Dear hustlers, founders, operators and visionaries,

Some things are just too crazy to be true - yet they are. Cloud security startup Wiz is reportedly in talks to be acquired by Google’s parent Alphabet, for $23 billion. Now get this, Wiz was founded just four years ago. Looks like some folks will be popping champagne soon. Follow the Gradient and stay tuned.

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Your talk track for this week’s cocktail party

 The 500 million myth of Aleph Alpha

Celebrated as Europe's answer to OpenAI, AI startup Aleph Alpha announced a $500 million funding in late 2023. Now, internal documents reveal they raised “just” over $100 million. The exaggerated claims, partly padded with research grants and non-equity commitments, have ramped up pressure on the startup. With disappointing financials and user dissatisfaction with their AI model Luminous, Aleph Alpha is struggling to meet its ambitious targets and keep pace with the likes of Mistral and OpenAI.

Mid-year deal snapshot: we’re (kind of) back again

Dealmaking began slowly in 2024, but by mid-year, European startups had raised €27.8bn across 2,804 deals - 8% less than late 2023 but 16% higher than early 2023, per Sifted. Climate tech led the pack, securing €7.7bn, with electric vehicle companies taking the biggest slice, followed by energy storage and hydrogen startups. B2B SaaS companies topped the deal count.

Apple’s Vision Pro: underdelivering and underachieving?

When Apple Vision Pro was released, it was celebrated as a breakthrough in the Metaverse and Spatial Computing. However, its long-term success depends on a strong app ecosystem, and here it's falling short. While the iPhone had over 10,000 apps and the iPad 20,000 in their first year, Vision Pro has only around 2,000 in development. This is far below Apple's high expectations for the product.

A world of memes

Food for thought

”People do not take enough risk”

In an older interview now making waves (again) on social media, Sam Altman argues that (especially young) people do not take enough risk. As he puts it, you “do not want to spend your life regretting you have not done something you should’ve done”.
This sparked controversy: is this advice to push and pursue your dreams - or the talk-track of a billionaire detached from reality? Let us know your take!

GenAI and the $600bn gap - the ultimate bubble?

Despite heavy investments in Gen AI, two MIT and Goldman Sachs experts argue these technologies won't justify their $1 trillion forecasted capital expenditures. They assert AI “technology isn't designed to solve complex, costly problems”. Sequoia Partner David Cahn echoes this in a recent video and analysis piece, highlighting a growing gap between AI's earnings potential and investment levels. What is your take? Are we in the middle of a bubble, or will this innovation simply take longer than expected to pay off?

First-time founders push date nights to work

Mark your calendar

Germany

WeAreDevelopers, 17-19 June, Berlin [Program]

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Award alert: Are you a scaleup and eager to get some more international press exposure? France Digitale and their partners launch the second edition of Leading European Tech Scaleups, the ultimate map of innovative European companies making more than 10 million EUR in global annual turnover across borders. [Apply now]

Smart hack

Your ads are a waste of money if the landing page sucks. Luckily there are people like Neal O’Grady who have put together a check-list and a template for the perfect landing page:

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Join the entrepreneurial journey

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

Internships

Legal Engineer Praktikum [📍Hybrid, Zurich], B2B SaaS (LegalTech), Ailegis [Apply]
Intern in Financial Planning & Analysis [📍Zurich], ClimateTech, Climeworks [Apply]
Intern in Corporate Finance [📍Zurich], ClimateTech, Climeworks [Apply]

Customer Success

Carrier Channel Account Manager [📍Munich], Cloud Security, Lookout [Apply]
Customer Engagement Manager [📍Remote, EU], B2B SaaS (Gen AI), Pactum [Apply]

HR & Ops

Director of Operations [📍Remote, Berlin], Investment API, Upvest [Apply]
IT Student (Part-Time) [📍Remote, Hamburg], B2B SaaS (Debt Collection), Receeve [Apply]

Marketing

Social Media Manager [📍Zurich], Accelerators, VentureLab [Apply]
Affiliate Marketing Manager [📍Hybrid, Munich], Online Car Platform, Carwow [Apply]
Brand Partnerships Manager [📍Hybrid, Munich], Online Events Platform, Fever [Apply]
CRM Marketing Manager [📍Berlin, Cologne], Medical Learning Platform, Amboss [Apply]

Product & Strategy

Senior Product Manager [📍Remote, Germany], B2B SaaS (Fintech), Xentral [Apply]

Sales

Partner Manager [📍Winterthur], Startup Association, Entrepreneur Club Winterthur [Apply]
Senior Sales Manager [📍Hybrid, Amsterdam], Web3, Fiat Republic [Apply]
Head of Strategic Accounts [📍Remote, EU], SaaS (Infrastructure), Enode [Apply]

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

🫶 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!