The European VC (EUVC)
Interviews with Europe's top VCs exploring trends, fundraising, and firm-building strategies.
Inside REHAU's AI Rollout: AI Academy, AI Factory and Enterprise Adoption
In this episode, Nils Wagner, CEO of Rehau New Ventures, discusses the company’s rapid AI rollout—including the AI Academy, AI Factory, and a touchless invoice automation pilot—while reflecting on his journey from architecture to leading external innovation. He explains how Rehau shifted from costly venture‑building to a venture‑clienting model, emphasizing the need for short‑term impact and tighter alignment with core strengths. Key takeaways include the importance of secure, enterprise‑grade LLM access, careful management of token costs, and the challenges of hiring true entrepreneurs for corporate ventures. Wagner’s perspective blends architectural vision‑setting with hands‑on experience from China’s fast‑paced digitization to guide Rehau’s AI and innovation strategy.
Europe's Palantir Problem, AI Sovereignty & the Rise of Venture Secondaries
In this episode of Upside, Matt Russell, head of secondaries at Vencap, explains how venture secondaries differ from private‑equity deals, emphasizing that top‑performing secondary purchases often command premiums rather than deep discounts. He projects the venture secondary market could quickly...
Julien Fredonie, Honda Xcelerator Ventures: Europe Isn’t Fragmented. It’s a Deep Tech Circuit Board.
Julian Fredonie of Honda Xcelerator Ventures explains why Europe’s deep‑tech ecosystem is a tightly‑connected “circuit board” rather than a fragmented landscape. He outlines seven reasons the region now attracts hardware‑focused startups, from strong public funding and a surge of deep‑tech...
E720 | Henrietta Moon, Carbo Culture on Building Multi-Revenue Carbon Removal
In this episode, Henrietta Moon, founder and CEO of Carboculture, explains how her company uses high‑temperature biochar factories to simultaneously produce renewable energy, premium growing media, and permanently sequester carbon for centuries. She outlines a full‑stack business model that sells...
E706 | Jo Slota-Newson & Marc Sabas, Almanac Ventures: Systemic Deep Tech for Industrial Decarbonisation
Almanac Ventures, founded by deep‑tech scientist Jo Slota‑Newson and finance‑focused Marc Sabas, invests seed‑stage deep‑tech solutions for industrial decarbonisation across Europe. They target technologies that improve performance, lower costs, and cut emissions in complex, capital‑intensive sectors that account for 75%...
E705 | Martin Schilling, Deep Tech Momentum: Why Europe’s Deep Tech Problem Isn’t Funding
In this episode, Martin Schilling, co‑founder of Deep Tech Momentum, explains that Europe’s deep‑tech challenge is not a lack of funding but a commercialization gap: large corporates aren’t buying or partnering with startups at scale. He highlights stark statistics—European firms...
E703 | Max Bray and Juliet Bailin, Kindred Capital VC: LP Conviction, $15B Funds & The Venture Barbell
In this episode Max Bray and Juliet Bailin of Kindred Capital discuss the current state of venture capital, focusing on LP conviction, the challenges of fundraising in a tough macro environment, and the emerging split between large, secure funds and...
The New European Sovereignty Stack: Energy, Minerals, Compute
The episode examines Europe’s modern sovereignty as an industrial and supply‑chain challenge, focusing on semiconductors, rare‑earth minerals, and energy infrastructure. Guests highlight Europe’s heavy reliance on imports, a thin venture‑capital ecosystem, and the need for coordinated capital to close the...
E695 | This Week in European Tech with Dan & Mads (Feat. Sam Marchant)
In this episode of Upside, Dan, Mads, and guest Sam Marchant dissect the surge of capital into enterprise AI, highlighting Anthropic’s $30 billion round and contrasting it with OpenAI’s shift toward consumer‑focused monetization. They explore the paradox of AI‑driven productivity, where...
E692 | Debbie Wosskow OBE, Chair of the UK’s Invest in Women Task Force: Mixed Teams, Better Returns, Real Incentives
In this episode, Andreas interviews Debbie Wosskow OBE, a serial founder and chair of the UK’s Invest in Women Task Force, about the shift from gender‑equity intentions to actual capital flows in venture. She explains how aligning incentives and power...
E690 | Sacha Michaud, Glovo: Scaling a Hyper-Competitive Marketplace (and Knowing when to Exit)
In this episode, former race‑horse jockey turned Glovo co‑founder Sacha Michaud walks through the operator playbook that powered Glovo’s rapid rise and disciplined exits. He explains how the company launched its MVP in 2.5 months, scaled internationally with a launch‑team...
E686 | Jan Hofmann, Viessmann Generations Group and Christian Hernandez, 2150: From Climate Hype to Industrial Reality
In this episode, host Andreas Munk Holm talks with Jan Hofmann of Viessmann Generations Group and Christian Hernandez, GP of 2150, about the current state of climate‑tech investing. They argue that hype has faded, leaving only robust business models and...
E680 | Oskar Hartmann, Accumulator: From Beast Mode to a New Angel Investing Model
In this episode, Andreas Munk Holm talks with Oskar Hartmann, a serial founder turned super‑angel, about his "beast mode" approach, burnout lessons, and the importance of product‑soul fit. Hartmann explains the new Accumulator model—a share‑pooling mechanism that gives founders and...
E679 | This Week in European Tech with Dan, Mads & Lomax
In this episode Dan Bowyer, Mads Jensen, and Lomax Ward dissect a range of power shifts across European tech, from OpenAI’s health‑focused ChatGPT and the FDA’s fast‑track AI medical device approvals to Meta’s acquisition of AI‑agent platform Manus and Nvidia’s...
E677 | Michael Brehm, Redstone: One Investment, 200 Ventures — The New Blueprint for European VC Access
In this episode, Michael Brehm of Redstone explains how the firm backs a single investment across 200 European ventures, creating a new model for VC access that spreads risk and capital efficiently. He discusses the rationale behind concentrating capital, the...