Welcome back to the EUCVC Summit Talks, where we bring you candid conversations with Europe’s leading founders, corporate leaders, and investors shaping the future of venture collaboration.
In this session, Linn Clabburn, Head of CVC at Inter IKEA Group, and Destana Herring, Partner at Regeneration.VC, explore how corporates and VCs can partner with founders without overshadowing them.
From aligning on objectives to translating “corporate scale” into startup reality, Linn and Destana share how trust, sparring, and clarity in the boardroom can make or break collaboration.
🎧 Here’s what’s covered:
00:10 Scale with, not over, founders: why trust is the foundation.
01:00 The “love triangle” — navigating the CVC, VC, and founder dynamic.
02:30 Different ambitions, shared value — why alignment before investing is key.
04:00 Case study: IKEA + Regeneration joint investment and aligning KPIs.
05:00 Translation role of VCs — turning corporate jargon into tangible founder action.
06:00 What scale means at IKEA vs. in a startup — and how to bridge the gap.
07:00 Success looks different — iterating market applications until corporate fit arrives.
08:00 Boardroom courage — how to challenge each other without pulling founders apart.
09:00 Unified front — why investors must spar privately, align publicly.
Welcome back to the EUCVC Summit Talks, where we bring you candid conversations with Europe’s leading founders, corporate leaders, and investors shaping the future of venture collaboration.
In this episode, Thijs Povel, CEO of dealflow.eu, and Ekke Van Vliet, Investment Coordinator at the European Innovation Council (EIC), sit down to discuss one of the biggest challenges in Europe’s venture ecosystem: bridging the gap between corporates and startups.
From EIC’s €10B budget for deep tech to the lessons learned from more than 70 “corporate days,” this session explores what works — and what doesn’t — when building collaboration between Europe’s most innovative startups and its largest corporates.
🎧 Here’s what’s covered:
00:10 Why startups want scale and corporates want innovation — and why it’s still hard to align.
01:00 Inside dealflow.eu: making EU-funded startups visible and accessible to corporates and investors.
02:00 The EIC’s €10B fund — grants and equity for deep tech across Europe.
03:00 From grants to growth: how EIC supports startups after initial funding.
04:00 Lessons from 70+ corporate days — what works, what fails, and the magic ratio of corporates to startups.
05:00 Why in-person, 1:1 meetings matter — but too many can backfire.
06:00 Tomorrow’s corporate day at TechBBQ — a live case study in matchmaking.
07:00 Why deep tech startups in energy, climate, and healthcare are prime for corporate collaboration.
08:00 What corporates actually get: curated startups, ready-to-scale solutions, and no cost to participate.
09:00 Tomorrow’s 14 featured startups — from solar blinds to healthy air and construction tech.
Welcome back to the EUCVC Summit Talks, where we bring you behind-the-scenes conversations with the founders, corporates, and investors shaping Europe’s venture collaboration landscape.
In this episode, Jeppe Høier sits down with Jesper Bang Olsen, Partner at BEAM, and Kerk Wichmann, VP of Corporate Strategy at Jungheinrich and Managing Partner at Uplift Ventures. Together, they unpack the realities of corporate venture building: why corporates need to separate venture initiatives from the mothership, how to anchor strategically, and what it takes to balance startup agility with industrial scale.
From governance and champions to customer infiltration and fast decision-making, this is a candid look at how leading corporates are building real ventures—not just innovation playgrounds.
🎧 Here’s what’s covered
00:19 Why Uplift Ventures was born—responding to Chinese competition and software-driven disruption.
01:00 Why ventures fail inside the mothership—rules, governance, and slow cycles.
03:00 Jesper’s story: from DVDs wiped out by Spotify to creating BEAM as a venture builder.
04:00 Value triggers at BEAM—finding good niche problems, anchored near but not inside the core.
05:00 Anchoring strategy: why top management commitment is non-negotiable.
06:00 Balancing two worlds—leveraging 6,000 service engineers and 2,000 sales reps while learning startup speed.
07:00 Secret sauce at BEAM—separation from the corporate, but with champions inside who love the speed.
