EUVC

How do you build a €3.5 billion private markets platform in Europe?David Cruz e Silva speaks with Jaap Vriesendorp, Managing Partner at Marktlink Capital, about building a leading private markets platform backed primarily by entrepreneurs and high-net-worth families.Jaap explains why Marktlink sees scale as a competitive advantage in private markets, enabling better fund access, flexible ticket sizing and stronger operational infrastructure. The conversation also explores the firm's merger strategy, annual fund structures, vintage diversification and ambitions to expand across Europe.The episode comes shortly after Inflexion announced a minority investment into Marktlink Capital through Partnership Capital III, backing the firm's next phase of European growth.Key highlightsScaling to nearly €3.5 billion AUM backed mostly by entrepreneursWhy scale matters for fund access and LP consistencyCombining venture and private equity capabilitiesAnnual fund structures and vintage diversificationBuilding infrastructure for long-term European expansionTimestamps(01:00) Introduction and Jaap's background(06:00) From McKinsey to launching a venture fund-of-funds(07:00) The early merger strategy behind Marktlink Capital(09:30) Building a platform backed by Dutch entrepreneurs(12:30) Why scale matters in private markets(19:00) Product strategy across venture, private equity and private credit(24:00) Building the firm, hiring philosophy and using AI internally(33:00) Venture strategy, vintage diversification and emerging managers(41:00) What Marktlink looks for in emerging venture managersFurther listening:E347: The $26B CIO Who Turned Superforecasting Into Alpha - How I Invest with David Weisburd

Demis Hassabis, Co-Founder and CEO of Google DeepMind, refused to leave London, challenged Google on AI safety and helped lead DeepMind back into the AI race.Sebastian Mallaby, author of The Infinity Machine and The Power Law, joins Andreas Munk Holm to discuss the founder psychology of Demis, the story behind DeepMind and why Europe may be entering a new era in technology.The conversation explores DeepMind's fundraising journey, the Google acquisition, the merger with Google Brain, AI safety, sovereign technology and why Demis remains sceptical of parts of Silicon Valley culture despite operating at the centre of it.Timestamps(00:00) Why Demis Hassabis matters(01:12) Why DeepMind could not raise from European VCs(07:35) The Peter Thiel chess story(11:00) What DeepMind reveals about European venture(14:42) Why Europe's tech ecosystem is accelerating(18:20) European sovereignty, defence tech and AI(21:20) DeepMind's sale to Google and tensions over AI safety(29:40) The founder psychology of Demis(41:35) Google's ChatGPT moment and Gemini's comeback(45:05) Demis' critique of Silicon Valley(50:45) Europe's AI sovereignty problem(54:05) Final thoughts and Sebastian's new bookSubscribe to EUVC, the home of European tech, for more insights.

Batteries do not just power products anymore. They shape what products can be built.In this episode, Andreas Munk Holm speaks with Michael Brehm and Mohamed Foulser from Redstone alongside Moritz H. Futscher, CEO and Co-Founder of BTRY, about why the next wave of battery innovation is not about bigger battery packs but entirely new form factors.BTRY is a Swiss battery startup developing an ultra-thin, foldable solid-state battery designed for IoT, medtech and consumer electronics. Founded in 2023 as an Empa and ETH Zürich spin-off, the company is building a new category of batteries aimed at enabling products that previously were not possible.The discussion covers Europe's industrial opportunity in batteries, the importance of scalable manufacturing, overlooked opportunities in embedded electronics and why the future of hardware may make batteries effectively disappear.Key highlightsWhy battery innovation is shifting from chemistry to product design and manufacturingHow BTRY is creating a new category of ultra-thin batteriesWhy scalability matters more than lab breakthroughs in deep techEurope's opportunity to build globally competitive battery companiesWhat embedded batteries could unlock across wearables, sensors and medtechTimestamps(00:00) Why batteries still limit innovation(04:10) The overlooked opportunity in sub-1Ah batteries(07:25) Rebuilding battery manufacturing from scratch(10:00) What foldable batteries could enable(14:00) Smart labels, sensors and embedded devices(18:00) Why scaling production is the real challenge(24:30) Can Europe compete in batteries?(34:00) The future of ultra-thin battery-powered productsSubscribe to EUVC, the home of European tech, for more insights.

What changes when AI agents can transact on their own?Andreas Munk Holm speaks with Viggo Stenseth, CEO and Co-Founder of SolvaPay, alongside Redstone General Partners Samuli Sirén and Mickaël Bellaïche, about building payment infrastructure for the agentic economy.The conversation explores agent-to-agent transactions, usage-based billing, protocol interoperability, regulatory moats and why existing payment rails may not be designed for AI-native commerce.Key highlightsWhy AI agents need payment infrastructure built for agentic commerceHow businesses can monetise APIs, datasets and digital services used by agentsWhy SolvaPay plugs into existing financial rails rather than bypassing themThe “battle of protocols” across agent marketplaces and ecosystemsWhy regulation, licensing and identity matter in agentic paymentsTimestamps(00:00) Why payments are blocking the agentic economy(02:00) What SolvaPay is building(05:10) Why customers already want agent-to-agent transactions(06:30) Existing financial rails versus crypto-native approaches(08:10) The “battle of protocols” and AI marketplaces(12:00) Redstone on why agentic payments are real(17:20) Why Redstone invested before traction existed(27:00) Can SolvaPay become the Stripe for AI agents?(32:00) Why incumbents may struggle to adapt(36:10) Building long term versus building for exit(41:00) Does the world need an agentic bank?Subscribe to EUVC, the home of European tech, for more insights: https://www.eu.vc/subscribe

Most corporates struggle to move fast enough for AI and robotics. Toyota's answer is corporate venture.In this episode, Andreas Munk Holm and Jeppe Høier speak with Ro Gupta, CEO and Managing Director of Woven Capital, Toyota's growth-stage venture fund focused on mobility, AI, automation and climate technology.They discuss how Toyota uses CVC to identify frontier technologies, work with startups and think decades ahead.Ro shares how Woven Capital functions as agile “speedboats” around Toyota's industrial “supertanker”, scanning for strategic opportunities across AI, robotics, mobility, manufacturing and infrastructure.HighlightsWhy Toyota invests through both “inside-out” and “outside-in” modelsHow Woven evaluates AI, robotics and the future of labourWhy strategic engagement matters more than passive investingHow Toyota balances long-term thinking with venture-speed executionWhy Europe is becoming increasingly important for Toyota's innovation strategyTimestamps(00:00) Ro Gupta's founder background and move into Toyota(04:00) Startup operators vs corporate insiders in CVC(10:00) Toyota's multi-fund venture strategy(15:00) The “supertanker and speedboats” framework(18:00) AI hype cycles and long-term industrial strategy(23:00) AI, robotics and advanced manufacturing themes(27:00) What Woven Capital looks for in startups(30:00) What founders expect from CVC investors(33:00) How Woven collaborates with traditional VCs(35:00) Europe's role in Toyota's future strategy(39:00) Toyota's next 100-year opportunity(44:00) The “build, move and connect” frameworkSubscribe to EUVC, the home of European tech, for more insights: https://www.eu.vc/subscribe

What actually gets a consumer company funded in Europe? Fewer things than most founders think.This is one of the questions the first episode of Consumer Tech Napkin explores, with Andreas Munk Holm joined by Sameer Singh (Partner with Speedinvest's Marketplaces and Consumer team), Susan Lin (Partner and Investor at Felix Capital) and Joe Seager-Dupuy (Director, Investment at True).The conversation covers engagement as the real leading indicator, why a decade of cheap capital let weak products hide behind paid acquisition, what behavioural signals actually move investors and why AI is not the defensibility play most founders assume it is.If you're building consumer, this one's worth your time.Key highlightsEngagement is the strongest signal in consumer software, not monetisationGrowth can hide weak businesses when retention and organic acquisition are missingAI alone is not a moat and thin wrappers are easy to replicateConsumer is underfunded in Europe despite producing many of its biggest outcomesBlitzscaling only works when companies already have defensibilityTimestamps(00:00)⁠ What actually gets a consumer company funded in Europe?⁠(02:40)⁠ Why AI is not a platform shift⁠(04:15)⁠ Thin AI wrappers and defensibility in consumer software⁠(07:30) AI-enabled consumer opportunities in health, therapy and financial services⁠(10:00)⁠ What investors actually look for in consumer startups⁠(11:20)⁠ Why engagement is the strongest signal that something is working⁠(15:10)⁠ Why behaviour matters more than surveys or narratives⁠(19:00)⁠ Why consumer remains underweight in European venture⁠(27:00)⁠ Marginal costs, pricing power and scalable business models⁠(34:30)⁠ Why blitzscaling only works when companies already have a moat⁠(39:00)⁠ Paid acquisition, defensibility and sustainable growth⁠(41:30)⁠ Felix Capital's consumer investing scorecardSubscribe to EUVC, the home of European tech, for more insights: https://www.eu.vc/subscribe

