James Wise on why the Sovereign AI Unit criticism is wrong – and the one company he wishes he’d backed

Balderton partner James Wise discussed backing companies like Depop, GoCardless, Convergence and Prior Labs on the Sifted Podcast.

He also explained how Prior Labs was acquired by SAP and what the deal signaled for European AI startup exits.

Wise spoke about chairing the UK government’s £500m Sovereign AI Unit and the scrutiny around its early investments.

The episode sheds light on UK AI policy, startup funding strategy and Europe’s race to back frontier AI companies.