08:00 Customer infiltration—winning over corporate clients directly to create positive friction.
09:00 Venture governance—independent venture board, external members, and strict stage-gate decisions.
Welcome back to another episode of Upside at the EUVC Podcast, where Dan Bowyer, Mads Jensen of SuperSeed and Lomax from Outsized Ventures unpack what’s happening in European tech and venture capital.
This week: The UK lands $150B of US pledges and 120,000 Nvidia GPUs—can London turn its AI hype into substance? NATO on edge after Russian incursions across Poland and Denmark. Are we witnessing an AI bubble, or just the infrastructure wave of the century? Plus: cyber risk after JLR’s ransomware hit, Trump’s $100K H-1B visa fee, and the week’s billion-dollar deals.
🎧 Here’s what’s covered:
01:59 The UK Economy: stalled housing, digital ID hopes, and why Gatwick beats Heathrow.
08:02 Macro Context: UK at 1% growth vs US 3.8%, but Revolut and AI unicorns offer upside.
11:23 Trump’s UK State Visit: $150B in pledges, Nvidia’s mega GPU cluster, and hidden strings.
17:34 Pageantry vs Reality: Andrew on IMF forecasts and why the UK still outpaces France & Germany.
20:41 Pensions & Equity Gap: Why Europe lags the US in growth capital.
25:17 Are We in an AI Bubble? Big tech’s circular bets, Nvidia’s chokehold, and history repeating.
35:12 Cybersecurity & AI: JLR hack fallout, ransomware surge, and a $500B market by 2030.
43:21 NATO on Edge: Russian drones in allied airspace, Trump’s hawkish rhetoric, and Europe’s defense unicorns.
53:28 The H-1B Shock: Trump’s $100K fee and whether Europe can seize the talent opportunity.
59:44 Deal of the Week: N-Scale’s $1.1B data center raise and Oura Ring’s $875M round.
Welcome back to the EUCVC Summit Talks, where we bring you candid conversations with Europe’s leading founders, corporate leaders, and investors shaping the future of venture collaboration.
In this episode, Andreas Munk Holm speaks with Gina Domanig, Managing Partner at Emerald Technology Ventures, and Nicolas Sauvage, President of TDK Ventures, on what it really takes to design, launch, and evolve corporate venture capital programs that endure.
They explore how corporates can balance financial credibility with strategic impact, why governance and structure matter, and how to bridge the cultural gap between startups and corporates. From KPIs and deal flow to long-term commitment, this is a masterclass in building CVCs that deliver more than returns.
Here's whats covered:
00:00 Building a CVC program is more than financial—it’s a cultural shift.
01:00 Exploitation vs. exploration — balancing today’s business with tomorrow’s bets.
02:00 The role of funds, reserves, and acting like financial VCs to gain credibility.
04:00 Gina’s “CVC as a service” model — how Emerald engages with multiple corporates.
05:00 Why corporates must commit resources to both financial and strategic value creation.
06:00 Engagement processes — KPIs, partnerships, and designing for tangible outcomes.
07:00 Mining deal flow — helping corporates benefit even from startups not invested in.
08:00 Deliverables matter — deal flow, pilots, KPIs, and leadership pressure for follow-through.
09:00 Investor + consultant? Or financial + strategic VC? — the real identity of CVCs.
💡 One-liner takeaway: Corporate venture programs succeed when they combine financial discipline with strategic alignment—backed by clear KPIs, strong governance, and leadership commitment.
Welcome back to another EUVC Podcast, where we gather Europe’s venture family to share the stories, insights, and lessons that drive our ecosystem forward.
Today we dive into the mainstreaming of stablecoin yield with David Sutter, CEO & Co-founder of OpenTrade, and Itxaso del Palacio, GP at Notion Capital. With $11M raised in just six months, transaction volumes already topping $200M, and growth at 20% month-on-month, OpenTrade is one of the fastest-scaling fintech infrastructure plays in Europe. But this is about much more than another fintech: it’s about embedding yield into the financial internet, bridging stablecoins with real-world assets, and building institutional-grade trust for millions of users across Latin America and Europe.