This week on This Week in European Tech, Mads Jensen of SuperSeed, Lomax Ward of Outsized Ventures and Andrew J Scott of 7percent Ventures discuss Arm's AI pivot, Spotify earnings and Anthropic's explosive growth. The conversation also covers the EU's clash with Meta, ASML's semiconductor moat, UK fusion ambitions and SAP's €1 billion acquisition of Prior Labs.Key highlightsWhy AI may be shifting demand back towards CPUsAnthropic's explosive growth, cloud spending and IPO speculationThe debate around AI safety, regulation and national securityASML's semiconductor dominance and China's AI workaroundsWhy energy infrastructure and industrial policy matter for AITimestamps(00:00) Intro and this week's themes(02:00) Arm and Spotify earnings reactions(05:00) Arm's shift from licensing to AI CPUs(09:00) Agentic AI and rising CPU demand(11:00) Anthropic growth, cloud spending and valuation speculation(16:00) Enterprise AI implementation and PE-backed AI services(23:00) AI safety, regulation and national security debates(31:00) The EU's clash with Meta over AI access in WhatsApp(39:00) ASML, semiconductor infrastructure and China's catch-up efforts(46:00) UK fusion ambitions and strategic industrial policy(55:00) SAP acquires Prior Labs for €1 billionSubscribe to EUVC, the home of European tech, for more insights: https://www.eu.vc/subscribe

Europe isn't a collection of isolated hubs. It's an interconnected system where talent, capital and industry come together to build deep tech.That's the perspective Julien Fredonie⁠, Program Lead for Europe and Africa at ⁠Honda Xcelerator Ventures⁠, shared on our latest episode hosted by Andreas Munk Holm and Jeppe Høier. They spoke about why Europe's deep tech moment is real, how the pipeline of founders is improving and why corporates are key to scaling hardware innovation.They also explore the rise of specialised investors and where CVCs still get team evaluation wrong.Key highlightsEurope's deep tech moment is structural, not hypeGlobal investors have shifted from doubt to active allocationFounder quality is rising through education and support systemsCVCs are critical to scaling deep tech companiesCVCs miss critical signals when evaluating deep tech teamsTimestamps(00:00) Europe as a deep tech “mesh”, not fragmented(04:00) Julien's role and investment scope at Honda Xcelerator Ventures(08:00) Why Europe's deep tech moment is happening now(12:00) Education strength and rise of deep tech founders(16:00) Team composition: diversity and complementarity(20:00) New generation of deep tech GPs and hardware expertise(26:00) The role of CVCs in scaling deep tech(34:00) Team blind spots and founder evolution over 10+ yearsSubscribe to EUVC, the home of European tech, for more insights: https://www.eu.vc/subscribe

AI demand is surging, but infrastructure is the constraint, with memory now the key bottleneck.In this episode of This Week in European Tech, Dan Bowyer and Mads Jensen of SuperSeed explore a range of topics such as AI constraints, Big Tech earnings, monetisation, geopolitics, Europe's position, and what capital flows into AI labs and SpaceX signal about what comes next.Key highlightsAI growth is constrained by memory and infrastructureMonetisation is accelerating as models use more tokens and cost moreAI is a geopolitical battleground, with control over talent and IPEurope shows momentum, but regulation could hold companies backPerformance gains are increasingly driven by application scaffoldingTimestamps(00:00) Introduction and opening headlines(04:20) Big Tech earnings, cloud growth and AI demand(07:30) Memory as the emerging AI bottleneck(11:40) Frontier labs, Musk vs Altman and Manus(14:00) US–China dynamics and export controls(17:10) Ineffable, Recursive and Europe's AI push(20:00) Frontier model releases and AI monetisation(25:00) SpaceX IPO, valuation and space compute(30:00) EU AI Act and UK AI strategy(34:30) Energy and infrastructure constraints(41:00) Predictions and deals of the weekSubscribe to EUVC, the home of European tech, for more insights: https://www.eu.vc/subscribe

AI is impressive, but not yet world-changing. The real shift comes next with quantum computing.In this EUVC episode, ⁠Andreas Munk Holm⁠ speaks with ⁠Andy Leaver⁠, CEO of ⁠Arqit⁠ and Operating Partner at ⁠Notion Capital⁠. They discuss why many European startups struggle to scale beyond €10 million to €30 million, why enterprise AI adoption remains experimental rather than immediate, and how quantum computing is set to redefine security and infrastructure. The conversation also covers data sovereignty and the growing risk of “harvest now, decrypt later”.Key highlightsMost startups fail scaling from €10M to €30MAI is impressive, but not yet world-changingEnterprises are slow to adopt AI despite the hypeQuantum could break current encryptionThe real breakthrough is AI + quantum combinedTimestamps(00:00) Intro and Andy Leaver's background(05:30) Scaling lessons and the €10M to €30M challenge(08:45) AI and SaaS: are the rules really changing?(11:30) Enterprise AI adoption and experimental phase(14:00) Shadow AI and enterprise risk(17:00) Security, data sovereignty, and quantum threats(26:30) AI today vs AI + quantum future(35:30) Investing in quantum and the one-person billion-dollar company ideaSubscribe to EUVC, the home of European tech, for more insights: ⁠⁠https://www.eu.vc/subscribe⁠

Models are converging. Chinese open source models are catching up. Applications are becoming the moat.In this episode of This Week in European Tech, Dan Bowyer and Mads Jensen of SuperSeed examine the shifts shaping AI, markets and Europe's role.From DeepSeek's progress to the EU AI Act, the focus is on where the real competitive edge is forming, alongside cyber incidents, the race between frontier labs, and why coding is central to how AI systems improve and are used, before closing on pressure in private credit and what it could mean for SaaS.Key highlightsChinese open-source AI is rapidly closing the gap with US leadersThe EU is considering revisions to its AI Act, including scope and timeline changesCyber incidents reveal systemic data management failuresFrontier labs are moving up the stack into applications, with coding central to progressPrivate credit exposure to SaaS could lead to repricingTimestamps(00:00) Intro and overview of key topics(05:45) DeepSeek V4 and model competition(11:30) EU AI Act discussions(16:45) Cyber breaches and data governance issues(21:30) Digital ID systems and Estonia's model(26:30) Sergey Brin, DeepMind and AI coding race(32:00) SpaceX, Cursor and AI distribution strategy(39:30) Private credit, space sovereignty, predictions and week aheadSubscribe to EUVC, the home of European tech, for more insights: ⁠https://www.eu.vc/subscribe

In climate hardware, the capital stack shapes everything. This is according to Jarna Hyvönen, Co-Founder and CEO of Volare.She joins Andreas Munk Holm and co-host Carmel Rafaeli, Founding Partner at The Table, in this episode of Leaders Shaping a Resilient Planet to break down what it takes to finance and scale industrial climate companies.Volare is building a circular platform using black soldier flies to turn food industry side streams into protein, oils and fertilisers. Jarna explains how they structured a mix of equity, debt, mezzanine and grants to fund their first industrial facility, and what it takes to align these instruments in practice.Key topicsMulti-instrument funding from day oneInterdependent capital and fundraising complexityThe importance of early financial capabilityDe-risking through proven systemsWhen unit economics become visible at scaleTimestamps(00:00) Climate tech funding gap(03:00) From research to industrial scale(06:00) Inside the mixed capital stack(10:00) Interdependent financing(14:00) Financial strategy and CFO role(18:00) De-risking and innovation(22:00) Market shift to viability(26:00) Scaling and unit economicsSubscribe to EUVC, the home of European tech, for more insights: https://www.eu.vc/subscribe

Anthropic is moving beyond models and into building full products.In this episode of This Week in European Tech, Dan Bowyer and Mads Jensen from SuperSeed cover the key forces shaping European tech right now, from political shifts and capital flows to AI competition, small high-output teams and rising compute demand.Key HighlightsHungary's leadership change and potential EU funding unlocksAnthropic expanding beyond models into product and applicationsMythos vs GPT Cyber and what different benchmarks actually measureThe rise of very small teams building large businesses with AICompute demand continuing to accelerate across the marketTimestamps(00:00) Intro(01:00) Hungary and EU implications(08:30) Anthropic strategy shift(13:30) AI model comparison(20:30) Small teams and AI businesses(26:30) Compute scarcity(31:30) Musk's Terafab(36:30) Predictions, deals, closingSubscribe to EUVC, the home of European tech: https://www.eu.vc/subscribe

Deep tech is not about complexity. It is about compounding R&D that builds defensibility and demands a different approach to investing. This is the lens Sasha Vidiborskiy, Partner at Atomico, applies to backing frontier technologies.In this episode, Andreas Munk Holm speaks with Sasha, a quantum physicist turned VC investing in complex products and deep tech.They explore what defines deep tech, how to assess founders, and how Atomico underwrites and invests in technically complex companies, from diligence to timelines and risk.Key highlightsWhy deep tech is driven by compounding R&D, not complexityWhy timelines are hard to predict, especially in areas like quantum computingWhat sets great deep tech founders apartHow Atomico evaluates and underwrites deep tech opportunitiesWhy Europe is gaining ground in deep techWhy deep tech requires a different investment approachTimestamps(00:00) Intro & Sasha's background(03:00) From quantum physics to venture capital(07:30) Quantum computing timelines(12:00) What defines deep tech(18:30) Founder traits(26:00) Evaluating deep tech investments(34:00) Atomico's investment framework(42:00) Europe's deep tech momentSubscribe to eu.vc, the home of European tech, covering the people, capital, and companies building Europe: https://www.eu.vc/subscribe

Why do most corporate venture arms fail within four years, and what are the three principles that make them last?In this episode, Andreas Munk Holm and Jeppe Høier speak with Oliver Schmäschke, Managing Partner at T.Capital, the €2.3 billion investment arm of Deutsche Telekom.Oliver shares practical insights on what actually works in corporate venture capital, built around three core principles that shape how corporates invest, operate and create long-term impact.Key highlightsStrategic vs financial investingAccess and value creation as competitive edgeGovernance and decision-making speedWhy most CVCs failHiring and retaining top talentTimestamps(00:00) Introduction and guest background(02:00) Oliver's journey and T.Capital overview(04:00) Strategic vs financial investing(07:00) Core principles of CVC(12:00) Talent and hiring in CVC(16:00) Corporate edge vs traditional VCs(23:00) Structuring a CVC and value creation(29:00) State of CVC in Europe and closingFor more European VC thought leadership, visit our website. Learn more about T.Capital here.

