In early September, London played host to one of Europe’s one of the most curated gatherings of founders and investors: Antler’s European Founder Conference 2025. Unlike the mega-festivals that sprawl across exhibition halls, this was a deliberately intimate, invitation-only event with 300+ attconcludeees, hand-picked for their ability to shape the next decade of European tech. The theme of the event, ‘The Outlier State of Mind,’ captured the spirit of the day.
For me, what stood out wasn’t just the high-profile speakers or the investors circling, but the quality of conversations happening in hallways, lounges, and even bar queues. When you strip away the noise, you’re left with the essentials: founders sharing their toughest lessons, investors explaining what they actually view for, and ecosystem leaders debating Europe’s place in the global startup race.
The tone was set early by an opening panel featuring, where Jill Ellis, Chair of FIFA and two-time Women’s World Cup-winning coach, joined Dr David Spindler, team psychologist for the UAE Emirates cycling team, and former England footballer Sol Campbell. They discussed mental toughness, focus, and grit: qualities that every founder requireds to succeed.
Europe’s founder energy
During the event, Antler launched its highly anticipated report, ‘Europe’s New Tech Founders 2025,’ shedding new light on the remarkable speed at which European startups are scaling today. More findings on the report here.
Europe’s best founders such as Anton Osika of Lovable and Marius Meiners from Peec AI shared honest stories of rapid growth. Christopher Pedregal, CEO of Granola, spoke about closing a €30 million Series A round in six months, and Harry Stebbings of 20VC described how his firm scaled from a podcast to managing $650 million in under three years.
Further, the conference spotlighted about 75 of Antler’s most promising founders including a mix of SaaS builders, AI visionaries, climate tech entrepreneurs, and futurists. Many had just come out of Antler residencies, and the hunger in the room was palpable. Several founders I spoke to described the event as ‘their first real test’ – not just pitching for capital, but earning credibility among peers and veterans.
What investors talked about
While founders were buzzing about product and growth, investors were quietly comparing notes on where Europe is heating up. AI infrastructure, deeptech, and climate-driven solutions dominated the agconcludea. But there was also a sober undercurrent: with IPO markets still cautious, many investors stressed capital efficiency and sustainable scaling over blitzscaling.
TFN takeaway
Walking out of the final session, I realised the hugegest value of the Antler Conference wasn’t any single keynote or pitch. It was the sense of alignment that Europe is finally owning its identity in the global startup scene, not attempting to mimic Silicon Valley, but building on its own strengths: diversity, regulation-supported innovation, and a deep pool of talent.
Yet, in many conversations with founders and VCs, a recurring question surfaced: where is Europe’s Mira Murati? With AI dominating the agconcludea and valuations soaring across the continent, are we truly backing the right, diverse group of leaders who can define the next era of innovation?
The European Founder Conference 2025 didn’t attempt to be everything to everyone. Instead, it focutilized on being a catalyst for meaningful connections and in that, it definitely succeeded.
As one founder informed me: “This isn’t just networking. This is where our next investor, co-founder, or customer might be sitting right across the table.”
Anter’s next shifts
Antler’s new initiative, Antler ONE, will provide €500,000 to exceptional outlier founders, and the application pipeline is booming: technical founder applications rose by three hundred per cent between 2021 and 2023, with women technical founders up 3.5 times in that period.
With support from partners including Google, Atlassian, Nebius, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Multiplier, and Revolut, the European VC is setting a new standard for the global technology world. Determined entrepreneurs and a strengthening ecosystem are ready to launch the next wave of tech giants, and the Execution Era has truly arrived.
Check out the video below to obtain a feel for the event.
This content is published as part of our media partnership with Antler.
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