🎧 Here’s what’s covered:
01:01 Why stablecoin yield matters: the “every dollar wants a return” insight + Stripe analogy
02:51 Why issuers can’t pay yield: e-money rules, narrow-bank logic, and the regulatory backdrop
07:36 Stablecoin scale: ~$20T annualized volume, now surpassing Visa/Mastercard (it’s dollar volume, not tx count)
08:28 What’s driving usage: from crypto markets to mainstream adoption in LATAM/emerging economies
10:45 The AI kicker: why stablecoins are the only “money tech” fit for autonomous agents
13:41 “Institutional-grade” explained: bankruptcy remoteness, cybersecurity, and white-glove support
16:25 Why B2B2C: serving fintechs/wallets (à la USDC) beats going direct for distribution and cost base
22:06 Stripe’s $1.1B Bridge deal: market validation for stablecoin infrastructure, not a direct threat
25:54 Real-world assets behind yield: treasuries, MMFs, CP, trade finance, private credit, ETFs
32:01 Expected returns: from ~4% “risk-free” products up to ~12–15% for higher-risk strategies
Welcome to a new episode of the EUVC Podcast, where we bring you the people and perspectives shaping European venture.
This week, Andreas sits down with Andy Budd, Venture Partner at Seedcamp, founder-turned-investor, and one of the earliest pioneers of UX design in Europe.
Andy’s journey spans two decades of building and scaling—from creating one of the UK’s first CSS-based websites to founding Clearleft, Europe’s first UX agency, to now advising founders at Seedcamp. He’s used that knowledge to write a new book all about startup growth. Something we’re sure your portfolio companies will find super useful.
In this episode, Andy unpacks why design is central—not cosmetic—to early-stage success, how product-market fit often hides behind poor UX, and what AI might (and might not) automate in a founder’s journey.
Here’s what’s covered:
02:00 | UX Before It Was Cool: Launching Europe’s first UX agency
04:00 | Mentor to Partner: The Seedcamp connection and how it evolved
07:30 | Design in Venture: Why UX is essential to product-market fit
11:00 | AI & UX: Johnny Ive, ChatGPT, and designing for mass adoption
15:00 | Super Users vs. Everyone Else: Where AI tools fail the average user
18:00 | Operator Value: What Andy brings to the Seedcamp portfolio
22:00 | The Growth Equation: Seven factors every founder needs to master
30:00 | Fundraising Is Also UX: Using growth principles to pitch better
33:00 | Small Is Smart: The rise of leaner, faster, better startups
39:00 | Can Seed-Strapping Work? Why not all winners need to be unicorns
43:30 | Product-Led Growth: When it works—and when it doesn’t
From governance models to internal alignment, they share the blueprint for how corporate venture arms can thrive beyond the 3.7-year industry average lifespan. The discussion ranges from financial vs. strategic returns, to the “King of the Hill” philosophy, to why equal-win partnerships are essential if corporates want to play the long game.
This is essential listening for corporate leaders, founders, and investors who want to understand how to build CVCs that stand the test of time.
🎧 Here’s what’s covered
00:00 Balancing short-term pressures with long-term horizons in corporate venture.
01:00 Measuring strategic impact: why financial returns aren’t enough, and how to keep communication continuous.
02:00 Governance models: how Fidelity and TDK designed their investment committees.
03:12 Strategy vs. finance: why it’s a false choice and the case for picking future market leaders.
05:00 The “King of the Hill” concept: investing in potential category leaders even before markets exist.
06:00 Why the financial bar must come first—and how corporates can offer startups more than just capital.
07:00 Avoiding the “strategic-only” trap: why CVCs fail and how to last beyond the 3.7-year average.
08:00 Working with champions inside the mothership and building early success stories.
09:00 Equal-win partnerships: why both corporates and startups must feel the value for relationships to endure.
Welcome back to the EUCVC Summit Talks, where we bring you candid conversations with Europe’s leading founders, corporate leaders, and investors shaping the future of venture collaboration.