Anthropic has overtaken OpenAI in revenue and Europe is emerging as a key AI battleground.In this episode of This Week in European Tech, Dan Bowyer (SuperSeed) and Lomax Ward (Outsized Ventures) break down a week shaped by AI momentum, capital concentration and macro uncertainty. They cover Anthropic's rise, its enterprise focus and latest model, and whether current growth can justify the scale of AI investment.They also explore the coming wave of mega IPOs and what it means for liquidity, alongside JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon's shareholder letter on inflation, interest rates and private credit. The episode closes with climate investing's shift towards energy security and the move to faster, software-led defence systems.Key topicsAnthropic vs OpenAI: revenue growth, enterprise dominance and Europe expansionMega IPO wave: SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic and capital market strainJamie Dimon's warning: inflation, rates and private credit risksClimate investing shift: from ESG to energy security and resilienceDefence transformation: from legacy procurement to agile, software-led warfareTimestamps(00:00) Intro and macro setup(05:00) Anthropic growth, Mythos and AI competition(12:30) Positioning, ethics and enterprise adoption in AI(22:00) Jamie Dimon letter: inflation and private credit(29:00) IPO pipeline and capital constraints(36:00) Climate and energy security shift(42:00) Germany defence spend and modern warfare(46:30) OpenAI moves, predictions and deals

Has crypto quietly crossed the line from hype to real financial infrastructure?Tune into this episode of the EUVC podcast, hosted by Andreas Munk Holm, as he is joined by Simone Maini, CEO of Elliptic, and Jay Wilson, Partner at AlbionVC, to unpack crypto's next phase.They break down the shift from uncertainty to quantifiable risk, how institutions assess on-chain transactions and why supporting infrastructure is now critical to the venture case, alongside stablecoins and global regulatory momentum.Key highlights:The shift from uncertainty to quantifiable riskHow institutions assess risk in on-chain transactionsWhy infrastructure is critical to the venture caseStablecoins enabling faster, cheaper global paymentsRegulatory clarity across Europe, the US, Singapore and the UAETimestamps:(00:00) Crypto meets traditional finance(01:00) What Elliptic does in digital assets(02:00) The venture case for crypto(04:00) Where global crypto activity is shifting(07:00) Regulation, risk and market maturity(10:00) Europe, MiCA and the race to lead(18:00) Founder–investor dynamics in volatile markets(33:00) Stablecoins and the future of payments(37:00) AI, agentic transactions and what's next(42:00) Final thoughts on crypto's second actExplore more on European tech thought leadership at: https://eu.vc

We can't reach 1.5°C with emissions cuts alone. Carbon removal must scale alongside decarbonisation.In this episode, Andreas and co-host Carmel Rafaeli, Founding Partner at The Table, sit down with Henrietta Moon, Founder & CEO of Carboculture to unpack what it actually takes to build carbon removal infrastructure.Carbo Culture is scaling biochar into industrial systems that lock carbon away for centuries — while generating revenue across agriculture, energy, and materials.We cover:• How biochar works and why it's scalable• Why carbon removal alone isn't a business• The shift to regulated carbon markets• Financing capital-intensive climate infrastructure• Scaling from innovation to repetitionTimestamps:(00:00) Intro & funding gap(02:00) Biochar explained(03:00) EU regulation(05:00) Business model(08:00) Revenue strategy(17:00) Offtake & demand(22:00) Project finance(36:00) Founder journey

Europe wants to lead in AI, defence, and infrastructure. The question is whether it can actually execute.In this episode of Upside, Dan Bowyer (SuperSeed) and Lomax Ward (Outsized Ventures), joined by Andrew J Scott (7percent Ventures), unpack a week where ambition and reality are starting to diverge.Mistral raises $830M to build sovereign AI infrastructure. Poolside's $2B round collapses after losing compute access. And UK defence tech founders are leaving—not for lack of ideas, but for lack of contracts.Across all of this, one pattern emerges:Europe isn't short on capability. It's short on systems that work.Key topics:Why Europe's capital problem starts earlier than growthMistral's infrastructure bet and what it signalsPoolside, CoreWeave, and the fragility of compute accessThe UK defence tech bottleneck: funding vs procurementPalantir, trust, and the case for sovereign softwareIf you're building in AI, defence, or deep tech, this is where the constraints actually are.Timestamps00:00 Intro and the week's themes03:00 News roundup: space, IPOs and market signals08:00 Mistral's $830M raise and sovereign AI infrastructure15:00 Poolside, CoreWeave and compute dependency risk23:00 Palantir, the NHS and the trust gap31:00 UK defence tech and founder flight40:00 Procurement vs capital: where companies stall42:00 Predictions: local AI vs hyperscalers50:00 Deals of the week

For decades, Europe built around efficiency — global supply chains, outsourced infrastructure, and distributed value creation. That model is now breaking down.In this episode, Cameron McLain (Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Giant Ventures) argues that the next era isn't about startups — it's about control.Who owns the infrastructure determines who captures the value.We discuss why venture is moving from convenience to systems, why “purpose-driven founders” outperform, and what it actually means to build a European stack across energy, manufacturing, and financial rails.Timestamps00:00 – Introduction: From impact to sovereignty02:00 – Why purpose-driven founders build enduring companies05:00 – Giant Ventures and the transatlantic perspective07:30 – The shift from efficiency to resilience10:00 – Why infrastructure is the new venture frontier12:00 – What the “European stack” actually means15:00 – Can Europe compete with hyperscalers?18:00 – The role of government: builder vs buyer23:00 – Why energy, manufacturing, and financial rails matter30:00 – AI, labour disruption, and the future of work34:00 – Europe's biggest bottleneck: exits and capital markets

Most corporate venture capital models were built for a world that no longer exists.They were designed for software cycles and optional innovation. Today, venture is shaped by deep tech, supply chains and industrial scale.In this EU CVC episode, Jessica Persson (Scania) joins our hosts Jeppe Høier and Andreas Munk Holm (EUVC Corporate) to explain why corporate venture must evolve from a side activity into a core strategic capability.Scania's approach reframes venture entirely: not as access to startups, but as a way to position the company inside a changing system.In this episode:00:00 Why most CVC models are outdated04:30 From outsourced to embedded venture12:10 Deep tech changes everything20:45 The cap table as a system28:30 Strategic returns = financial returns35:00 Preparing for multiple futures

Welcome back to Upside, where Dan Bowyer of SuperSeed and Lomax Ward of Outsized Ventures, joined by Harry Destecroix, MBE, of SCVC unpack the forces shaping European venture, deep tech and capital.This week's conversation reflects a system shifting: Europe is writing bigger checks, physical AI is moving into focus, and the economics of AI are starting to change.The question is no longer where innovation happens.It is where value accrues.The stack isn't just scaling. It is being contested.What's covered:00:00 Intro and the week's themes02:00 Europe's €15B fund-of-funds and the capital gap08:00 Seed vs growth: where Europe is actually underfunded14:00 Bezos' $100B physical AI strategy20:00 Roll-ups vs rebuilds in the industrial economy25:00 China's token model and the cost collapse of AI31:00 Security, sovereignty and model choice36:00 Innovate UK and founder-led policy41:00 Capex vs revenue: the emerging imbalance47:00 Predictions and market direction52:00 Deals of the week

Comms isn't PR anymore. It's becoming infrastructure and most founders haven't caught up.In this episode, Cathy White (Founder, CEW Communications) joins our co-founder David Cruz e Silva to break down how the media landscape is changing—and what founders are still getting wrong.From the collapse of traditional gatekeepers to the rise of creators, newsletters, and AI-driven discovery, credibility today is no longer built through one big headline. It's earned through consistent visibility, clear storytelling, and strong founder presence.They also unpack a key gap in European tech: we're great at building, but often poor at explaining.Key topics:Why the “one big media hit” no longer worksComms as infrastructure, not a luxuryHow AI is reshaping discoveryWhy storytelling is a competitive advantageHow founders can build distributionTimestamps:00:00 – Intro & why comms = infrastructure 03:00 – Why most AI storytelling is boring 07:00 – The end of media gatekeepers 09:00 – The myth of the “one big hit” 10:00 – Substack vs traditional media 12:00 – Europe vs US media dynamics 16:00 – How journalists actually work today 21:00 – How founders should build visibility 26:00 – Is media biased? (spicy take) 32:00 – AI, search & your company narrative 39:00 – What founders get wrong about comms 42:00 – Final takeaways: Europe's storytelling gap

