At Dublin Tech Summit 2025, leading voices in AI, investment, and innovation gathered to offer critical insights on the fast-changing startup landscape. The conversations made it clear: the future of AI startups hinges on solving real problems with focus, integrity, and bold ambition.
AI is moving at an extraordinary pace. Dan O’Brien of Happy Stack pointed out that six months in AI feels like years in other industries, while Cecilia Ma from Norrsken VC compared this rise to the industrial revolution. Yet, David Parry-Jones of DeepL tempered the excitement by cautioning that many AI projects risk being “solutions searching for problems.” For startups, this means the imperative to ground innovation in genuine, scalable needs is stronger than ever.
Investors at the summit made one thing unmistakably clear: they are not chasing hype. The demand is for startups that deliver real-world value, with sticky customers, defensible moats, and breakthrough solutions – not just AI appended to existing products. Cecilia Ma emphasized the importance of vertical focus, urging founders to dive deep into sectors like healthcare, climate tech, and education. These verticals present enormous opportunities for startups to become indispensable players. Dan O’Brien added that AI has transformed scaling dynamics; small, high-performing teams can now achieve what used to require hundreds, reshaping how founders should think about growth.
Europe’s role in this evolving ecosystem was another highlight. Bart Becks from the European Innovation Council outlined Europe’s unique position – not merely catching up but poised to lead in deep tech with a €10 billion fund dedicated to turning research breakthroughs into market-ready startups. The EIC and new EU strategies aim to close the gap where 95% of patents traditionally remain in labs. This funding and policy environment is designed to foster collaboration between founders, investors, researchers, corporates, and regulators – the ingredients for building Europe’s own tech unicorns.
AI is at the heart of Europe’s strategy. With dedicated “AI factories” providing startups with compute resources and the continent’s growing talent pool already immersed in AI technologies, the future of European deep tech will be built on intelligent, integrated AI solutions – not as an afterthought, but as a core foundation.
For startups, this means the path forward is clear: focus on meaningful, hard problems that attract serious funding and create lasting impact. Aim to build deep expertise within verticals and harness AI to supercharge lean, effective teams. For investors, the call is for discipline – supporting companies that show real traction and sustainable value.
To gain deeper insights and learn from these thought leaders firsthand, watch the full Dublin Tech Summit 2025 sessions here: DTS25 On-Demand.
Buy your DTS26 Tickets: https://web-eur.cvent.com/event/257ca874-1817-4125-ab99-766dfc8cb726/regProcessStep1?RefId=Attendee&rp=3c1cd02e-2245-4ec6-a49b-28a7651f00c7
The AI and deep tech era is no longer a distant future. It’s here, demanding visionary leadership, strategic focus, and collaborative ecosystems. This is the moment for startups to build the transformative companies that will shape tomorrow’s world.