In this episode, Florian Noell, Partner at PwC, and Gina Domanig, Managing Partner at Emerald Technology Ventures, join Andreas Munk Holm to explore why limited partner (LP) investing is emerging as the smartest entry point for corporates entering venture.
From accessing deal flow and ecosystems to building internal conviction and avoiding common mistakes, Florian and Gina share their playbooks for making LP positions deliver both financial returns and strategic impact.
🎧 Here’s what’s covered
00:00 Why PwC chose LP investing as part of its corporate venturing activities.
02:00 Ecosystems, neighborhoods, and the importance of other LPs around the table.
03:00 Gina on structuring LP relations to meet both financial and strategic goals.
04:30 The role of sector specialists, KPIs, and deal platforms in delivering value.
05:45 Running “sprints” with corporates to align strategy and business units.
06:45 Beyond capital: how LP investing enables startups to access global corporates.
08:00 Building trust and staying engaged with GPs to unlock real value.
09:00 Complementary models — Emerald’s cleantech depth vs. PwC’s global reach.
Welcome back to another episode of the EUVC Podcast, your trusted inside track on the people, deals, and dynamics shaping European venture.
This week, Andreas is joined by Florian Schweitzer, Founding Partner at b2venture, one of Europe’s longest-running VC funds — and one of the only firms to scale a structured angel investing model alongside institutional capital.
They unpack how Florian built an active, deeply interlinked community of 350 angels, the philosophy behind their 90/10 investment model, and why chasing unicorns is the wrong game. The conversation also dives into trust-building with LPs, culture as a strategy, and what it takes to build trillion-euro thinking into Europe’s founder psyche.
Whether you’re an emerging manager trying to scale responsibly, or an LP wondering what durable early-stage outperformance actually looks like — this one’s for you.
Here’s what’s covered:
01:00 | The impossible alignment: angels vs. institutions
02:30 | Treating angels as partners — not a sourcing channel
03:30 | The founder–angel–VC triangle
04:00 | Winning institutional support: data, not just story
05:40 | Why most firms abandon the angel model — and how btov didn’t
06:00 | Culture, rules, and the “honourable merchant”
08:00 | The numbers: 350 angels, 80 core collaborators
09:00 | The unicorns: how every single one came via angels
10:30 | When angels lead and VCs co-lead
12:30 | Why chasing unicorns is “silly” — and what to do instead
14:00 | Building trillion-euro aspirations into early diligence
15:00 | 90/10: The case for a dual investment strategy
17:00 | DPI lessons from Fund 1 & 2 — and what they forgot in 3 & 4
Welcome back to the EUCVC Summit Talks, where we bring you the candid insights of Europe’s leading founders, corporate leaders, and investors reshaping venture collaboration.
In this episode, Andreas Munk Holm speaks with Petr Míkovec, Managing Director of Inven Capital, the CVC arm of ČEZ, one of Central Europe’s most conservative utilities. From nuclear power plants to climate tech bets, Petr shares how Inven Capital was born inside a 30,000-person corporate giant—and why culture by design, not default, is the only way to make innovation stick.
From boardroom alignment to founder empathy, this conversation reveals what it takes to balance corporate DNA with startup speed—and how Inven Capital won founders’ trust despite starting from scratch.
00:00 Culture by design, not by default—why Inven Capital had to reinvent itself inside ČEZ.
01:38 Building credibility in a conservative culture—why early adopters matter more than the majority.
03:25 Workshops, t-shirts, and pyramids—breaking hierarchy to create founder empathy.
05:00 Involving the board—how Inven secured sponsorship and continuous support.
06:30 Bridging the brand gap between ČEZ and Inven—winning trust with transparency and feedback.
08:00 Respecting failures—why structured feedback became a cornerstone of founder relationships.
09:00 Finding the right distance—how to be independent from the mothership but still connected.
💡 One-liner takeaway: Inven Capital proves that even the most conservative corporates can build trusted venture arms—if they design culture intentionally, empower early adopters, and earn founders’ respect through transparency and empathy.