Most people think their options are simple: climb the corporate ladder or start something from scratch.But there's a third way.Together with Will Maunder-Taylor, we're excited to bring Unsung to life — a podcast exploring one of the most important (and overlooked) opportunities in Europe today: entrepreneurship through acquisition.Instead of starting from zero, what if you could buy and grow a small business that already works?In the first episode, Will sits down with Peppa Wise, sales leader at Multiverse, to unpack what actually drives performance — in startups, scaleups, and the kinds of businesses most people overlook.This episode goes deep on:Why talent and drive often beat experienceHow the best companies build true meritocraciesWhat separates high performers from everyone elseWhy sales is one of the fastest ways to change your trajectoryHow to hire, develop, and scale great teamsPeppa's story — from leading teams in her early 20s to helping scale one of Europe's top sales organisations — shows what happens when companies bet on potential, not just CVs.Whether you're building a startup, thinking about buying a business, or just questioning your path — this episode gives you a practical lens on what actually matters.Follow Unsung for more stories on building through acquisition.Timestamps(00:00) Introduction to Unsung and the guest(03:00) Peppa Wise's early career & Darktrace(05:00) Talent vs experience(15:00) Hiring frameworks & what actually matters(25:00) Building high-performance sales teams(35:00) Pipeline, metrics & operating cadence(45:00) Advice for founders and early-career operators

Europe's industrial future will be defined not by ambition, but by execution.In this episode, Marta Sjögren (Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Paebbl) joins Carmel Rafaeli (Founding Partner, The Table) and Andreas Munk Holm to explore what it really takes to build and scale deep tech companies in Europe.Paebbl is turning captured CO₂ into permanent mineral form—replacing emissions-intensive materials like cement while removing carbon from the atmosphere. But as Marta explains, the real challenge isn't just scientific. It's aligning capital, timing, and conviction.They discuss:– Why deep tech companies fail (and it's rarely the tech)– Fundraising as a system of signals, not storytelling– How to evaluate investors beyond capital– Designing capital stacks for industrial scale– Why rounds stall—and how to build real momentum– The role of co-CEO leadership in complex companiesThe conversation also highlights the structural funding gap for women-led climate ventures—and how The Table is working to change it.This episode is part of Leaders Shaping a Resilient Planet, spotlighting founders building Europe's industrial future with discipline, depth, and long-term conviction.Listen now and follow for more.

This week on Upside, Dan Bowyer and Mads Jensen of SuperSeed and Lomax Ward of Outsized Ventures unpack a moment where AI infrastructure, enterprise adoption and market risk are all moving at once.Nvidia is laying out a path toward a $1 trillion AI market, driven by major advances in inference performance. At the same time, hyperscalers are investing at unprecedented levels — with AI capex increasingly supported by debt rather than free cash flow. But the real shift is happening higher up the stack.The AI race is moving away from pure model performance and toward distribution, enterprise control and monetisation.This episode explores:• Nvidia's roadmap and the scaling of AI infrastructure• Hyperscaler capex and the return of balance sheet risk• Why the AI battleground is shifting to enterprise• OpenAI's monetisation challenge and strategic positioning• The growing gap between AI capability and adoption• Where value actually accrues in the AI stack• And how hyperscalers are reshaping startup opportunitiesThis isn't just another AI cycle.It's infrastructure, capital and business models being rewritten at the same time.Chapters00:00 Intro02:00 Nvidia GTC and inference leap07:00 The trillion-dollar AI question12:00 Hyperscaler capex and leverage18:00 Models vs distribution23:00 OpenAI's strategy28:00 Enterprise AI battleground34:00 Market risk and concentration39:00 Capability vs adoption45:00 Where value accrues50:00 Startups vs hyperscalers55:00 Europe policy signalsUpside is a weekly deep dive into the forces shaping European venture, AI, defence and deep tech.Hosted by:Dan Bowyer (SuperSeed)Mads Jensen (SuperSeed)Lomax Ward (Outsized Ventures)About Upside

In this episode of Upside, Dan Bowyer, Mads Jensen of SuperSeed and Lomax Ward of Outsized Ventures unpack a week where geopolitics, AI arms races and Europe's tech momentum took over the headlines.A new oil shock triggered by tensions around the Strait of Hormuz threatens global energy flows and raises the spectre of another inflation cycle with direct consequences for venture capital and startup funding. At the same time, the economics of modern warfare are shifting rapidly, with cheap drones and fast-iteration defence technology reshaping how conflicts are fought and who builds the tools.Against that backdrop, Europe delivered a surprisingly strong week for tech: France produced the continent's first $1B seed “Instacorn”, Revolut finally secured its UK banking licence, and new proposals could finally push Europe closer to unified capital markets.Meanwhile in AI, the race for chips, coding platforms and infrastructure continues to accelerate, from Nvidia's looming announcements at GTC to Meta building its own inference silicon and the meteoric rise of AI coding startup Cursor.This isn't just a tech news cycle.It's energy markets, AI infrastructure, and European innovation ecosystems moving at the same time.What's covered• The Strait of Hormuz oil shock and its ripple effects on venture markets• Ukraine's emergence as a real-time defence innovation ecosystem• The shifting economics of warfare: cheap drones vs expensive missiles• Europe's first $1B AI seed round and the rise of frontier labs in Paris• Yann LeCun's new “world models” bet and the next frontier in AI• Capital markets integration and whether Europe can finally unify funding• Cursor's $50B trajectory and the future of AI coding platforms• The AI chip war: Meta's inference silicon vs Nvidia's dominance• AI layoffs and whether productivity narratives are masking pandemic over-hiring

Healthcare startups rarely fail because of bad technology. They fail because the system won't let them in.In this episode, Andreas speaks with Helen McShane, who leads the Innovation Lab at Young Lives vs Cancer, and Zoe Peden, Partner at impact venture firm Ananda, about a new experiment in healthcare innovation: a charity investing directly in startups.After more than 60 years supporting children and families affected by cancer, Young Lives vs Cancer has deep insight into where the system works — and where it doesn't. Through its Innovation Lab, the charity is now deploying mission capital to support startups building solutions for young cancer patients.Their first investment: £30,000 into Little Journey, a platform designed to help children prepare for medical procedures.Helen and Zoe explore how charities can combine institutional knowledge with venture discipline to help startups navigate complex healthcare systems and accelerate adoption where it matters most.In this episode:Why healthcare startups struggle with adoptionWhat “mission capital” means in practiceHow charities can support startup innovationWhy credibility and partnerships often matter more than cheque size

Europe's climate transition is no longer only about emissions.It is increasingly about sovereignty: control over industrial capacity, critical materials, and resilient supply chains.In this episode of Leaders Shaping a Resilient Planet, Carmel Rafaeli⁠, Founding Partner at ⁠The Table⁠ and our very own ⁠Andreas Munk Holm⁠, are joined by ⁠Dr Lilian Schwich⁠, Co-Founder & Co-CEO ⁠cylib⁠, a company building one of Europe's most advanced lithium-ion battery recycling platforms.Together they unpack one of the least understood gaps in Europe's battery value chain: refining metallurgy — the step that converts battery scrap into high-purity critical raw materials that gigafactories can actually use.Dr. Schwich explains why Europe still lags Asia in the battery ecosystem, what it takes to scale an industrial climate company, and why recycling is becoming a foundational capability for Europe's industrial future.In this episode• Why refining metallurgy is Europe's missing battery capability• How cylib is closing the loop in the battery value chain• Why battery recycling is a sovereignty issue• How to finance industrial climate companies• What makes corporate partnerships actually work

This week on Upside, Dan Bowyer, Mads Jensen (SuperSeed) and Lomax Ward (Outsized Ventures) unpack a moment where energy, AI and geopolitics collide.The ongoing conflict in the Middle East is threatening one of the world's most important energy routes.AI companies are discovering that governments may ultimately control frontier models. And hyperscalers are committing hundreds of billions to AI infrastructure while venture investors quietly debate whether the cycle is overheating.The conversation explores:• Why energy shocks ripple directly into venture markets• How modern warfare is shifting toward startup-speed innovation• The clash between Anthropic and the Pentagon• Whether AI layoffs reflect real productivity gains or pandemic over-hiring• The massive infrastructure bet powering the AI boom• Germany's productivity wake-up call for Europe• And why Europe is still capable of deep-tech moonshots like fusionThis isn't just a news cycle.It's capital, sovereignty and technology power shifting at the same time.

