Luciana Lixandru on AI
From Getting Europe into the Fast Lane | Eileen O'Mara, Luciana Lixandru & Marc Lemaître · · Slush
“Eileen, as I mentioned, Stripe is an innovator, has been for a long time. It works with the vast majority of fast growing startups and pretty much every AI company that one can think of. What are you seeing in Europe on the ground in general, but also with an AI angle given that's a very, very important topic right now?”
On , Luciana Lixandru, Partner at Sequoia Europe at Sequoia Capital, spoke about AI during Getting Europe into the Fast Lane | Eileen O'Mara, Luciana Lixandru & Marc Lemaître on Slush.
About Luciana Lixandru
Luciana Lixandru, a partner at Sequoia Capital, has spoken at several European tech events in 2024 and 2025, including Slush, Italian Tech Week, and StrictlyVC London. She stated that she has "never felt as good" about the European tech ecosystem and described the current period as a "watershed moment" for the region. Lixandru noted that while access to capital has improved for European founders, she expressed concern about founders moving to Silicon Valley too early, saying it is "not good for Europe." She advised founders to "solve a hard problem" and emphasized that "speed of execution" is a key indicator of a startup's future success. Lixandru discussed Sequoia's investment focus, stating that roughly 60% of the firm's recent investments are in AI-native companies. She identified robotics and fintech as particularly interesting sectors and noted that Europe has a strong foundation in robotics and AI due to its top universities. Regarding the macroeconomic environment, she said Sequoia advises founders to prepare for a "prolonged period of difficult macro" but added that mission-driven founders persist regardless of market conditions. Lixandru also highlighted that Sequoia views the US and Europe as "one market" for technology and that the firm is "open for business in Europe."