#VC #VentureCapital #Investing #TheEuropeanVC #Podcast #Tech #Startup
Welcome back to the EUCVC Summit Talks, where we bring you candid conversations with Europe’s leading founders, corporate leaders, and investors shaping the future of venture collaboration.
In this episode, Andreas Munk Holm sits down with Peter Aksel Villadsen (GN Hearing) and Helle Hee (PwC) to unpack the messy middle of post-merger integration: aligning strategy and governance, protecting talent and culture, and getting the operating model right so the deal value actually shows up. From pre-close planning to the first 100 days, they share what works, what fails, and how to keep the integration machine honest.
This is essential listening for any corporate venturer, founder, or investor navigating M&A.
🎧 Here’s what’s covered
00:00 Opening context / why integrations fail more than they should
03:23 Pre-close prep: value thesis, Day-1 readiness, leadership alignment
06:15 Culture & talent: retaining the A-team, incentives, and communication
09:08 Operating model: decision rights, governance, metrics that matter
12:01 Tech & data integration: sequencing, risk, and “don’t touch yet” zones
16:07 First 100 days: what to lock, what to leave alone, what to measure
19:10 CVC’s role post-deal: sponsor, translator, and blocker remover
23:20 Common failure modes and how to spot them early
26:31 Case lessons & playbook tweaks founders would like to know
Welcome back to the EUCVC Summit Talks, where we bring you candid conversations with Europe’s leading founders, corporate leaders, and investors shaping the future of venture collaboration.
In this episode, Kasper Hulthin, serial founder now at Future Five (and co-founder of Peakon, Podio, and others) and Heini Zachariassen, founder of Vivino, the world’s largest wine app and marketplace. Both have experienced firsthand what it means to be acquired by a corporate—and they don’t hold back on the reality behind the headlines.
From culture shock and governance friction to the trade-offs of autonomy versus scale, Kasper and Heini share the inside story of what happens post-acquisition. They also reflect on when collaboration works, how to preserve founder spirit, and what corporates must do to retain the trust and agility of entrepreneurial teams.
This is essential listening for any corporate venturer, founder, or investor navigating M&A.
In this EUCVC Summit Talks episode, Andreas Munk Holm sits down with Hermann Haraldsson, CEO of Boozt, to unpack the journey of taking a Nordic e-commerce scale-up from scrappy beginnings to a billion-dollar listed company. They discuss Boozt’s playbook for customer trust, operational discipline, and balancing growth with profitability. Hermann reflects on how corporate partnerships can (and can’t) accelerate scale, why governance is critical earlier than founders think, and how AI and sustainability are reshaping retail.
Whether you’re a corporate VC, startup founder, or institutional investor, this is a candid look at the realities of building Europe’s digital champions.
🎧 Here’s what’s covered
00:00 Early days of Boozt — how a pivot from failure set the foundation for Nordic success.
04:15 Discipline in e-commerce: why governance and financial rigor mattered from day one.
07:40 The IPO journey — lessons on transparency, investor trust, and scaling under public scrutiny.
11:02 Corporate partnerships: what works, what doesn’t, and why alignment is everything.
14:26 Competing with Zalando — where local advantage and operational focus made the difference.
18:10 Building customer trust: logistics, returns, and the underrated role of consistency.
22:45 Sustainability in retail: Boozt’s approach to circular fashion and ESG reporting.
26:58 AI in e-commerce: practical applications Boozt is already deploying.
31:14 Founder resilience vs. corporate governance — finding the balance.
34:39 Advice to corporates: how to work with scale-ups without slowing them down.
38:50 Legacy and future vision: Hermann’s take on what defines success as a European tech leader.
At EUVC Summit 2025, Fred Destin, founder of Stride, didn’t give us a movie, or a polished pitch. He gave us something rarer—an unfiltered meditation on truth, technology, and the role of venture capital in shaping the next 50–100 years.
Not Just Capital. Not Just Companies.
Fred framed venture not simply as a financial craft, but as something profoundly human:
“Since I was a kid, I always thought of progress as being intimately related to human flourishing. In our age, the way in which we create—outside of art—is by helping founders build companies. We are in the cockpit with them, creating the future.”
