Silo AI is the sort of company that only knows how to go big. When it was acquired by AMD for $665m in 2024, it was the largest deal of its kind in Europe. It is also the continent’s largest private AI lab and an R&D hub focused on boundary-pushing innovations that will scale the reach and impact of AI around the world. The Finnish-based company runs on the expertise of over 300 AI scientists and more than 125 PhDs. At its helm is co-founder and CEO, Peter Sarlin who now runs Silo as AMD’s global AI lab. In a candid conversation with Antler founder and CEO Marcus Grimeland, Peter shares his vision for the future, and explains why – with the ascent of quantum computing – the tech landscape has many transformations to come. 

Peter is an important advocate for the European tech community. Silo work closely with companies from Open AI to Meta, its platform is embedded in AMD software and it is also building go-to-market motions in verticals from life sciences to visual media. Over the past two years Peter has also invested in wider research through his family office, Postscriptum, setting up a foundation that has been supporting AI excellence in Europe, and investing in early-stage AI startups on the continent such as Lovable. 

Naturally, he has a lot to say about the state of tech entrepreneurship in Europe – a subject that has been hotly debated of late. “I think Europe today has the ambition and the willingness to take risk,” he tells Marcus. “And you can see this new generation of entrepreneurs that are fearless and building. That's really what I think Europe needs to succeed.”

Peter also opens up about his journey into tech. He was raised by a single mother, which gave him an understanding of the “humility” and the work required to succeed. He spent much of his younger years pursuing sport. He only really found his focus during his time doing military service, which is required in Finland. “When you see the full cross-section of society, I think it teaches you a lot,” he says. “It teaches you how to operate with different types of people. Then as a shy young teenager you also see that, you know, if you actually try you do pretty well.” 

He found his passion in economics and machine learning and then things moved fast. Like, really fast. Peter completed a BA and Masters degree in two years, before starting a PhD, developing machine learning systems for financial stability. “That's been what I've been doing ever since, he tells Marcus. “Really pushing state-of-the-art machine learning and seeing it in the real world and actually creating an impact.”

To hear more about Peter’s remarkable career; how the future of Europe’s tech industry is entwined with security on the continent; and the ways quantum computing are going to transform the landscape, listen to the full episode here.

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