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In this episode, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi discuss the most exciting developments in the European venture capital ecosystem:
MYNERVA wins the Diamond Award at the 10th MassChallenge Switzerland Awards, McKinsey highlights a historic $1 trillion deep-tech opportunity for Europe, and ENSOY announces the shutdown of its production at the end of November.

In the main segment, Max and Guy wrap up their four-part mini-series on the Upscaler Program. This final episode focuses on the typical growth brakes that slow down scale-ups between 10 and 50 employees — from structures and processes to leadership challenges and external bottlenecks.

They also...

n this episode, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi dive into the latest developments in the European venture capital ecosystem:
- GetYourGuide reaches profitability for the first time with nearly €1 billion in annual revenue.
- Europe’s VCs are deploying capital twice as fast as they’re raising new funds.
- Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Sequoia Capital are launching new mega-funds totaling over $11 billion.

In the deep dive, we discuss how much follow-on reserve VC funds really need — strategic discipline or costly reflex?
Our listener question explores how much capital startups typically raise before reaching unicorn status.

Deals of the...

Burn Rate – Episode 68: Venture Partners, Angels, and AI-Science Startups

Welcome to the latest edition of the Burn Rate Newsletter. We summarize the key topics from our current podcast episode – including the news of the week, the deep-dive topic, listener question, and transactions of the week. If you find our work valuable, feel free to share this newsletter within your network.

News of the Week
EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2025: Two Swiss deep-tech founders took home top honors – Luc Burnier (nu glass) and Martin Fengler (Meteomatics) exemplify how Swiss research turns into global innovation.
Amazon x...

In the new episode of Burn Rate – The VC Insider Podcast, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi discuss the latest news from the startup and VC ecosystem:

Exploris Health x Roche – The Basel-based digital health startup is expanding globally with its AI-powered solution for early detection of coronary heart disease, partnering with Roche as a global distributor.

YC Arena: Think Like a Partner – A Berlin student has created an online game that shows how tough YC’s selection process really is – and why clarity often beats vision.

OpenAI’s Ownership Shake-up – Following major deals with Nvidia and AMD,...

Burn Rate – Deal of the Month: Lakera, Auterion & Deskbird

In this episode, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi take a deep dive into the most exciting developments in Switzerland’s startup and VC ecosystem for September 2025. After a Market Snapshot reviewing all funding rounds, volumes, and exits, they explore three standout transactions in detail:

– the USD 300 million exit of Lakera.AI to Check Point Software Technologies,
– the USD 130 million Series B of Auterion, the ETH spin-off building autonomous drone systems,
– and the USD 23 million Series B of Deskbird, a fast-scaling SaaS company redefining hybrid...

In this episode, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi discuss some of the week’s most exciting news: the planned IPO of TravelPerk (which acquired Swiss startup Yokoy), the employee share buyback at Checkout.com, and the sentencing of Charlie Javice in the U.S.
Our deep dive focuses on continuation funds – with special guest Oliver Holle, founder and managing partner of Speedinvest. We explore why this fund structure is gaining traction in Europe, the opportunities it creates, and the risks involved. We also tackle a listener question on startup CEO compensation and wrap up with a roundup of the week’s most important...

In the new episode of Burn Rate, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi break down the most important developments in the startup and VC ecosystem from the past week. Highlights include MoveAgain’s acquisition of MOVU, Teylor’s M&A push in fintech, the launch of the first cohort of the HSG START Accelerator, and Nvidia’s planned $100 billion investment in OpenAI.

For the deep dive, we’re joined by Michael Sauter — entrepreneur, ETH spin-off founder, and author of Product-Market Fit – How to Build a Business That Scales. Together we explore why PMF isn’t a simple switch you flip but a journey —...

In this episode, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi discuss three major stories in the startup and VC ecosystem: the USD 300m exit of Lakera to Check Point, the Swiss National Bank emerging as a silent tech giant, and OpenAI’s updated financial plan with more than USD 115bn in spending through 2029.

The deep dive explores how artificial intelligence is rewriting the startup playbook – inspired by Andrew Chen’s widely discussed essay. The hosts debate new team structures, the difference between AI wrappers and true innovation, and why differentiation has never been more critical.

They also tackle the listener question of...

In this episode, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi take a closer look at the Swiss VC ecosystem in August 2025: Which funding rounds and volumes shaped the month – and how does Switzerland compare on the international stage?

The deep dive highlights three key transactions:
- the CHF 180M exit of Daedalean to Destinus,
- the USD 24M Series B of Loft Dynamics,
- and the USD 3.4M seed round of Scanvio.

Max and Guy discuss the companies, their funding history, and the investors involved. They also share their insights on the numbers behind the rounds, along with insider knowledge...

In this episode, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi cover the week’s news, including the launch of Apertus, Switzerland’s new open-source LLM, Voliro’s acquisition of Sixpec’s intellectual property, and Enerdrape’s flagship U.S. projects.

For the deep dive, they sit down with Michi Baier to unpack the ins and outs of term sheets and how deal terms have evolved in recent years.

In the listener question, they discuss the KPI Net Retention Rate (NRR) — a metric increasingly scrutinized by investors, especially in AI startups.

Finally, they wrap up with a quick review of the latest Swiss startup transactions.