This special episode is an inside look at AI music from three very different vantage points: the builder, the investor, and the industry insider.Andreas is joined by Sundar Arvind, CEO & Co-Founder at Mozart AI, building a collaborative generative audio workstation; Daniel Waterhouse, General Partner at Balderton Capital; and Ash Pournouri, Co-Founder of Belong, entrepreneur, producer, and former manager of Avicii.Together, they unpack how AI is reshaping music creation, how serious investors underwrite risk in a litigious industry, why “one-click songs” miss the point, and whether AI expands creativity or commoditizes it.If you want a grounded view of where the real fault lines are — rights, training data, authorship, collaboration, and the psychology of creativity — this is it.ShareWhat's covered:00:40 Mozart AI's vision: a collaborative generative audio workstation05:10 DAWs, EDM, and why tech has always expanded music creation06:35 Why “one-prompt songs” optimise for quantity, not craft09:20 Underwriting AI music: how VCs think about billion-dollar incumbents13:00 Is this a new instrument or a 100x larger market?18:45 Are professional artists already using AI tools?21:00 Copyright, training data, and legal diligence in AI music25:15 Philosophically: what are “rights” when machines learn from music?33:40 Diffusion models explained simply: how AI generates sound36:30 The return of the band? Multiplayer music creation40:00 Ash Pournouri joins: the industry's instinct is protection44:10 “You can't stop development”: why demand always wins48:50 Packaging matters: AI as tool vs AI as replacement51:20 Lowering thresholds and democratization across decades56:30 Five-year predictions? We're on the vertical part of the curve58:10 The “vibe coding” moment for music

Industrial systems are responsible for 75% of global emissions, yet only a quarter of climate-focused VC money flows into them. Not because investors don't care — but because these systems are hard. They're interconnected. Capital-intensive. Slow-moving. Technically dense. And deeply under-innovated.Almanac Ventures is built to change that.In this episode of the EUVC Podcast, Andreas Munk Holm sits down with Jo Slota-Newson and Marc Sabas, co-founders of Almanac Ventures — a new European seed and pre-seed deep tech fund laser-focused on unlocking decarbonisation in industrial systems through scientific breakthroughs and commercial discipline.This is a pitch episode — a chance for the EUVC LP & GP community to hear directly what Almanac stands for, how they invest, and why the next decade of industrial innovation will be shaped by specialist deep tech funds with true scientific and financial edge.Here's what's covered:00:49 | What Almanac Ventures is — a European seed/pre-seed deep-tech fund backing scientific breakthroughs applied to industrial systems01:31 | The founding team — Jo's nanoscience PhD + 18 years commercialising deep tech, Marc's finance → CVC → impact VC journey (and Jo's 37km Channel swim)03:52 | The complementary edge — technical rigor meets financial/commercial structuring, evidenced through 45 investments and a 2.3× MOIC track record05:22 | The industrial innovation gap — 75% of emissions come from industry, yet only ~25% of climate VC targets it (because the systems are hard, complex, and interconnected)06:11 | Why industry is ripe for deep-tech disruption — 20th-century inefficiencies, high value pools, and the need for performance + cost + decarb together10:17 | “Deep tech works for venture—if you know where to look” — how to identify capex-efficient, scalable industrial technologies vs. science projects that need different capital12:25 | Case study: Hot Green — a new compressor architecture enabling industrial heat pumps for 200–400°C processes (F&B, manufacturing) with electrification upside13:49 | Case study: ReClinker — Cambridge spinout recycling cement inside steel arc furnaces, piggybacking heat, removing the CO₂-heavy chemistry step15:19 | Do you need to be an operator to invest in deep tech? — why complementary experience (science + venture + corporate + some ops) beats any single “must-have”18:35 | Investment strategy — first-check investor at TRL 4–7, pan-Europe, €300k–€1M tickets, aiming for a 25–30 company portfolio with follow-on capacity

Europe does not have a deep tech problem. It has a commercialisation problem.The last European companies to reach €100B+ market caps were SAP and ASML, both founded 40–50 years ago. If Europe wants a new generation of deep tech champions, venture capital alone won't get us there. Customers have to step in.In this episode, Andreas Munk Holm is joined by Martin Schilling, former operator, investor, and founder of Deep Tech Momentum, to unpack why Europe excels at funding breakthroughs, but consistently fails to industrialise them.This is a conversation about:why enterprise buyers are the missing link in European deep techwhat corporates are doing wrong (and how they can fix it)how founders actually win large customers in complex, regulated marketsand why courage — not grants — is Europe's real constraintShare

Welcome back to another episode of Upside where Dan Bowyer, Mads Jensen of SuperSeed, and Lomax Ward of Outsized Ventures go behind the headlines shaping European tech, capital, and power.This week felt less like a market update and more like a structural reset.Nvidia posts another blowout quarter — and the market barely reacts.Ukraine, four years into war, is quietly becoming Europe's most important defence innovation engine.Anthropic adjusts its safety posture as AI labs collide with geopolitics and procurement reality.And beneath it all, questions around margins, sovereignty, and capital allocation are getting sharper.This isn't just a tech cycle.It feels like a systems cycle.This is Upside, where optimism is earned, not assumed.What's covered:03:30 Nvidia earnings: perfection priced in?09:40 Ukraine four years on: from aid recipient to defence capability supplier17:30 Europe's defence spend: real budgets or slow procurement?23:30 AI safety becomes conditional: competitive pressure meets ethics31:00 Distillation at scale: China, IP leakage, and national security35:00 SaaSpocalypse vs SaaS redemption: systems of record vs systems of action40:30 OpenAI & Anthropic margins: the hidden constraint under the hype46:00 Chips & quantum: Europe's deep tech wedge — if scale capital shows up54:30 Abundant intelligence: what breaks if intelligence gets cheap?#euvc #VC #VentureCapital #Investing #TheEuropeanVC #Podcast #Tech #Startup

What exactly are LPs buying when they allocate to venture today and do they still believe in it?In this episode, Andreas sits down with Max Bray and Juliet Bailin, both Venture Partners at Kindred Capital VC to unpack what's really happening beneath the fundraising headlines.Max brings the raw perspective of trying to raise a first-time fund in 2025 with unicorn-founder GPs, strong angel track records, and still struggling to secure second meetings.Juliet brings the sharper counterpoint: LP frustration isn't always ignorance. Sometimes it's a rational response to how venture has been practiced, especially around transparency, liquidity discipline, and the unrealistic expectation that a GP should be world-class at everything.This is a conversation about:LP behavior in uncertain cyclesThe myth of the “full-stack investor”Why solo GP economics are brutalWhether software still needs ventureAnd why the fund model is splitting at the extremesNot hot takes. Not doom.Just honest mechanics.ShareWhat's Covered:01:04 Max's 2025 fundraising reality: even strong “on-paper” stories struggle to get second calls03:46 LP rotation: capital moving toward liquidity, security, and shorter-duration bets05:08 LP frustration: transparency gaps + liquidity decision-making07:09 LPACs as sparring partners, not governance theatre09:31 Europe's structural issue: too few LPs and GPs have lived full cycles12:47 The “full-stack investor” myth: investing + fund management + compliance + IR14:46 Solo GP economics: why 2/20 breaks at the small end26:08 The barbell thesis: platforms on one end, specialists on the other27:56 Software defensibility compression in the AI era30:24 Will AI decentralize outcomes — or centralize them further?33:10 The rise of AI roll-ups and alternative capital models35:19 The “middle-market squeeze” — real or overhyped?39:34 What founders actually care about when choosing a fund

Climate isn't “over.” But building in climate has entered a new chapter, defined by shifting regulation, politicized narratives, buyer confusion, and a market that funded dozens of overlapping platforms.In this episode, Andreas and co-host Carmel Rafaeli, Founding Partner at The Table, sit down with Lubomila Jordanova, Co-founder & CEO of Plan A, just weeks after Plan Ajoined forces with Diginex, the NASDAQ-listed sustainability technology company, at the end of 2025.The conversation is part of Leaders Shaping a Resilient Planet, a series spotlighting exceptional founders in climate tech who happen to be women. The focus is not identity as a theme, but execution as a discipline. These are operators building in some of the most complex and capital-intensive parts of the real economy.This is not an acquisition recap. It is a clear-eyed discussion about what it takes to build and responsibly exit a climate tech company in a market that is maturing quickly.What's covered:00:52 The Table: co-investing community + the Foundation's recoverable grants model02:05 Introducing Lubomila Jordanova and Plan A02:45 The acquisition: why Plan A chose to lead consolidation04:35 Fundraising logic → acquisition logic: what changed06:40 Founder outcome vs VC outcome: how alignment works in an exit11:30 “The truth is where the real economy sits”: what carbon software actually sells13:30 The uncomfortable line: “glorified consulting with a digital angle”15:05 What VC portfolios get wrong in climate: return distribution, capital stack, secondaries16:55 Why “climate” can't be one bucket: hardware vs SaaS vs reporting20:00 Managing investor perception: visibility, bias, and boardroom baggage23:15 The broader financial pyramid: VC vs public markets vs real-economy signals27:35 Post-exit reality: why a public-company KPI lens changes the conversation31:10 Three founder learnings (humility, ecosystem, real-world problems)33:55 A rare founder truth: pregnancy during the exit + building with “more hats than one”

In a market where “AI fund” can mean almost anything, Lumo Labs is unusually specific: digital deep tech, deployed early, and anchored in one of Europe's densest innovation clusters—Eindhoven, home of Philips' legacy and the High Tech Campus (“smartest square kilometer” energy).In this EUVC pitch episode, Andreas sits down with Andy Lurling, founder & GP of Lumo Labs, to unpack how an entrepreneur-turned-investor built a fund that's deliberately more than money: a structured support program, deep technical selection, and a thesis shaped by real-world constraints, health systems under pressure, and cities as the source of most emissions and pollution.ShareWhat's covered: 00:59 Why “Labs” and why Eindhoven: origin story + Philips legacy02:31 Andy's founder journey: EyeOpener, ESA as first investor, and the exit06:15 From angel tickets to a fund: two cornerstone LPs pull them into fund building08:26 Fund I recap: €20m, 23 pre-seed/seed investments08:58 Fund II status: just over €40m raised, targeting €100m final size10:34 The actual thesis: AI + digital deep tech (security, IoT, AR)13:12 SDG focus: health, education, sustainable cities + climate action (urban)15:31 Why these sectors: prevention over curing, and cities as the “source problem”19:22 Where they invest: Netherlands/Belgium/Germany core; Spain/Portugal + Nordics via scouts20:30 “Smart capital” in practice: leadership, market fit, storytelling, follow-on readiness23:30 Track record snapshot: 30 companies; 3 dead; 9 (soon 11) moving into scale-up territory

