Techleap: helping Dutch entrepreneurs

Netherlands' AI strategy (apps > energy)

Holland's emerging AI stars

World models as an alternative to LLMs

Europe's China challenge

Europe "needs a sense of urgency"

 Is "AI Sovereignty" a useful framing?

Europe's leadership culture gap

Europe needs to build scale

Hope remains: what Europe can do

Building on ecosystem strength

Governance perspective

European corporates need to step up

European actions 

Europe needs financial middlemen

Prince Constantijn van Oranje-Nassau is one of Europe’s clearest voices on tech sovereignty, startup scaling and industrial AI. His argument is blunt: Europe is not doomed in AI. But it is moving too slowly, thinking too nationally, and not investing enough capital required to compete.

Europe should not focus on LLMs. The LLM race is crowded, expensive and dominated by the US and China. The better opportunity lies in industrial AI, world models, semiconductors, edge compute, quantum, robotics, energy, manufacturing data and deep tech.

AI sovereignty is really about vulnerability. Europe has ceded too much control over cloud, compute, manufacturing, batteries, raw materials and digital infrastructure. If access to models, chips or critical components can be weaponised, Europe needs alternatives and leverage.

Europe is optimised for society; China for speed; America for innovation. Europe’s rule of law, freedoms and social systems are strengths, but they do not automatically create velocity. Without urgency, Europe risks becoming “the museum of the world”. Meanwhile, Europe's automotive industry is  "a very fat canary".

Fragmentation is Europe’s tax on ambition. Founders face different rules, capital pools, clients and talent systems across 27 jurisdictions. EU Inc (the plan for a single trans- EU corporate listing), capital markets union and larger scale-up funds matter because European companies need to think global from day one.

Startups cannot do the heavy lifting alone. Founders need corporate customers, procurement, infrastructure, energy, compute, capital and permission to move fast. Large European companies need to treat startups as core to innovation, not as side experiments.

The optimistic case is still real. The continent has talent, capital, universities, industrial strength, rule of law and deep technical clusters. If it can mobilise those assets with urgency, it can still build a distinctive model of AI strength. But time is running out - "we need to be much more aggressive."

Constantijn's message is clear: Europe has to choose to compete — and it must then accept the sacrifices necessary to do so with urgency, capital and industrial muscle. If not, it risks irrelevancy. "What are we willing to give up.... to get back in control?"

Note: this was recorded as part of a live remote webinar at INSEAD and not in the studio so there are occasional audio imperfections. 

Prince Constantijn van Oranje-Nassau is one of Europe&rsquo;s clearest voices on tech sovereignty, startup scaling and industrial AI. His argument is blunt: Europe is not doomed in AI. But it is moving too slowly, thinking too nationally, and not investing enough capital required to compete.
Europe should not focus on LLMs. The LLM race is crowded, expensive and dominated by the US and China. The better opportunity lies in industrial AI, world models, semiconductors, edge compute, quantum, robotics, energy, manufacturing data and deep tech.
AI sovereignty is really about vulnerability. Europe has ceded too much control over cloud, compute, manufacturing, batteries, raw materials and digital infrastructure. If access to models, chips or critical components can be weaponised, Europe needs alternatives and leverage.
Europe is optimised for society; China for speed; America for innovation. Europe&rsquo;s rule of law, freedoms and social systems are strengths, but they do not automatically create velocity. Without urgency, Europe risks becoming &ldquo;the museum of the world&rdquo;. Meanwhile, Europe's automotive industry is &nbsp;"a very fat canary".
Fragmentation is Europe&rsquo;s tax on ambition. Founders face different rules, capital pools, clients and talent systems across 27 jurisdictions. EU Inc (the plan for a single trans- EU corporate listing), capital markets union and larger scale-up funds matter because European companies need to think global from day one.
Startups cannot do the heavy lifting alone. Founders need corporate customers, procurement, infrastructure, energy, compute, capital and permission to move fast. Large European companies need to treat startups as core to innovation, not as side experiments.
The optimistic case is still real. The continent has talent, capital, universities, industrial strength, rule of law and deep technical clusters. If it can mobilise those assets with urgency, it can still build a distinctive model of AI strength. But time is running out - "we need to be much more aggressive."
Constantijn's message is clear: Europe has to choose to compete &mdash; and it must then accept the sacrifices necessary to do so with urgency, capital and industrial muscle. If not, it risks irrelevancy. "What are we willing to give up.... to get back in control?"
Note: this was recorded as part of a live remote webinar at INSEAD and not in the studio so there are occasional audio imperfections.&nbsp;

