At the 2025 RAISE Summit—Europe’s flagship gathering of AI investors, founders, and operators—one message rang clear: the AI revolution is still in its early innings, but moving faster than ever.
With conversations spanning biotech breakthroughs, content disruption, regulatory dilemmas, and startup momentum, the event offered a sharp lens into how Europe might seize the AI moment—or risk falling behind.
The AI Growth Curve: Not a Bubble—Yet
“We’re not in 2000—we’re in 1994 or 2003,” said Denis Barrier, CEO and Co-Founder at global venture capital firm Cathay Innovation, likening today’s AI moment to the early internet era.
The current period marks the start of a new technological cycle overlapping with the end of the mobile and cloud era. Understanding this helps frame AI’s current growth as a sustainable foundation for long-term innovation, rather than a fleeting hype.
Speed And Execution
However, the pace of technological advancement means that opportunities can emerge and vanish faster than ever.
“Speed and execution have become one of the most important metrics for AI companies” explains Meagan Loyst, Founder and CEO of Gen Z VCs, a global collective of more than 21,000 young investors, founders, students, operators and change-makers.
Europe’s AI Ecosystem: Talent, Momentum, and Risk
Rick Schneider, CEO of Helical, a promising Luxembourg health tech start-up, came away from the RAISE Summit energised by the drive of Europe’s AI ecosystem.
“It was amazing to see some major AI players like Cohere and Anthropic in Europe,” he said, “but the real energy came from the European founders. The momentum is real; world-class talent and strong ambition.”
Schneider believes Europe has a genuine shot at global AI leadership, but warned, “We all need to pull in the same direction. That means doubling down on support for startups, being bold, and making sure regulation doesn’t outpace innovation.”
He even called for the EU to pause the AI Act for 1–2 years “until we understand the technology better and see how the market plays out. Otherwise, we’ll lose the race.”
Biotech: A Surprise Standout
From Helical’s vantage point, Schneider was also struck by how much interest there was in biotech AI, even at a broadly focused event like RAISE.
“It was great to see how much traction AI for biotech is gaining,” he said. “We see it firsthand: Helix, our RNA foundation model for designing new vaccines trained with our partner LuxProvide, just passed 50,000 downloads. There’s a new generation of builders entering this space, and the momentum is only growing.”
Content in the AI Age: Why Live Sports Matter More Than Ever
“AI will make content a commodity. Everyone will be able to produce content for literally nothing,” explained Victorien Tixier, CEO of media management platform ScorePlay, highlighting a major shift in how media is created and consumed.
Speaking alongside him, Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit and General Partner at SevenSevenSix, pointed to live sports as a rare exception. “The only content that won’t be affected by AI is live, and that’s why I invest so much in sports,” he said.
As AI transforms workflows and automates production, the unique, unrepeatable nature of live experiences becomes even more valuable. The future of content, they argued, will depend on blending AI-powered efficiency with centralised media systems and authentic storytelling that transcends traditional formats.
Europe’s AI Moment
The conversations at RAISE 2025 underscored that AI is still in a formative stage, but advancing rapidly. Implications will be massive across sectors, and understanding how to play the AI game will separate winners from losers.
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