Welcome back to another episode of Upside where Dan Bowyer and Mads Jensen of SuperSeed go behind the headlines shaping European tech, capital, and power.This week we're joined by Eyal Malinger, co-founder of Resurge Growth Partners, to unpack a genuinely strange week in global tech.China unveils humanoid robots that look disturbingly battlefield-ready. Anthropic tries to draw moral lines in defence AI. Peter Steinberger leaves Europe almost as fast as he went viral. Munich becomes less “security conference” and more “Europe, wake up.” And in the background, billion-dollar AI seed rounds and quantum mega-funds quietly signal that the frontier is accelerating again.This isn't just a tech cycle.It feels like a systems cycle.This is Upside, where optimism is earned, not assumed.What's covered:02:10 China's humanoid robot moment: hardware dominance meets AI brains06:20 Battlefield AI and the ethics problem Anthropic can't avoid14:00 Raspberry Pi, edge AI, and Europe's accidental meme stock20:30 Anthropic vs Palantir: moral lines vs deterrence logic25:10 Peter Steinberger leaves Europe — ecosystem gravity in action31:00 AI inside venture: workflow automation vs real alpha43:00 Munich Security Conference: defence budgets, sovereignty, and Stark vs Thiel52:10 Psychedelics and glucose monitors: Europe's quiet biotech strength55:30 Quantum funds and Europe's billion-dollar AI seed round

In this EUVC Live at GoWest episode, Olivier Tonneau, Founding Partner Quantonation, Jeppe Høier, Co-Host at EUVC Corporate, Paolo Pio, Co-founder and General Partner at Exceptional Ventures, Fergus Bell, Founder and Managing Partner at The Players Fund, and Prashant Agarwal, Chairman and Managing Director at Scandian xplore one defining question:How does Europe turn frontier innovation into global scale?Across quantum, corporate capital, longevity, and sport, the same pattern emerges: Europe doesn't lack talent or research. It lacks the capital and market architecture required to scale strategic industries fast enough to stay independent.Olivier opens with Europe's quantum paradox. Europe supplies a meaningful share of deployed quantum computers globally, with strong startup and research clusters across the Nordics, France, Germany, and the UK. The science is world-class — but the financing is breaking. Over the last 12 months, the funding ratio between Europe and the US has shifted from roughly 1:2 to nearly 1:7, accelerating US scale-up, public listings, and acquisition pressure. Europe has 12–24 months to respond — not to avoid failure, but to avoid becoming the lab while others become the market.Jeppe shifts the lens to corporates. Corporate venture capital represents roughly 25% of global VC volume, yet the average lifespan of a CVC unit is only 3.7 years. His argument is blunt: most corporates launch venture arms believing they are “doing VC,” when they are actually building a strategic instrument without the operating system required to sustain it. Without durable governance — and a clear Build, Buy, Partner model — corporate venture becomes fragile instead of strategic.Paolo reframes health and longevity as deep tech moving at software speed. Genome sequencing has collapsed from decades to hours. mRNA proved that biology timelines can compress dramatically. With AI now embedded in diagnostics and discovery, health is entering an exponential era — and venture is being pulled with it.The session closes with a thesis most investors still underestimate. Fergus and Prashant argue sport is no longer entertainment — it is venture infrastructure. Athletes and rights holders are becoming capital allocators and distribution rails. Elite sport has evolved into a real-world deployment environment for deep tech, health tech, AI, and performance systems — where validation happens under pressure and at global scale.The takeaway across all five perspectives is clear:Europe invents early.But scale requires architecture.Late-stage capital depth.Liquidity.Corporate integration.Coordination.What's covered:00:30 Europe's scale question — five lenses on one problem02:00 Quantum's paradox — Europe leads in science, not in financing05:00 The 1:7 funding gap — why the next 12–24 months matter07:00 What Europe can do — capital architecture, procurement, scale funds11:30 Corporate venture — 25% of global VC, but structurally fragile13:30 Why CVCs fail — the 3-year vs 6-year test and governance gaps16:30 Longevity as deep tech — health moving at software speed21:30 AI in health — diagnostics, discovery, and exponential biology27:30 Sport as venture infrastructure — athletes and rights holders as rails34:30 Deep tech in sport — validation, performance systems, adoption under pressure40:00 Final takeaway — Europe has innovation; it needs scale architecture

Is Europe's defense investment wave real, or is it simply venture capital wrapped in a Ukrainian flag?The debate featured Nicholas Nelson, General Partner at Archangel Ventures, and Sebastian von Ribbentrop, Founding Partner at Join Capital.At stake is more than narrative. It is about capability, returns, sovereignty — and the structural future of European capital markets.Until recently, defense investing in Europe was controversial. Many institutional LPs avoided the sector. ESG mandates were interpreted narrowly. Defense was often softened under the label “dual-use.” Russia's invasion of Ukraine changed the landscape. Defense budgets rose. Political rhetoric shifted. Venture capital began flowing into the sector at unprecedented levels.But the central question remains:Is this a structural capital reallocation — or a short-term momentum trade?The debate crystallizes around one fault line: defense-first vs dual-use.Nicholas argues Europe's hesitation to embrace defense-first investing is both strategically and financially misguided. Defense-only startups, he contends, have historically outperformed. Dual-use often dilutes focus by forcing two distinct go-to-market motions. Real capability requires designing directly for the warfighter — not adapting commercial products later. In his view, dual-use in Europe often functions as a reputational hedge rather than a strategy.Sebastian counters that dual-use is not compromise — it is risk management. Advanced technologies can serve both industrial and defense customers without duplicating entire teams. Diversified revenue reduces concentration risk. Non-dilutive defense contracts can substitute late-stage equity rounds in a region where growth capital remains thin. And Europe's comparative advantage may lie less in building vertically integrated primes — and more in dominating high-precision subsystems.As the conversation escalates, it moves beyond product strategy into a deeper structural issue: scale capital. Even where early-stage defense investment has improved, later-stage funding remains limited. Several leading European defense startups have relied heavily on US or Middle Eastern growth capital.Which raises uncomfortable questions:Can Europe build independent defense champions without foreign growth capital?Will its strongest companies inevitably “pick a flag” as they scale?Is fragmentation across 30+ procurement regimes Europe's structural disadvantage?Without coordination at scale, even strong early-stage ecosystems struggle to produce global champions.What's covered:00:30 Framing the question — structural shift or narrative trade?02:00 From taboo to trend — ESG optics and the Ukraine inflection point04:15 Defense-first vs dual-use — the core strategic divide07:30 The defense-first case — focus, procurement alignment, and capability building11:00 The dual-use counterargument — diversification and risk management14:30 Subsystems vs primes — where Europe's advantage may lie18:00 The growth capital gap — reliance on US and Middle Eastern funding21:00 “Picking a flag” — sovereignty vs scale23:30 Procurement fragmentation — 30+ regimes and scaling friction26:00 Final takeaway — Europe's defense future depends on capital conviction and coordination

Europe is not facing a crisis of ideas — it is facing a crisis of industrial depth.In this EUVC episode, Danijel Višević (Co-Founder & General Partner, World Fund), Heidi Lindvall (Founder & General Partner, Pale Blue Dot), Narina Mnatsakanian (Partner & Chief Impact Officer at Regeneration VC), Dr. Isabella Fandrych (Co-Founder and General Partner at Nucleus Capital), Jordan Billiald (Principal at IQ Capital), and Moritz Jungmann (GP at Future Energy Ventures) confront one of the defining questions of 2025:What does sovereignty actually mean?Danijel opens with history. In 1951, coal and steel powered conflict — so Europe integrated them. That integration was not symbolic. It was structural coordination under pressure. Europe repeated this reflex after the Berlin Wall, during COVID, and following the Russian gas shock. Europe does not collapse under pressure. It coordinates. But today, coordination must extend beyond policy — into capital markets and industrial systems.The structural gaps are stark. Europe produces less than 10% of the semiconductors it consumes. It imports the vast majority of rare earth materials. It raises significantly less venture capital than the United States. Only a fraction of European climate tech startups reach Series B. Europe can invent. It struggles to industrialize.Heidi reframes venture capital itself. Performance is necessary, but insufficient. Her equation is clear: Success = Performance × Trust. Trust — expressed through brand, values, and measurable impact — acts as a multiplier. Venture does not simply fund companies. It allocates the future. Narina reinforces the LP perspective: pension funds seek returns, but pensioners also seek stability, sustainability, and systemic resilience. Capital allocation is no longer purely financial. It is strategic.Dr. Isabella Fandrych shifts the conversation to materials. The energy transition is not just about electrons — it is about minerals: copper, lithium, nickel, manganese. Extraction today is geopolitically concentrated and environmentally destructive. Biology offers alternatives: microbes separating metals from rock, engineered proteins extracting minerals from waste streams, plants accumulating metals for harvest. Industrial decarbonisation is chemistry as much as energy policy.Jordan makes the case for baseload energy. Europe has reduced emissions partly through deindustrialization and outsourcing production. If Europe wants manufacturing, AI data centres, electrified transport, and economic resilience, it needs dense, dispatchable power. Renewables are essential — but intermittent. Nuclear remains one of the few proven zero-carbon baseload sources operating at scale. The debate, he argues, should be practical — not ideological.Moritz closes on infrastructure. Europe has built renewable capacity quickly. The constraint is no longer generation. It is grid orchestration. As energy systems decentralize, operators must manage volatile, distributed flows. The opportunity lies in software: orchestration, optimization, dynamic throughput management. Energy sovereignty is not just about producing electrons. It is about system design.Sovereignty in 2025 is not a slogan.It is an investment strategy.What's covered:00:30 Sovereignty redefined — from symbols to supply chains03:00 Europe under pressure — integration as a structural reflex06:00 The industrial gap — semiconductors, rare earths, and scale-up capital10:30 Venture as allocator — Success = Performance × Trust15:00 The LP lens — systemic capital and long-term responsibility19:00 The materials bottleneck — why decarbonisation is mineral-intensive23:00 Biology as infrastructure — new extraction paradigms27:00 Baseload power — nuclear as industrial policy32:00 The grid constraint — orchestration, optimization, software-defined systems38:00 Sovereignty as coordinated capital and industrial depth

