Burn Rate - The Venture Insider Podcast [AI-Translated]

On the Burn Rate – The Venture Insider Podcast, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi deliver exclusive news, insights, and background stories in every episode. This podcast offers a critical perspective on the most exciting deals and topics from the Swiss and global startup scene. https://www.burnrate.ch/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/guy-giuffredi-45399751/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/mboelck/ Newsletter: https://burnrate-vc.beehiiv.com/

Burn Rate - The Venture Insider Podcast [AI-Translated] is a business podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 0 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Unknown Host hosts Burn Rate - The Venture Insider Podcast [AI-Translated], a business show with 0 episodes published.

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  Burn Rate - The Venture Insider Podcast [AI-Translated]

  E104 [AI-Translated] Burn Rate Intelligence #1 – European VC H1 2026 | Dealroom & PitchBook

  Aug 18, 202614 min

  In the first edition of Burn Rate Intelligence, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi break down the Dealroom report on European VC financing in H1 2026. The headline numbers suggest recovery: USD 44.5 billion in six months. But behind them lies an extremely concentrated market. 60% of European VC capital flows into AI, and over half of all invested money sits in rounds above EUR 100 million – which account for less than 2% of all deals. For Switzerland, the picture is different: CHF 1.245 billion, down 15.5% year-over-year. But the number of deals remained stable. The decline comes mainly from missing large biotech rounds. Meanwhile, hardware reached a new record, and for the first time, Canton Vaud leads Zurich in invested capital. Takeaway: Europe is back – but very selective. And Switzerland isn't gone – it's restructuring.

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  Burn Rate - The Venture Insider Podcast [AI-Translated]

  E103 [AI-Translated] Start Season 4 | AI-Dominance | VC-Fraud | Liquidations | PSOP-Plans | ZuriQ

  Aug 14, 202645 min

  In this episode, Season 4 of Burn Rate – The VC Insider Podcast officially launches. From now on, there are two episodes per week: the Saturday episode with news, listener question and deal of the week, and Burn Rate Intelligence on Wednesdays with a focus topic or guest. In the news segment, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi discuss the latest PitchBook numbers: 87.5% of all US VC dollars are going into AI megadeals, and the Anthropic IPO could reach a $2 trillion valuation. The second news covers new research on fraud in VC-backed startups and why certain market conditions create environments where fraud becomes more likely. The third news addresses the 55% surge in Swiss corporate bankruptcies – largely driven by regulatory changes. The listener question covers PSOP plans: How large should the pool be and how to distribute it between management and employees? The deal of the week is ZuriQ's USD 25.5M seed round – an ETH spin-off building 2D trapped-ion architecture to solve a fundamental scaling barrier in quantum computing.

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  Burn Rate - The Venture Insider Podcast [AI-Translated]

  E102 [AI-Translated] Swiss Champion Fund | Swisscom | Repeat Founders | VC-Math | PimPay | Prem AI | Memo | Talentir

  Jul 3, 202651 min

  In this final episode before the summer break of Burn Rate – The VC Insider Podcast, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi discuss a new Swiss growth fund, the old VC math and whether payments in Switzerland have become an invisible tax. In the news segment, they cover the new Swiss Champion Fund targeting CHF 100M for Series A and B, Swisscom closing its Silicon Valley office after 28 years, and new PitchBook data showing experienced European founders raise 72% more capital than first-time founders. In the focus topic, they examine Max's new Bilanz column: Does the old venture capital math still work? Topics include DPI as the new key metric, the fundraising problem for VC funds, the thinning middle and why paper valuations don't replace distributions. Guest: André Renfer, co-founder of PimPay, a startup aiming to reinvent Swiss payments with zero transaction fees for merchants and an integrated loyalty model. PimPay is currently raising on Oomnium. Rounded out by three deals of the week: Prem AI (USD 100M Series A for private AI infrastructure from Lugano) Memo Therapeutics (Exit to Ipsen, up to EUR 700M) Talentir (EUR 4M seed for AI-native payout infrastructure) An episode about capital discipline, VC reality checks, payment innovation and the question of whether DPI is the new IRR. We wish you a great summer — Season 4 starts after the break.

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  Burn Rate - The Venture Insider Podcast [AI-Translated]

  E101 [AI-Translated] EU Mega-Runden | SFF Studio | Nicole Herzog | VC vs. PE | SPV-Risiken | SOPHiA | Hydromea | Range

  Jun 26, 202644 min

  In this episode of Burn Rate – The VC Insider Podcast, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi discuss European billion-dollar rounds, a new AI venture studio and whether European venture capital faces a structural correction. In the news segment, they cover the eight European startups that have each raised over USD 1 billion in 2026 – accounting for nearly a quarter of all European funding. They then look at the Swiss Founders Fund's new SFF Studio, which aims to systematically build AI-first startups in Zurich. And they congratulate Nicole Herzog on being named Business Angel of the Year 2026 by SECA. In the focus topic, they analyze a PitchBook study on European private capital AUM through 2030. The finding is split: European VC AUM is projected to decline from USD 431B to USD 311B, while private equity grows steadily to USD 1.7T. Topics include weak fundraising, missing exits, the AI hope and whether VC is temporarily under pressure or facing a deeper correction. The listener question addresses SPVs and pre-IPO hype: Is it sensible to invest in potential tech IPO candidates like SpaceX or Anthropic through Special Purpose Vehicles? Topics include structural risks, FOMO, fees and what you actually own. Rounded out by three deals of the week: SOPHiA Genetics (USD 57.5M public offering on Nasdaq) Hydromea (USD 1M defense grant for underwater communication) Range (USD 8.3M Series A for stablecoin infrastructure) An episode about Europe's capital market divergence, AI venture studios, angel ecosystems and when FOMO becomes the most expensive investment strategy.

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  Burn Rate - The Venture Insider Podcast [AI-Translated]

  E100 [AI-Translated] 100x Burn Rate | Swiss Deep Tech Report | >>venture>> | OpenAI | Anthropic | GR3N | ZAAN | SCAIT

  Jun 19, 202649 min

  Burn Rate Episode 100! In this anniversary episode, Max Meister and Guy Giuffredi go behind the scenes of the podcast: how Burn Rate started, how the format evolved since 2023, and why they're still doing this every week after 100 episodes. Along the way: numbers on more than 250 funding rounds covered, over CHF 3 billion in disclosed funding volume, and listeners in 103 countries. Then it's back to the regular news segment: the >>venture>> Awards 2026 were handed out in Lausanne, with EPFL spin-off Edwatec taking the Grand Prize and AI dominating four of six category winners. OpenAI burned roughly USD 3.7B in cash in Q1 2026, alongside rising margins but enormous compute commitments. And a Basel-based non-profit, Macroscopic Ventures, turns out to be one of Anthropic's earliest investors, with a potential return multiple north of 200x ahead of a possible IPO. In the focus topic, the duo talks with Andreas Puntner of Deep Tech Nation Switzerland about the new Swiss Deep Tech Report 2026: 63 percent of all Swiss venture capital flows into deep tech, the highest share globally. They discuss the role of ETH and EPFL, Switzerland's robotics sweet spot, and why international capital is so present in Swiss deep tech. The episode closes with three deals of the week: GR3N (PET recycling, Series B), ZAAN (legaltech, Tencent investment) and SCAIT (proptech, oversubscribed pre-seed round). An episode about 100 episodes of learning, AI infrastructure, Switzerland's deep tech strength, and three very different funding rounds from cleantech, legaltech and proptech.

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