AI changes everything it touches. For better and for worse. And AI is increasingly touching everything. The Age of Intelligence, recorded from INSEAD, brings together the voices of this new era.

AI is rebalancing the world. Power is shifting — among nations, corporations, and individuals — as trillions in value are created and redistributed. AI is increasingly central to economic and business strategy, geopolitical influence, and the shaping of culture, ideology, and values.

Listen to those leading the change—from academics exploring the boundaries, to entrepreneurs building the future, business leaders reshaping markets, policy-makers tackling the implications, and analysts marvelling at it.

Who will gain most in this unfolding era? What can executives, policymakers, parents, and citizens do to protect and shape their future? How will values and beliefs evolve as education and media are revolutionized? What does this mean for national security, business survival, personal agency – indeed what will it mean to be human?

Guiding you through this conversation are Theos and Tim. Theos Evgeniou is a leading AI academic at INSEAD, entrepreneur, and advisor. Tim Gordon, co-founder at Best Practice AI, is an entrepreneur, adviser and recovering political organiser. They have worked with some of the world’s most sophisticated companies, organisations and governments as they grapple with these questions.

Each episode features a thought-provoking conversation with a remarkable guest – followed by a rapid-fire, high-energy debrief.

We’ll reflect on what it might mean – for you, for your business, and for our world. Grounded in the realities but exploring the opportunities.

Whether you’re building, investing in, or simply trying to make sense of AI and what it may mean for you, this podcast is your backstage pass to the diverse people and ideas driving the most transformative force of our time.

Subscribe now or push the “like” button

AI changes everything it touches. For better and for worse. And AI is increasingly touching everything. The Age of Intelligence, recorded from INSEAD, brings together the voices of this new era.
AI is rebalancing the world. Power is shifting &mdash; among nations, corporations, and individuals &mdash; as trillions in value are created and redistributed. AI is increasingly central to economic and business strategy, geopolitical influence, and the shaping of culture, ideology, and values.
Listen to those leading the change&mdash;from academics exploring the boundaries, to entrepreneurs building the future, business leaders reshaping markets, policy-makers tackling the implications, and analysts marvelling at it.
Who will gain most in this unfolding era? What can executives, policymakers, parents, and citizens do to protect and shape their future? How will values and beliefs evolve as education and media are revolutionized? What does this mean for national security, business survival, personal agency &ndash; indeed what will it mean to be human?
Guiding you through this conversation are Theos and Tim. Theos Evgeniou is a leading AI academic at INSEAD, entrepreneur, and advisor. Tim Gordon, co-founder at Best Practice AI, is an entrepreneur, adviser and recovering political organiser. They have worked with some of the world&rsquo;s most sophisticated companies, organisations and governments as they grapple with these questions.
Each episode features a thought-provoking conversation with a remarkable guest &ndash; followed by a rapid-fire, high-energy debrief.
We&rsquo;ll reflect on what it might mean &ndash; for you, for your business, and for our world. Grounded in the realities but exploring the opportunities.
Whether you&rsquo;re building, investing in, or simply trying to make sense of AI and what it may mean for you, this podcast is your backstage pass to the diverse people and ideas driving the most transformative force of our time.
Subscribe now or push the &ldquo;like&rdquo; button

The Age Of Intelligence

Constantijn van Orange-Nassau: Europe’s AI Opportunity