Introduced by our very own Andreas Munk Holm, this EUVC Live at GoWest series spotlights the thought leadership of policymakers, institutional investors, GPs, corporates, and public capital leaders around one defining question:How does Europe mobilise its own capital to secure its technological future?Across the sessions, one theme emerges repeatedly:Europe does not lack talent.It does not lack innovation.It does not lack savings.It lacks coordination.ShareIn The Case for a United European LP Strategy, Philippe Tibi (The Tibi Initiative, French Ministry for the Economy, Finance and Recovery; Professor at École Polytechnique Paris) lays out the macroeconomic argument.Europe holds over €35 trillion in household assets.Yet European champions too often scale under foreign ownership with foreign upside.The issue is not capital scarcity.It is capital allocation.Tibi's prescription is direct:Mobilise pension funds and insurers to treat venture and technology as core asset classes, not alternatives, but necessities.For returns.And for sovereignty.In The Path to a United European LP Strategy, Chris Elphick (BVCA) and Philippe Tibi discuss how this mobilisation is playing out in practice.The obstacles are structural:regulatory conservatismfragmented mandatescultural risk aversionlimited cross-border coordinationInstitutional allocations to venture remain near zero in many jurisdictions.Reform is not optional.If Europe wants to capture more of the value it creates, institutional capital must move.Succeeding in Venture as a Long-Term Capital Investor shifts from policy to portfolio construction.Christina Brinck (Volvo Group VC), Daniel Keiper-Knorr (Speedinvest), and Joe Schorge (Isomer) explore how to underwrite European venture in a fragmented but maturing ecosystem.Recurring themes include:diversification across cyclespower-law return dynamicspatience as a structural advantagestrategic alignment with industrial directionFrom pension capital to corporate balance sheets, venture is positioned not as optional exposure.But as essential infrastructure for participating in technological transformation.The conversation then turns to public capital as ecosystem infrastructure. In The Role of Public Capital in European Venture Outcomes, Michiel Scheffer (European Innovation Council) explains how the EIC has funded hundreds of deep-tech companies and attracted private capital at scale.The EIC has funded hundreds of deep-tech companies and attracted private capital at scale.Public capital, he argues, is not distortion.It is market completion.Especially in:deep techunderserved geographiesgrowth-stage financing gapsWhen private markets hesitate, public capital can anchor.Not to replace the market.But to enable it.In Catalyst or Competitor? Why the European Investment Fund Exists and How It Shapes Venture, Adem Yakisirer outlines how EIF has backed more than 1,600 fund managers and built a financing continuum from pre-seed to pre-IPO.EIF operates as:anchor investorcountercyclical stabiliserecosystem architectIn the following fireside Q&A, in which Adem is joined by Mia Grosen (Venture Partner in Catalyst or Competitor, Superseed) and Andreas Munk Holm, the tone becomes candid.Questions surface:Is Europe becoming too dependent on public anchors?Does institutional backing signal quality — or create complacency?How should sovereignty, defence, and deep tech priorities shape private capital behaviour?EIF strengthens the ecosystem.But it also becomes its gravitational centre.Across all sessions, the conclusion converges.Europe's constraint is not innovation.It is capital coordination.From LP mobilisation to cross-border collaboration.From private portfolio construction to public market-building.If Europe wants technological sovereignty and long-term competitiveness, capital must move:With intent.With alignment.With scale.

Welcome back to another episode of Upside where Dan Bowyer, Mads Jensen of SuperSeed and Lomax Ward of Outsized Ventures go behind the headlines shaping European tech, capital, and power.This week is an AI-heavy sprint with a guest who's right in the Gulf capital flow: Sam Marchant. Anthropic's monster round is the headline, but the more interesting story is underneath: enterprise AI is becoming workflow-sticky, while OpenAI feels like it's drifting toward consumer monetization experiments.Then we get into the “AI productivity” paradox: why generative tools aren't giving us leisure, they're giving us more output… and more work. From there: Alphabet's 100-year bond and what it says about tech becoming a utility, plus the uncomfortable European angle — our savings funding US hyperscalers while we debate sovereignty.Finally, Europe sovereignty vibes: Mistral's enterprise ramp, the 28th regime rhetoric, and whether political systems can actually execute. We close with space: Orbex collapsing, “data centers in orbit,” and why maybe civilization needs billionaires burning capital on high-variance cathedral projects.This is Upside, where optimism is earned, not assumed.ShareWhat's covered:00:21 Anthropic's $30B: why the market can't stop throwing money at enterprise AI03:42 The real shift: OpenAI → consumer/ads vibes, Anthropic → coding + enterprise execution04:50 Gulf capital dynamics: OpenAI relationships vs QIA showing up in Anthropic07:21 Claude vs ChatGPT: switching costs are collapsing… until workflows become the moat10:54 HBR's “AI intensifies work”: why productivity becomes pressure, not leisure12:19 Autonomy + mastery + dopamine: AI as the ultimate short feedback-loop machine13:25 Practical use cases: research across languages, idea stress-testing, “AI as a first hire”22:05 Alphabet's 100-year bond: tech is now priced like infrastructure24:51 The pension problem: Europe's savings financing US scale while Europe underfunds Europe32:44 Europe's GDP gap is a tech gap: productivity isn't the issue, tech scale is39:51 Mistral's enterprise ramp: sovereign AI or local services + transformation advantage?45:37 The 28th regime: big words, hard execution — can Europe actually push reform through?50:32 Space data centres: PR-on-steroids or physics-defying inevitability?53:07 Orbex collapses: why “mid-sized countries” can't win launch alone55:20 Fusion/quantum: Europe's deep R&D edge, blocked by capital markets structure56:25 Deal of the week: Olex's $1B+ moment and Europe's chip-shaped ambition

Welcome back to the EUVC Podcast, where we bring you the people and perspectives shaping European venture.In this pitch episode, Andreas Munk Holm sits down with Pedro Ribeiro Santos, Partner at Armilar, to walk LPs through the story, strategy, and succession plan behind Armilar Fund IV — the firm's new pan-European early-stage fund.Armilar is one of Europe's longest-standing independent tech VCs and Portugal's original venture firm. Born inside a bank 25 years ago, spun out almost a decade ago, and now a multi-generational partnership, the firm has backed some of Portugal's most important tech companies and quietly built a track record of dragons (fund-returners), not just unicorns.Fund IV doubles down on what the team knows best: early-stage, tech-intensive companies across data, digitalization, and connectivity, with a strong focus on Portugal & Spain and selective investments across the rest of Europe.ShareHere's what's covered:01:17 | What is “Armilar”?02:30 | Origins & Spinout 03:40 | Why being based in Portugal with almost no local ecosystem 04:50 | From US to Europe, Then Back Home 07:22 | Fund IV in a Nutshell 09:44 | Geography & LP Backbone11:41 | Track Record, DPI & Dragons 13:51 | Selected Portfolio & Staying Power 16:19 | Team & Generational Design 21:38 | Iberia's State of Play (Portugal & Spain) 27:45 | Golden Visa & LP Angle 29:29 | Closing & What LPs Should Care About