But that future is clouded. Social media, born of “likes” and “shares,” bent the arc of progress into something darker: an attention war.
And now, with AI at full speed, the stakes have never been higher.
Truth Under Siege
Destin warned: truth is costly, outrage is cheap. Investigative journalism may take months, but outrage takes seconds. Algorithms optimized for speed have already shifted the field—and AI could supercharge it.
He asked the room to imagine:
A future where your AI knows who you dined with, where you’ve been, and what you’ll buy next.
A landscape where ambiguity is exploited, narratives collapse, and “heroes” are manufactured.
A world where our meditation spaces, even our inner lives, are monetized and optimized.
“Narratives are how we hold together—companies, funds, societies. When they collapse, what’s left to unite us?”
Stewardship in an Age of Anxiety
Fred’s answer wasn’t fear, but stewardship.
Stewardship of self: noticing when we’re trapped in attachment, aversion, or ignorance (as Buddhism teaches).
Stewardship of conversation: asking what quality of dialogue we are having—with ourselves, with founders, with society.
Stewardship of capital: ensuring the companies we back create a future we can stand behind.
“Maybe don’t tell your LPs you’re doing this. But be intentional. Back companies that are shaping the future you’d be proud to live in.”
The Call to VCs
Fred’s message landed as both caution and inspiration:
AI can bring abundance—solving crises of climate, soil, nutrition, and health.
But it can also bring domination—by nation states, corporations, or worse.
Or, if unchecked, extinction.
The choice isn’t abstract. It’s in the hands of those who sit “inside the vortex”—founders, investors, and stewards of capital.
Leadership That Speaks Truth
Fred Destin reminded EUVC Summit 2025 that venture capital isn’t just about returns. It’s about narrative, stewardship, and shaping futures in an age of anxiety.
“What are we telling the world? Not what is self-serving. But what is true. What is a contribution.”
Congratulations to Fred Destin, Stride, for a Summit Talk that challenged us not just to invest in companies—but to invest in the truth.
In a high-energy session that sparked nods across the room, Lucille and Marc tackled the shifting paradigms in the SaaS market—and made a compelling case for why vertical SaaS is quickly outpacing horizontal models.
Marc opened with a candid assessment of the current SaaS landscape. “What’s the flaw in the current market?” he asked. In his view, horizontal SaaS faces serious headwinds:
AI is leveling the playing field: Tools like AI-assisted coding have lowered the barrier to entry. Startups can now build and scale to $10–20M in revenue without a CTO, making it easier than ever to launch—but harder to stand out.
Enterprise sales are brutal: Horizontal SaaS faces challenges in defining clear ICPs (Ideal Customer Profiles), making it harder to gain traction quickly. This often results in sluggish proof points and delayed product-market fit.
Vertical SaaS—companies that serve a single, well-defined industry—has several structural advantages that Lucille and Marc believe make it the smarter play:
Clear Go-To-Market Motion
With deep domain knowledge, vertical SaaS teams know exactly how to sell and to whom. Their understanding of customer pain points gives them a clear runway for product adoption.
Economic Moats from the Start
By solving a niche problem deeply (rather than broadly), vertical SaaS players build sticky products with defensible positioning. This leads to easier upselling and faster PMF (product-market fit).
Composable Growth
Once established in one vertical, these companies can expand into adjacent markets or layers—embedding financial products like payments, insurance, or lending. That transforms them into mini-operating systems for their customers.
AI as an Embedded Edge
AI isn’t just a buzzword here—it’s embedded into the business model. These companies use AI to build smarter workflows, increase automation, and create differentiated products right out of the gate.
M&A and Platform Potential
Vertical SaaS allows for cleaner M&A and roll-up strategies, given the homogeneity of the user base. This is significantly harder with broad horizontal plays. Layering in APIs and platforms makes them extensible and scalable.
Lucille emphasized that success in vertical SaaS hinges on one key ingredient: deep workflow integration. These companies become indispensable to their customers, reducing churn and increasing lifetime value. It’s not about shallow features—it’s about becoming mission-critical.
