5 May 2025: EU woos US scientists to 'Choose Europe' as Heart Aerospace decides to relocate from Sweden to ... the US

Welcome to the bi-weekly “Inside European Deep Tech” newsletter, compiled by Robin Wauters, founder of boutique communications agency Profoundo, board member of the European Startup Network, and formerly founding editor and CEO of Tech.eu.

There are now 68,250+ subscribers of this newsletter, and I invite each and every one of you to provide feedback so I can upgrade it. 💪🏻

Periodic reminder that I'm always up for a chat about how to upscale your communication and media strategy, so do hit me up if you want to have a conversation.

Before we get to the content:

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Now, let’s get to it for newsletter issue #8; there's a lot to cover.

Must-reads

• 'Choose Europe for Science': France, EU look to attract US scientists to Europe. The European Union will propose a €500 million package to try and attract scientists to Europe.

• When ChatGPT Broke an Entire Field: An Oral History

• Europe is Second Best in Deep Tech and Willing to Trade

• European data centre operators face unprecedented demand signals following the announcement of a €200 billion AI investment programme that will require substantial compute capacity expansion across the continent.

• Under a new proposal, the European Innovation Council would fund dual-use technologies and defence would become the fourth priority of the 'STEP' programme

• China’s data protection rules prompt pause from major European research funders

• Winners and losers: what has changed in the 2025 Horizon Europe work programmes?

• Can this small European startup solve AGI?

• How France And Europe Are Mobilizing Defense Tech Startups

Insights: data, research, interviews and profiles

• Dealroom: Europe Tech Update – Q1 2025

• "Michiel Scheffer, EIC: Strategic autonomy, Northvolt lessons, and the Valley of Death" (YouTube interview)

• Stability could spell opportunity – it’s time for Europe to double down on Cleantech: check out Cleantech for Europe's latest Quarterly Briefing

• Spain’s Quantum Moment and the OECD Global Technology Forum

• "The story of European deep tech, with Robin Wauters (ex-Tech.eu, TNW, TechCrunch)". yes that's me. 🤓

• New report reveals Europe is leading the charge in plastic waste management

• Reflecting on Specialisation in Europe’s VC Landscape

• Bulgaria’s bold leap: From outsourcing hub to emerging deeptech contender

• The last EIC Accelerator cut-off of the year

Opinions worth reading

• European Innovation Council seeks to take advantage of geopolitical momentum

• Heart Aerospace’s US move shows Europe is ‘driving innovation away’

• Can Europe’s deep tech flywheel rival the U.S. for startup exits? Experts say yes – here’s how

• Europe needs to up its space game to fend off Musk, Russia and China

• 10 Truths No One Tells You About Building a Deep Tech Team

• "Europe’s defense tech VC moment is here, and it’s just getting started."

• ‘Resilience’ is the new VC buzzword. But what does it actually mean?

• Europe’s quantum tech companies need more users, say funding experts

• Enpal, 1Komma5, Zolar: Germany’s solar giants adapt to harsh market realities

Selected news items

• Heart Aerospace shutters Swedish HQ in permanent move to LA

• British AI startup Nscale seeks $2.7bn fundraise and courts TikTok owner ByteDance, reports say

• Satellite operator Eutelsat replaced CEO Eva Berneke with a telecommunications executive as Europe seeks to develop a homegrown alternative to Elon Musk’s Starlink

• Unmanned autonomous systems company TEKEVER has announced it will invest over £400 million in research, infrastructure, and defence technology development in the UK

• Xayn Secures €80M to build Europe’s privacy-first legal AI

• Student spinout First Momentum Ventures closes €35 million Fund II for deep tech startups

• ARX Robotics secures €31 million Series A funding to strengthen European defence autonomy

• "Berlin is taking it up a notch. The city has just launched a brand new Venture Capital Fund worth €10 million to support deep tech startups that are shaping the future in fields like digitalization, biotech, and energy & sustainability."

• HeavyFinance, a climate finance company focused on transitioning European farmers to regenerative agriculture, has rebranded as InSoil and launched a €50 million private credit fund to support projects with measurable climate impact

• French DeepTech Chipiron raises €14 million to “make MRIs as accessible as X-rays”

In other links

• Swiss startups lead the way in the new EU Digital Battery Pass framework

• Europe's AI cloud startups chase megarounds as Trump brings security fears into focus

• Poland installs its first superconducting quantum computer

• Rocsys launches the world’s first hands-free EV charging platform for autonomous mobility

• Giant radar ‘umbrella’ launches into space on mission to transform climate science

• "A funding boost for Europe's digital resilience!"

• EU invests €6 million in new power networks initiative

• Cambridge Tech Week 2025 to reinforce City’s reputation as Europe’s deep tech capital

• This French Startup Is Using Plasma to Create CO₂-Free Hydrogen from Methane​

Upcoming events in Europe for your calendar

• 7-8 May - Turing Fest - Edinburgh, Scotland 🏴

• 8-16 May - ViennaUP - Vienna, Austria 🇦🇹

• 12-14 May - Podim - Maribor, Slovenia 🇸🇮

• 12-16 May - Iceland Innovation Week - Reykjavík, Iceland 🇮🇸

• 13-15 May - Deep Tech Momentum - Berlin, Germany 🇩🇪

• 21-23 May - Latitude59 - Tallinn, Estonia 🇪🇪

• 28-29 May - Infoshare - Gdańsk, Poland 🇵🇱

• 28-29 May - Dublin Tech Summit - Dublin, Ireland 🇮🇪

The scrolled-all-the-way-down extras

• Thunderdome: 25 years of hardcore

• Project Ludicrous - Will nuclear energy power the AI boom?

• The Sex Lives Of Common Vegetables

• Geologists led by the University of Maryland and the University of Hawaii finally connected the dots between one of the largest volcanic eruptions in Earth's history and its source deep beneath the Pacific Ocean.

• Finland restricts use of mobile phones during school day

• A scientist is paid to study maple syrup. He’s also paid to promote it.

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