DeepTech Unleashed EP 9: Europe’s AI-Driven Re-Industrialisation Revolution with Daedalus Founder Jonas Schneider

In this episode of DeepTech Unleashed, host Christian Noske sits down with Jonas Schneider, founder of Daedalus and one of Europe’s most visionary deep-tech builders. From being the first engineer at OpenAI to now spearheading Europe’s AI-powered manufacturing renaissance, Jonas shares an insider’s perspective on how software, robotics, and human craftsmanship will reshape the continent’s industrial backbone. ‍

Jonas unpacks why Europe’s strength in complex, high-precision industrial parts is both its biggest advantage and its biggest bottleneck — and how Daedalus is using AI-driven, asset-light factories top reserve artisan-level quality while massively scaling production. He explains why every high-end industrial part is “a mini-project”, why the real bottleneck is human cognitive load rather than machines, and how software can capture decades of tacit manufacturing knowledge before it’s lost.

Together, Christian and Jonas explore:

• Europe’s unique opportunity to lead in high-complexity manufacturing, not mass production
• The clash — and fusion — between Silicon Valley’s “move fast” culture and German precision craftsmanship
• Why CNC shops often run at only15–20% machine utilization, and how Daedalus is already doubling that
• The demographic time bomb threatening Europe’s industrial ecosystem
• How AI co-pilots, automation, and integrated digital factories unlock new productivity
• What Europe still lacks to build globally dominant deep-tech companies — and how to fix it
• Jonas’s take on AI hype vs. reality, and the long-term technologies he’s personally most excited about

This episode is a rare deep dive into the future of European industry from someone who helped build the future of AI.

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