Eric Jurgensen Geraci

We are incredibly excited to announce our investment in FirstQFM AB, and the brilliant Visweswaran Vish R and Isaiah Hull. FirstQFM develops machine learning foundation models that make quantum computers more reliable, scalable, and commercially useful. This €1.2M investment will accelerate FirstQFM’s work with leading quantum hardware developers to bring practical quantum computing closer to reality, and accelerate the shift from today’s noisy, intermediate-scale quantum systems to fault-tolerant quantum computers capable of solving commercial problems. The round is being led by BSV Ventures, alongside us, Further Than Capital and Almi Invest. After following their journey for over a year and finally getting the chance to invest, we can't wait to get to work! https://lnkd.in/dwrbbe4T

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Norway is writing Europe’s AI playbook and moving quickly to ensure AI’s benefits reach more of its people. It has invested hundreds of millions in six new research centers, installed the country’s most powerful supercomputer, and rolled out  AI training programs. That makes it the ideal home for Stargate Norway, our first Stargate site in Europe. The project — which we’re undertaking with Nscale and Aker ASA — will build an AI data center delivering 230MW of compute capacity, with ambitions to add 290MW more. This will be one of the most significant AI infrastructure investments in Europe and help Norway lead in the Intelligence Age. As our CEO Sam Altman puts it, the site will “help provide the compute power to drive the next wave of AI breakthroughs and economic progress for Europe, in Europe.” It’s also the first European site in our OpenAI for Countries initiative, which helps nations secure access to AI infrastructure and tools while building out local capabilities, talent, and research partnerships. The project will help advance the broader effort to build democratic AI rails that ensure AI’s gains are widely-shared and aligned with the values of open societies. Stargate Norway comes on the heels of US Stargate passing the 50-yard line for our goal of  securing access to approximately 10GW of data center capacity by 2030. Last week, we announced an agreement with Oracle to move forward on new sites that – combined with the existing Abilene project – will provide over 5GW of new capacity. We’re excited that the first data centers in Abilene are online ahead of our release of GPT 5. Electrons and democratic AI go hand-in-hand. Infrastructure is destiny, and Norway is cementing its leadership in AI by pairing its surplus hydropower with the expertise of European companies like Nscale and Aker. This will expand Norway’s compute capacity to meet its growing demand for AI. Weekly ChatGPT usage here has quadrupled in the past year, with most users under age 35 – proof that AI is becoming an everyday tool for learning, building, and creating. Stargate Norway will keep up that momentum. It’s designed to give developers, researchers, and public institutions access to cutting‑edge compute powered by clean energy and built on democratic values. It also adds to Europe’s broader vibe shift on AI. The EU just released its Code of Practice — a framework for companies to develop and release AI responsibly — and we were the first US lab to announce plans to sign on. The UK has partnered with us to put advanced models to work for public services, research, and local innovators. France has committed €5 billion to expand national compute, build new data centers, and train tens of thousands of engineers and researchers. Stargate Norway is poised to turbocharge those efforts, especially if EU policymakers treat data as a critical building block. This is what it looks like when a country bets big on the future – building kraftig AI in Norway, for Norway.

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Norway’s $1.8T sovereign wealth fund is saving 213,000 hours every year with AI. How? They tapped into their enterprise data on Snowflake, integrated Anthropic’s Claude, and made AI proficiency non-negotiable—backed by real training, enablement, and leadership conviction. This is what enterprise AI looks like in action. 👉 https://lnkd.in/gtFrcScv

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Which AI agent startups have VCs got their eyes on? I asked Cherry Ventures, Speedinvest, firstminute capital and Creandum to find out. --- Things move quickly in the agentic AI space. Sweden’s Lovable raised $200m and hit unicorn status just four months on from picking up a $16m seed round. Germany’s N8n is on track to pick up another $100m and reach a valuation of $2bn as many months after its previous raise. Investors are showing no signs of slowing down. VCs have already funnelled €2.3bn into startups building AI agents so far this year, according to Sifted data, already topping the €1.7bn invested in 2024, and there’s still five months left to play with. And it’s been anything but quiet at the crop of startups nominated by investors when we last asked which agentic companies they had their eyes on in February. Two have already been acquired for upwards of $1bn, three have gone on to raise hundreds of millions of dollars and there’s been leadership turmoil at another. So which startups will be making headlines next? Sophia Escheu, Michael Stothard, Hanel Baveja and Christian Meermann share their thoughts. https://lnkd.in/eKNGeeDT

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Finally, something is happening. Today’s announcement from Aker ASA, OpenAI, and Nscale is superb. A $1B investment into a cutting-edge AI “factory” outside Narvik (in northern Norway) marks one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in Europe’s digital future. With 100,000 GPUs, full reliance on renewable energy, and backing from pioneers like Jensen Huang and Sam Altman, this initiative isn’t just about scaling compute, it's about reshaping the industrial DNA of the Nordic region. As a Norwegian, I’m proud. As a technologist, I’m energized. As a citizen, I’m also concerned. Because let’s be honest: This progress is happening in spite of, not because of, the Norwegian state. While our government hesitates, visionary private actors are stepping up to lead. Aker, Nscale, and OpenAI are showing us what’s possible when bold capital, long-term industrial thinking, and cutting-edge AI come together. This isn’t just tech infrastructure, it’s the foundation for sovereign innovation, jobs, and future-proof value creation. This project is a $1B investment. The Norwegian government's investment in AI is approximately $100 million, over 5 years. And still, many people wonder why some of us want the private sector to handle more of our fund distribution. The Norwegian government is rightly celebrating this milestone. But what it should be is a wake-up call. https://lnkd.in/dJsRdnhb

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Finland’s IQM Quantum Computers Just Became Europe’s Newest Deep-Tech Unicorn 🦄 Company has raised a record-breaking €275M in its Series B funding round, making it one of the largest deep-tech investments in European history. This milestone officially crowns IQM as Europe’s newest unicorn - not bad for an industry most people still can’t explain at dinner. 😅 But what’s truly interesting isn’t just the amount. It’s what it signals: patient capital is sneaking back into hard science. When physics meets traction, “too early” quickly turns into “where do I sign?” This landmark round was led by cybersecurity-focused Ten Eleven Ventures - IQM’s first U.S. investor — and included increased commitment from Finnish VC and private equity firm Tesi. Other participants include Elo Mutual Pension Insurance, Varma, Schwarz Group, Winbond Electronics Corporation America, and sovereign wealth funds EIC and Bayern Kapital. 💸

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