James Wise joined John Thornhill on Sifted’s podcast to review his venture portfolio. At Balderton Capital, Wise backed Depop, Convergence and GoCardless, and recently guided Prior Labs to an acquisition by German software leader SAP. His experience positions him at the centre of Europe’s AI funding surge today.

Earlier this year the UK government launched the £500m Sovereign AI Unit, appointing Wise as chair. To date the fund has poured capital into Isomorphic Labs, Ineffable Intelligence and Callosum. Critics argue the programme lacks transparency and may crowd out private investors, a charge Wise disputes on the show.

Wise says the backlash stems from a broader public perception problem around AI, not from the unit’s strategy. He admits his biggest miss was backing a chatbot that failed to gain traction, but stresses that learning from such setbacks fuels more disciplined overall future bets.

Investors listening to the episode gain a clear view of how public money is being deployed in Europe’s AI race and why Wise believes the sovereign fund will complement, not replace, venture capital. The discussion underscores that strategic state backing can coexist with private risk‑taking.