logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2024
1h 12m

20VC: The Future of War: Are We Ready & ...

Harry Stebbings
About this episode

Torsten Reil is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Helsing, a new type of defence company providing artificial intelligence to protect our democracies. Torsten has raised over $825M from the likes of Prima Materia, Elad Gil, Accel and General Catalyst. Previously Torsten founded NaturalMotion, one of the UK's most successful games and technology start-ups. Torsten was named as one of MIT's Top 100 Innovators and is a member of the Munich Security Conference Innovation Board.

In Today’s Episode with Torsten Reil We Discuss:

1. The World Around Us: China, Russia and Trump:

  • What will happen between China and Taiwan?

  • What will happen between Russia and Ukraine?

  • How will a Trump administration impact the US’ commitment to fund European defence?

  • What conflict do people not pay enough attention to in the world today?

2. Are We Ready and What Needs to Be Done:

  • Are the west ready to fight against our adversaries as we stand today?

  • What do we need to do to equip ourselves? 

  • What needs to change in our defence budgets? Where do they need to go?

  • How does the procurement process for defence need to change?

3. The Future of War: 

  • Why does Torsten believe the future of war is contactless?

  • In the next wave of defence, what are the most important elements for allies to own? What elements concern Torsten the most?

  • What role does AI and autonomous play in the future of war?

4. Is Europe F********:

  • Why does Torsten believe that Europe’s biggest problem is ambition not capital?

  • Why does Torsten believ that we put too much weight on the location in which companies are founded? Why does it not matter?

  • How does Torsten respond to the statement that we do not have the depth of experienced talent in Europe to recruit?

 

Up next
Today
20VC: OpenAI's Multi $BN Deal with AMD | Polymarket, Vercel and Supabase Raise Mega Rounds | Does King Making Really Work in Venture Capital: Harvey vs Legora | Chamath is Back: The SPAC is Back
AGENDA: 03:29 OpenAI and AMD's Major Partnership 07:35 Microsoft Have F***** Up the OpenAI Partnership 17:08 OpenAI's Developer Day Announcements 20:45 Why VC is the Most Forgiving Asset Class on Price and Valuation 29:10 What Does it Take to IPO in 2025: Why Snyk Will Not IPO 42 ... Show More
1h 24m
Oct 6
20VC: Cerebras CEO on Why Raise $1BN and Delay the IPO | NVIDIA Showing Signs They Are Worried About Growth | Concentration of Value in Mag7: Will the AI Train Come to a Halt | Can the US Supply the Energy for AI with Andrew Feldman
Andrew Feldman is Co-Founder & CEO of Cerebras, building the world's fastest AI inference and training. Cerebras recently closed a $1.1BN Series G round at an $8.1 billion valuation, backed by top names including Fidelity, Atreides, Tiger Global, Valor Equity and 1789 Capital. Un ... Show More
1h 4m
Oct 3
20Growth: How to Use Influencers to Scale Growth Insanely Fast | How to Optimise User Onboaring for Growth | How the Best Growth Teams Create Organic Growth and Community | Why LTV/CAC Models are BS with Ketty Slonimsky
Ketty Slonimsky is Chief Growth Officer at Palta, the platform behind apps like Flo (the #1 female health app with 77M+ MAU), Simple, and Zing AI, where she leads a centralized growth function across the portfolio. She was previously first VP Product & Growth at HeliosX (£900M+ A ... Show More
1 h
Recommended Episodes
May 2025
Future weapons: Rearming Europe
For European leaders, the war in Ukraine has strained relations with the US and prompted major questions about how the continent will defend itself in the future. Governments are boosting defence spending and defence tech companies' valuations have risen, particularly after the e ... Show More
27m 11s
Jun 2025
What’s really behind Europe’s 5% defense push
As NATO leaders prepare to endorse a dramatic defense spending hike, Europe faces a reckoning: Where will the money come from — and will new tanks mean cuts to pensions? Host Sarah Wheaton speaks with Michelle Haas, a defense analyst at Ghent University and an associate fellow at ... Show More
44m 53s
Oct 2024
Britain and Germany have a new defence pact. What will it mean for the Ukraine war?
The U.K. and Germany have signed a defense deal to bolster NATO and European security. But will it do anything to meet their immediate needs and alter the course of the war in Ukraine? Host Anne McElvoy talks to John Healey, the U.K. Defence Secretary — one of the most senior job ... Show More
23m 27s
Jul 21
Can Europe afford to rearm itself? With Jeromin Zettelmeyer
European countries have committed to higher defence spending to face down Russian aggression. But preparing for war isn’t cheap – and in many countries, budgets are already stretched. How will European members of Nato hit their defence targets, a hefty 5% of GDP? Will EU states l ... Show More
27m 11s
Nov 2024
The long game: how will US missiles help Ukraine?
America feared that letting Ukraine use US weapons to attack far-off targets in Russia would escalate the conflict. Why has President Joe Biden finally changed his mind? Markets soared when Donald Trump was elected, but the longer-term impact of Trumponomics may be less positive ... Show More
24m 45s
Apr 2023
Technology, Defense, and American-Chinese Competition
Chris, Zack, and Melanie sit down to talk about a new article by Eric Schmidt on whether the United States can win an innovation race with China. Where is the United States ahead and where is it behind in the tech competition? How should the U.S. government work with private ente ... Show More
59m 1s
Mar 2025
Conversation peace: can Europe bargain with Russia?
European leaders met in London this weekend after Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky’s public row shattered hopes for a US-led truce in Ukraine. What did the summit achieve? Our correspondent visits Mexico’s border to find out if strengthened force will stem the flow of fentanyl ... Show More
24m 45s
Feb 2025
Ode to dread: Europe after Trump
This week European leaders have lined up to charm Donald Trump. But the broad smiles belie a bigger fear: what would it mean for the continent’s security if America forsakes its security guarantees? What the pull-out of French forces will mean for Africa (10:56). And the Maha Kum ... Show More
24m 2s
Apr 2025
Breaking Beijing: Military Competition with Tony Stark
Does America still have what it takes to stand up to China? Does short-term military readiness trade off with long-term strategy? What does the US need to do today to stay competitive for the rest of the century? “Tony Stark” is the author of Breaking Beijing, a Substack examinin ... Show More
1h 2m
Sep 3
Sino-the-times: China gathers global allies
World leaders flocked to China this week for an international summit followed by a giant military parade commemorating the end of the second world war. Xi Jinping is capitalising on the chaos of Donald Trump’s second term. AI is helping fraudsters and hackers become more producti ... Show More
21m 17s