“The future is not just SaaS—it’s vertical SaaS,” Marc concluded. “That’s how you build enduring, category-defining software companies.”
Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) can be both a powerful ally and a cautionary tale for founders and financial VCs alike. At the EUVC Summit, Nicholas Sauvage of TDK Ventures took the stage to break down the CVC landscape — past, present, and future — and give practical advice for founders considering CVCs on their cap tables.
Nicholas challenged the audience with a question: who’s had a good experience with a CVC? Hands shot up and fewer hands went up for “bad experiences.” This, he noted, shows we’re at a new stage for corporate venture.
He outlined the three eras of CVC:
CVC 1.0: The early days, marked by balance-sheet-driven investments and corporate sponsorships. These often came with odd term sheets and slower processes, but could unlock synergies.
CVC 2.0: Skipped over, just like today’s pre-seed to Series A jumps.
CVC 3.0: The modern era: financially disciplined, strategically aligned, fast-moving, and structured like financial VCs without sacrificing strategic purpose.
Importantly, Nicholas debunked the idea that financial and strategic returns are a trade-off - a "false premise," as he called it. The best CVCs aim for both: venture-type returns and deep strategic synergies.
Nicholas shared the characteristics of high-performing CVCs:
Fast decision-making (some in under 2 weeks!)
Clear investment theses
Slim, empowered ICs (not consensus-based groups of 12)
Strategic clarity and preparedness
A giver mindset — value-add first, not value-extract
He also offered advice for traditional VCs:
“Be thoughtful about when a CVC joins your cap table. Some are great at de-risking science, others support go-to-market — it's all about matching their superpower to your founder’s needs.”
TDK Ventures uses a strict three-pillar framework:
Contribution to society
Venture-type returns
Strategic synergy (giver-focused)
If an opportunity scores less than 9/10 on any one of the three, they won’t invest. Why? Because climate tech and deeptech take time and patience, and TDK is playing a long game to back meaningful technologies — like Type One energy and nuclear fusion — that can shape humanity’s future.
Before taking CVC money, ask the hard questions:
What’s their why?
What value do they add?
Are they ready to support at the right stage of your journey?
“Without exits, we don’t have a VC ecosystem,” Nicholas reminded the room — so make sure you’re partnering with CVCs who can help drive toward them.
CVCs: The Good, the Bad, and the MisunderstoodWhat Makes a Great CVC?TDK Ventures' Framework: Triple MandateAdvice to Founders & VCs
Tom Wehmeier of Atomico took the stage to present the Achievement of the Year Award, offering a touching reminder of the power of community, storytelling, and persistence in building Europe’s venture identity.
Before diving into the award itself, Tom took a moment to pay tribute to the unsung heroes who make the EUVC Summit possible. Special thanks went to:
Dan Taylor, Director of Content, whose voiceovers shaped the tone of the event’s videos—even if he had to duck out early for a birthday party.
Geraldine, for her tireless efforts behind the scenes, now rewarded with, in Tom’s words, “a very well-earned glass of wine—or two, three, I don’t mind!”
It was a warm and human moment, reminding the audience that even in high-stakes venture circles, gratitude and team spirit are what truly drive momentum.
Tom also took the opportunity to reflect on Atomico’s long-standing effort to amplify the voice of the ecosystem—particularly through their widely circulated surveys and reports. He playfully acknowledged the flood of emails and DMs over the years, encouraging people to contribute to the State of European Tech report.
But beyond the spam, the intent was serious:
“It’s been massively important to have the voice of tens of thousands of people shared and elevated… We’re all here because we believe Europe needs to tell its story in a positive way.”
The Achievement of the Year Award isn’t just about one startup’s exit or one investor’s return—it celebrates initiatives that move the whole ecosystem forward. In a continent still carving out its narrative on the global venture stage, this recognition honors those who go beyond capital to inspire, build infrastructure, and create shared momentum.
