8-12 June
Where: InterContinental Hotel, Berlin

London Tech Week
The premier destination for innovation, collaboration and growth in the tech industry
When: 8-12 June
Where: London

SuperReturn Tech Sovereignty
Network with investors and policy makers to shape technological sovereignty
Discount: use code “FKR3739FIELD“ for 10% off
When: 11 June
Where: Hotel Palace, Berlin

VivaTech
Europe’s largest startup and tech event, bringing together global innovators, investors, and leaders in Paris to shape the future of technology
When: 17-20 June
Where: Paris

Reset Connect
The UK’s leading sustainability and green investment event, accelerating net-zero and climate tech solutions
When: 23-24 June
Where: London

GCV Symposium
Europe’s leading corporate venturing and innovation event connecting global corporate investors, VCs, and startups to drive partnerships and deal flow
When: 23-24 June
Where: London

World Venture Forum 2026
The World Venture Forum brings together leading founders, investors, and innovators from across Europe and beyond to connect, collaborate, and shape the future of global business
Investor discount: use code “WVF26-FHA“ for 15% off
When: 6-11 July
Where: Kitzbühel, Austria

See you next week…

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