Dear hustlers, founders, operators and visionaries,

With Telegram’s billionaire founder Pavel Durov arrested in Paris, the debate over free speech vs. crime moderation on messaging apps is heating up. Telegram, with over 900m monthly users and a small team of just 50, is under investigation by French law enforcement for not curbing criminal activity on its platform. Unlike WhatsApp, Telegram’s chats are not end-to-end encrypted, allowing them to respond to law enforcement—but they choose not to. This arrest could spark a major showdown between safety advocates and free speech absolutists. For a deep dive into Telegram’s founding story, we recommend this read. Follow the Gradient and stay tuned.

PS: Has this e-mail been forwarded to you? Sign up here.

Your talk track for this week’s cocktail party

Get ready for drama: Bolt’s unusual term sheet

What a mess! Bolt, the US e-commerce software provider, had its term sheet leaked, sparking controversy. They're aiming for a $14bn valuation but are pushing existing investors to invest additional cash or risk being bought out for just $0.01 a share. In a twist, despite the legal drama surrounding former CEO Ryan Breslow—who's under SEC investigation for allegedly misleading investors—Bolt is trying to bring him back with a $1m signing bonus. Venture life never gets boring. 🍿

A shining European star: Silo AI gets acquired for $665m

AMD, Nvidia's rival, has just snapped up Finnish AI firm Silo AI in an all-cash deal—congrats to the founders! With this acquisition, AMD aims to build out its enterprise-grade AI solutions offering by integrating Silo AI’s expertise in multi-language LLMs into its AI group. While this is a win for global competition against Nvidia, it raises concerns about the health of European’s AI scene: Silo AI offered independent European AI expertise - an increasingly rare treat on the continent.

Ikea takes on eBay

The furniture giant IKEA is launching "Ikea Preowned," an online platform where customers can buy and sell used Ikea products directly. Starting in Madrid and Oslo, this move expands Ikea’s buy-back schemes into a full-fledged peer-to-peer marketplace. Great for the circular economy—bad news for eBay? Stay tuned!

What do you meme?

also 90% of the AI companies:

Food for thought

The moral dilemma when selling to authoritarian regimes

Swedish electric boat startup Candela signed a significant €20m deal with Saudi Arabia’s Neom project, its largest order yet. Neom’s controversial human rights record raises ethical concerns for the deal. Despite these issues, Candela’s founder, Gustav Hasselskog, argues that all countries - regardless of their political background - must transition to fossil-free transportation. As more startups engage with Neom, the moral question looms: Where do you draw the line between business success and ethical responsibility?

What’s your definition of success?

Grocery chain Lidl: discount store or tech player? 

There are many things you can get at Lidl — rarely would you think of Enterprise tech services. Yet, Lidl's digital unit, Schwarz Digits, offers cloud and cybersecurity solutions. After acquiring Israeli cybersecurity startup XM Cyber for $700m in 2021, the unit brought in €1.9bn last year, serving clients like SAP and the port of Hamburg. It’s a rare but powerful example of European tech innovation and how a focus on privacy can be a strategic edge against US tech giants.

Mark your calendar

Online

SiftedTalks: Sorting your stock: Global strategies for employee equity, 28. August [Register here]

Germany

Startup OpenAir in Bonn, 29. August [Program]

Did we miss an important event? Let us know by replying to this email.

Do you like what we do at Follow the Gradient? Help us grow this community and share a like and add a comment to our LinkedIn post that just went live:

Smart advice

In this brilliant piece “Why your startup needs a patent strategy” three experts—a top lawyer, a savvy marketer, and a tech pro—break down what a patent strategy is, why you need one and how to craft one.

Don’t delay and read it now: If you wait too long, you could lose critical rights to your inventions.

One good read

Corporate marketing or thought provoking ideas? Decide for yourself:

Open Source AI is the Path Forward

Join the entrepreneurial journey

Are you ready to take your first steps into the startup ecosystem or seeking an exciting new opportunity? Below is a curated list of startup job openings across Europe for you to explore.

Internships

Werkstudent im Rechnungswesen [📍Berlin], Circular Economy, Clearago [Apply]
Entrepreneur in Residence [📍Zurich], B2C Healthtech, Zario [Apply]
Operations Associate [📍Zurich], Battery Technology, 8inks [Apply, Hiring Manager]

Customer Success

GTM Onboarding Specialist [📍Remote], Fintech, Simetrik [Apply]
Technical Account Manager [📍Remote, Germany], Cybersecurity, Wiz [Apply]

HR & Ops

Talent Acquisition Manager [📍Remote], Energy trading platform, enmacc [Apply]
Chief of Staff [📍Remote], AI, .txt [Apply, Hiring manager]
Operations Lead [📍Berlin], Electric Mobility, Upway [Apply]

Marketing

Marketing Manager - DACH [📍Dublin], SaaS, Notion [Apply]
Product Marketing - Enablement Specialist [📍Stockholm], AI, SuperAnnotate [Apply]
Product Marketing Manager [📍London], HR Tech, Workable  [Apply]

Product & Strategy

Vice President, Product [📍Remote], Document and Signature Management, PandaDoc [Apply]

Sales

Sales Team Lead [📍Munich], Supply Chain Management, Tacto [Apply]
Outbound Sales Manager [📍Remote, EU], Fintech, Finom [Apply]

Talk to you next week! In the meantime, we see you on LinkedIn, X, Insta and YouTube!

🫶 Melanie & Christian

Each week, a lot of work goes into the Follow the Gradient project to help you navigate this crazy jungle called entrepreneurship. Help us grow this community and we’ll make sure that you or your project gets a shoutout in the weekly newsletter!