With that, Tom handed the mic back to Chris to announce the winner—but not before delivering a final rallying cry:
“The need was great then. The need is even greater today.”
Honoring the Builders Behind the ScenesThe Power of the Collective VoiceWhy This Award Matters
“Europe Can Win in Applied AI — If We Play to Our Strengths”
In one of the most focused and forward-looking sessions of the summit, Juliet Bailin of General Catalyst made a compelling case for why Europe is uniquely positioned to lead in applied AI—not by copying Silicon Valley, but by doubling down on what makes the continent distinct.
Juliet opened with a reminder of Europe’s superpowers:
Regulatory complexity,
Cultural and linguistic diversity, and
Strong traditions in research and privacy.
These aren’t weaknesses—they’re strategic advantages for human-centric, domain-specific, and trust-first AI.
“Highly regulated industries are perfect for specialized AI,” Juliet argued. “And cultural diversity is crucial for building human-centric systems.”
Rather than pursuing general-purpose models that require vast compute resources (a game already dominated by US giants), Juliet emphasized applied AI—targeted solutions built into real-world workflows. Europe’s leadership in sectors like healthcare, finance, and mobility offers the perfect foundation.
General Catalyst is backing this with:
Incubation of applied AI startups
AI roll-ups of legacy businesses with strong distribution
Public-private convenings via the General Catalyst Institute
Juliet called on governments to do more than fund foundational research:
“We need governments that can incentivize the adoption of European, homegrown applied AI companies.”
That means clear pathways for public procurement, regulation that encourages innovation, and aligned industrial policy.
Her message to entrepreneurs was crisp and actionable:
Build in regulated industries where Europe leads
Prioritize trust-first AI—privacy, explainability, fairness
Join the EU AI Champions Initiative → AIChampions.eu
(A platform to connect startups with the corporates and investors driving Europe's AI future)
Juliet closed with a powerful vision—not just of returns or GDP growth, but of rewriting the social and economic history of Europe:
“If we do this right… future historians will talk about it at the next EUVC summit.”
Why Europe? Because We're Built for ItApplied AI Is Europe’s OpportunityA Call for Innovation-First PolicyWhat Founders Can DoFrom GDP to Legacy
Europe’s tech playbook has evolved — from mastering consumer internet and telecoms to now confronting the most ambitious challenge yet: the green transition. In a compelling Summit address, Natalie Tydeman of Kinnevik framed climate tech not just as a hot trend, but as the defining commercial and industrial transformation of our time.
Despite political headwinds and shifting corporate rhetoric in some markets, Europe’s climate policy support remains strong. More importantly, we’re finally witnessing a turning point: climate tech is no longer about sacrificing economics for sustainability. As Natalie put it, the new breed of green solutions are both commercially viable and environmentally necessary.
What’s needed from founders and investors alike? Patience, resilience, adaptability, and creativity. The capital profiles of these companies often look very different from classical tech — they’re more capital intensive, and success often depends on building coalitions of aligned investors.
Natalie emphasized two core themes where Kinnevik is most focused:
Green Supply Chains
Energy Transition
These areas are where the visibility of future revenue streams is strongest — crucial for unlocking project financing and credit facilities. Joint development agreements, government-backed low-cost financing, and project equity play a far bigger role than in SaaS or consumer models.
Europe might lag in some tech metrics, but in climate it’s starting to pull ahead:
~50% of EU energy is now renewable vs. under 20% in the US
84% of consumers express a desire to shop more sustainably
Government and blended finance are now key backers of green ventures
This ecosystem makes it possible to build large, climate-positive businesses in Europe without sacrificing scale or returns.
Natalie closed by reaffirming Kinnevik’s conviction: the green transition isn’t just a moral imperative — it’s a multi-decade economic opportunity. The fund is staying highly selective, but deeply committed to supporting the few ventures that can deliver climate impact and venture-scale returns in tandem.
“We’re not looking for the most startups — we’re looking for the ones that will matter most.”
Investing in Climate Requires Patience — and CreativityFinancial Ecosystems & Policy: Europe Has a TailwindThe Takeaway: Selective but Bold
