Dear hustlers, founders, operators and visionaries,

Jack Dorsey is funding a new Twitter-like social network allowing exclusively human-generated content, no AI. We wonder if humanity will have sufficient creativity left now that ChatGPT is doing the work for us. Maybe people got a chance to go back to the basics during last week’s Cloudfare outage. Time off the screens either feels like withdrawal or a gift. Follow the Gradient and stay tuned.

🫶🏼 Melanie & Christian

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Your talk track for this week’s cocktail party

Bezos is back in the game with new AI venture

Jeff Bezos has reportedly become co-CEO of Project Prometheus, a stealthy AI startup that’s raised $6.2bn and hired talent from OpenAI, DeepMind, and Meta. Co-led by ex-Google health exec Vik Bajaj, the company is targeting “AI for the physical economy” across aerospace, autos, and more.

UK’s Fuse Energy eyes $5bn valuation

UK startup Fuse Energy is reportedly closing a $100m raise at a $5bn valuation. The company claims $300m ARR and 200,000 households served, lured in by cheaper tariffs and EV charging perks. Lowercarbon Capital and Balderton are set to lead the round, betting big on Fuse’s rapid expansion into renewables and energy infrastructure.

Clark faces lawsuit over secret €30m loan deal

Investors are suing German insurtech Clark over a €30m convertible loan taken without shareholder approval. They suspect major backer Allianz of using the deal to engineer a takeover. If the court nullifies the loan, it could derail the share conversion and shake up Clark’s power structure.

What do you meme?

Food for thought

Atomico: Europe stands at crossroads

“Europe effectively stands at a crossroads. We don't lack talent or innovation - what Europe does lack is alignment between ambition and commitment.”
We loved Atomico’s latest State of European Tech 2025 Report - give it a read!

Action produces information

Is it about working 24/7, or being deliberate?

Taxfix CEO Martin Ott learned one important lesson from Mark Zuckerberg: it is not about the working hours you put in, but about being deliberate on them. With the ongoing debates about working culture in startupland, we found his views refreshing.

Some paths are closed, but which ones are open?

Gamma Founder Grant Lee shared this insightful piece about founding Gamma against all VC playbook odds. His takes are a good motivation for anyone doubting their choices or chances in life:
“Behind you, there's one path: the one you took. In front of you, paths are still branching. The past is a single point. The future isn’t. The lesson wasn't avoiding mistakes through better planning. It was understanding that closed paths are useful information.”

Events happening this week

We constantly update this quarter’s must-attend events for startups in Europe list.

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Smart hack

From our Partners

1-1 Tactic Teardown Sessions From Senior Growth Team

First come, first served! Bring your goals and numbers. Our senior growth team will review them with you in a private session, highlight the highest-impact moves, and send you a simple plan to execute.

Limited spots available.

Secure your spot →

From us

Strategy reviews can fell misplaced in startupland, when you are building a plane while flying mid-air. Yet, you have to make sure you are not running fast into the wrong direction. Marc Snuikas provides this template to execute a review in Q4 - run through these points:

• Action: Are our actions really aligned with our strategy?

• Results: Are we seeing the impact we wanted to see?

• Insights: Which assumptions have held true, and which no longer do?

• Spirit: What’s the mood around the strategy? Are people still convinced this is the best path?

Ask two questions for each: ✔️ What’s working well? ❌ What’s not working well?

One good read

Who’s driving your car?

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

Working student – Strategy & Business Development [📍Munich], AI, deepset [Apply]
Werkstudent B2B Marketing / Demand Generation [📍Frankfurt], Digitization Platform, Operations1 [Apply]

Customer Success

Enablement Program Manager [📍Remote, Berlin], API platform, Spryker [Apply]
Customer Success Manager [📍Berlin], Construction SaaS, Cosuno [Apply]
Senior Customer Success Manager [📍Remote, Europe], Fintech, Enfuce [Apply]

Marketing & Comms

Senior Product Marketing Manager [📍Geneva], Mail, Proton [Apply]

Sales

Founding Head of Sales [📍Remote, Germany], Appointment Booking Software, Booksy [Apply]

Product & Tech

Product Manager [📍Berlin], Fintech, Scalable Capital [Apply]
Senior Product Manager [📍London] Data, Ledgy [Apply, Hiring manager]
Research Engineer [📍Zurich], Fashion & AI, Vestir AI [Apply, Hiring manager]

Final words — take what you need

Stay connected and spread the word! If you found this newsletter insightful, why not share it with your network? Thanks for reading, and we look forward to bringing you even more insights in the next edition!