Welcome to another episode of the EUVC Podcast! Today, we're diving into How Corporates Might just be able Beat VCs in the AI Race. Or maybe more importantly, how we can collaborate.Our guest is Alex Dang, co-author of the bestselling book The Venture Mindset: How to Make Smarter Bets and Achieve Extraordinary Growth. Alex is a seasoned technology executive and innovation advisor with over two decades of experience. He was a product leader at Amazon, where he launched new businesses across e-commerce, supply chain, and AI; a partner at McKinsey, helping Fortune 500 companies build digital ventures; and today advises corporate leaders and investors on AI strategies, venture building, and applying VC principles to large organizations.In this conversation, Alex shares provocative insights on why the venture mindset is now non-negotiable for corporates in the AI era, where incumbents hold hidden advantages over VCs, and how to avoid “innovation theater” while turning data, distribution, and scale into real venture wins.Let's jump in!Here's what's covered:01:56 | The Venture Mindset in one frame with nine principles from 20 years of Stanford VC research: uncertainty → portfolios → outliers03:44 | The post-book update Alex wishes he had added time compression: “days, not weeks,” and the rise of the “one slice team”05:53 | Venture mindset applied to AI 07:34 | Why “adding AI” is the wrong framing; start customer-backward, not tech-backward08:43 | “AI theater”, innovation theater and press release strategies vs real product value11:19 | The European corporate trap: regulation, consensus, and downside protection as the enemy of transformation11:56 | The right AI rollout sequence with start in back office to learn and protect trust, then go customer-facing at scale15:21 | Why CVCs die after 3.7 years: incentives, leadership fear, and why corporate venturing fails structurally17:24 | AI is now the world's most democratized intelligence: everyone has the same tools; the gap is execution18:47 | Where corporates fit in venture + startup ecosystems: strengths: data, distribution, enterprise scale20:38 | When corporates should build in-house, when to partner, and why AI must become an internal muscle25:24 | Incentives drive behavior: why executives won't take venture-style risks unless failure is structurally safe28:18 | AI-native teams and corporate reskilling among smaller, senior teams + digital workers replacing junior tasks35:24 | What happens to the average corporate employee: tasks disappear, workflows evolve, but people still matter38:50 | If Alex were CEO: how to move a workforce into an AI-safe future and target 25% profit uplift through AI44:01 | Most counterintuitive venture principle — “drop bad ideas fast” and why persistence is sometimes the wrong discipline46:05 | What top CEOs are doing right now: coding with Claude, learning by building, and staying close to users49:00 | The compounding effect: “what was impossible 6 months ago is normal today” and why constant feedback loops win

Europe's debate about gender equity in venture has moved beyond awareness and intention. The real question now is much sharper: how does capital actually move, where does it get stuck, and what genuinely changes outcomes for women building companies today?In this episode, Andreas sits down with Debbie Wosskow, a serial founder, investor, and Chair of the UK's Invest in Women Task Force, to discuss what she has learned from 25 years inside the system. This is a conversation about incentives, power, institutional capital, and why gender equity in venture is not a “nice to have” but a performance strategy.We move from founder mindset to investor behavior to ecosystem and government-level levers and end with a clear-eyed reflection on DEI, ESG, and feminism. At a moment when many are retreating, but the case for backing women has never been stronger.Context: the data doesn't lie, and it isn't improving fast enough

Welcome back to another episode of Upside where Dan Bowyer, Mads Jensen of SuperSeed and Lomax Ward of Outsized Ventures go behind the headlines shaping European tech, capital, and power.This week is a high-velocity sprint through the AI model wars, hyperscaler capex, and the growing sense that SaaS is about to be structurally repriced by agents. Anthropic and OpenAI go toe-to-toe with flagship model releases just 20 minutes apart, while China quietly ships open models that are starting to look dangerously close to frontier performance at a fraction of the cost.The panel also digs into the so-called SaaSpocalypse, the early signs of a European “uncoupling” from US big tech, and why Spain's crackdown on social media is being reframed as a public health issue rather than a free speech fight.And then there's Muskanomics: the $1.5T SpaceX/xAI logic, the data-centers-in-space narrative, and whether any of it survives contact with physics.What's covered:02:10 AI model arms race: Anthropic Opus 4.6 vs OpenAI GPT 5.3 (20 minutes apart)10:45 China's open-source push: Kimi K 2.5, Qwen3 Max, and swarm capabilities14:05 Alphabet's $180B capex signal and Wall Street's “infraspend” panic22:35 SaaSpocalypse: $300B wiped off software and the seat-based SaaS collapse narrative30:05 US–EU uncoupling: France bans Zoom/Teams, Germany moves off Microsoft, sovereignty vibes36:35 Spain's social crackdown: CEO liability, under-16 bans, and the censorship slippery slope43:30 Muskanomics: xAI + SpaceX, “data centers in space,” and why it feels like PR on steroids56:30 Anthropic Super Bowl ads vs OpenAI: brand war and the ad-monetization fault line59:25 Critical minerals: EU set to miss 2030 targets and China's grip on rare earths1:02:20 Deal of the week + Europe unicorn shout-outs + the new €1B growth fund

This episode starts with a surprising origin story: before building one of Europe's most iconic on-demand companies, Sacha Michaud left home at 16 to become a professional racehorse jockey.From there, we go deep into the operator playbook behind Glovo's rise: launching fast, expanding internationally with limited capital, choosing battles ruthlessly, and pulling out of markets quickly when the data says the flywheel won't spin.This is a conversation about discipline, focus, and survival in one of the most brutal categories in venture—where network effects are real, fundraising can consume the CEO, and consolidation is always lurking.Less theory. More real-world execution.ShareWhat's covered:01:10 From racehorse jockey to startup founder: discipline, sacrifice, and the founder mindset02:20 How Glovo started: meeting Oscar, shipping in 2.5 months, and rebuilding the MVP later05:05 International scaling principles: why Europe isn't enough and why speed mattered06:25 Fundraising reality: the “lead investor” trap and why multi-stage funds can matter08:05 Split-scaling and the growth-at-all-costs era: what the ecosystem learned (and didn't)10:15 Expansion playbooks: the launch team model and copying what Uber did right13:25 Competition strategy: when to enter, when to avoid, and why capital constraints shape everything15:25 Exiting markets fast: Brazil, iFood, and the moment you realize the playbook won't work17:35 Network effects in delivery: why the flywheel is more extreme than most marketplaces19:05 Exclusivity vs multi-homing: how restaurants evolved from “threat” to “channel”25:55 Emerging markets: Latin America → Eastern Europe → Africa and what changes operationally33:00 Glovo Cares: why executives still deliver orders and what it teaches the org34:30 Acquisition mindset: what founders get wrong about selling (and not selling)43:20 YELLOW VC: building a disciplined pre-seed fund without losing operator sharpness

Welcome back! In this episode, Andreas Munk Holm sits down with Simon Thomas, CEO of Paragraf, one of Europe's rare hard-tech success stories, taking graphene from scientific breakthrough to industrial-scale electronics.Graphene has been called the “wonder material” for two decades. The promise has always been clear: faster, better, and dramatically more energy-efficient electronics. The missing piece has been execution at scale. Simon and the Paragraf team are building that missing bridge, with the world's first graphene electronics foundry in the UK, a growing portfolio of real commercial products, and a deep conviction that the next era of computing will require new materials, not just bigger data centers.This is a conversation about what it truly takes to build venture-backed hardware in Europe. How you fund capex-heavy deep tech. How do you keep investors aligned when timelines are long. How you keep teams motivated through delays and national security reviews. And why AI may accelerate materials discovery, but won't replace the brutal, necessary work of turning atoms into real manufacturing.ShareWhat's covered:01:27 What Paragraf is building and why graphene matters now03:50 Graphene wafers and the world's first graphene electronics foundry04:23 What graphene changes for power consumption and device life05:01 Why graphene isn't already inside data centers06:13 The future of “2D electronics” beyond graphene08:02 Foundry versus product company: why Paragraf does both09:40 Graphene's 20-year journey from papers to real-world scale13:15 When venture investors first showed up and what they needed to see16:58 Sovereignty, British Patient Capital, and why “national backing” matters24:08 The product-to-foundry loop and how you hook customers early27:36 Capex, equity limits, and the painful mechanics of deep-tech financing30:22 Surviving hard moments: people, pivots, and the NSI Act review38:10 How to structure boards over time, from tactical to strategic42:23 Keeping teams committed through uncertainty46:10 Where Paragraf is today: headcount, geographies, and commercialization49:16 AI in materials discovery and why manufacturing is still the bottleneck

Welcome back to another episode of Upside where Dan Bowyer, Mads Jensen of SuperSeed, and Lomax Ward of Outsized Ventures go behind the headlines shaping European tech, capital, and power.This week's episode opens, as always, with light deal banter, closing jokes, and a reminder that fourth-time founders are still the most bankable asset in venture. From Saudi Arabia's surprisingly coherent Vision 2030 to Europe's chronic inability to articulate a shared mission, this is a wide-ranging conversation about strategy, scale, and what actually forces societies to act.Along the way, the panel digs into autonomous AI agents that can negotiate car purchases and manage your inbox, the $100B arms race between OpenAI and Anthropic, ASML's signal on the durability of the AI buildout, and why defence spending is becoming Europe's most structurally important tech opportunity.The episode also tackles the uncomfortable questions: whether Europe only moves under pressure, whether the United States of Europe is real or pure projection, and whether social media bans and AI retraining schemes are genuine policy or just optics.This is Upside, where optimism is earned, not assumed.

Welcome back to the EUVC Corporate Podcast. This week, Jeppe sits down with Axel Deniz, CEO of Bosch Business Innovations and Head of Venture Building at Bosch.Axel is building Bosch's venture-building engine with a clear mandate: get Bosch technology out into the world, through founder-led spinouts, joint ventures, and seed rounds that can stand on their own with external investors. With ~80,000 active patents, 20 new patents per day, and 20,000 researchers globally, Bosch has the assets. Axel's job is turning them into investible companies.