Uljan Sharka, founder and CEO of Italian AI unicorn Domyn, joined host John Thornhill on the Sifted podcast this week to discuss the company's rapid ascent. Sharka migrated from Albania to Italy in 2008 without speaking a word of Italian, later securing a role at Apple in Silicon Valley before returning to launch Milan-based Domyn in 2016. The company develops AI models and agents tailored for enterprise use cases and is building AI gigafactories to support large-scale deployment.

Sharka argues that small language models offer superior efficiency and cost-effectiveness for business applications compared to massive general-purpose systems. He also leads the EU's Europa frontier model consortium, a strategic initiative to give Europe sovereign AI capabilities and reduce reliance on US and Chinese technology. Sharka points to Revolut founder Nik Storonsky as a model for founders, highlighting the importance of relentless execution and speed.

With Domyn approaching $1bn ARR — a milestone Sharka says is just a few quarters away — the conversation underscores Europe's growing ambition to compete in the global AI race through homegrown infrastructure and enterprise-focused innovation.