EUVC

Carlos Moreira da Silva brings a rare blend of insight: a deep B2B operator, a specialist investor at 33N, and a leading force behind Europe’s cybersecurity coordination efforts through ECSO. Together, we explore why cybersecurity is Europe’s opportunity to lead, not follow, in the new geopolitical tech stack.Here’s what’s covered:01:15 What is ECSO and Why It Matters for European Cyber03:30 Mapping the Cybersecurity Investment Gap: US vs Israel vs Europe05:20 The Tech Stack Power Shift: From Cloud to AI, and Why Security Must Catch Up07:30 Europe’s Fragmentation Problem—Or Its Untapped Advantage?09:45 The Role of ECSO in Building a Unified European Cyber Strategy11:45 Why Europe Needs Specialist Cybersecurity VCs15:30 What Other Movements Can Learn from the ECSO Playbook20:00 Cybercrime vs Cyber Spending: The 10 Trillion Dollar Wake-Up Call21:30 Building Global Champions in Cyber (Not Just Regional Winners)25:00 What Startups Should Look for in a Cyber VC (Beyond the Check)26:30 Invest for Cyber @ SuperVenture: Why the LP Community Should Pay Attention28:00 Where Cyber Ends and Defense Begins—Drawing Ethical Boundaries at 33N

Welcome to a new episode of the EUVC Podcast, where we bring you the people and perspectives shaping venture — this time with a lens on Southeast Asia and India.This week, David Cruz e Silva, founder of EUVC, and Ambika Behal from Circle Capital sit down with Tanuja Rajah, Partner at M Venture Partners (MVP) in Singapore — an early-stage fund backing founders from day zero across Southeast Asia and India.Tanuja’s path is not your typical VC story: a PhD in immunology, a startup built on trial and error, and a mission now to fund the region’s next generation of founders tackling healthcare, trust, access, and affordability — without the science risk.🎯 This Episode’s Themes:How a science background shapes a founder-first investment lensSoutheast Asia vs. India: where the next breakout health techs will come fromThe truth about exits in Asia: secondaries, roll-ups, & why IPOs are hardAI hype vs. reality: why MVP waits before jumping on the AI bandwagonGoing from B2C to B2B: the maturity curve in regional digital healthThe realities of being an emerging fund manager in an overheated early-stage ecosystemTanuja’s biggest lesson: great teams are not enough — markets matter more🕒 Here’s what’s covered:01:30 | How a PhD in immunology landed Tanuja in venture03:00 | Starting a company with no playbook: lessons from Malaysia to Singapore05:00 | Why MVP backs healthcare — but avoids the science risk07:00 | 25% of the world’s population: why India & Southeast Asia are consumer goldmines10:00 | Biggest VC lesson: ownership matters (and why it’s so hard for new funds)12:30 | How MVP balanced brand building with early fund modeling15:00 | Why angels and micro-funds make Southeast Asia so competitive17:00 | Healthcare’s future: physical + digital or nothing19:00 | AI: hype, scribe startups, and the real wedge that matters22:00 | Portfolio spotlight: how HD used real-world data to build a regional moat25:00 | Can Southeast Asia’s healthtech scale into Europe?28:00 | Where follow-on capital is (and isn’t) coming from30:00 | Exits done right: why secondaries and &A trump IPO dreams35:00 | Strong beliefs overturned: why the best teams still need the best markets39:00 | Advice for emerging fund managers: pick your people and sharpen your USP42:00 | Book of the Week: how Siddhartha Mukherjee’s “Emperor of All Maladies” shaped Tanuja’s mission

Welcome to a new episode of the Impact Highlight Series, powered by EUVC, Impact VC and Impact Supporters. Today, we’re joined by Tony Jamous, founder and CEO of Oyster. Oyster is on a mission to reverse brain drain and reduce wealth inequality by democratizing access to global job opportunities. Before founding Oyster in 2020, Tony took his previous software API company public on the New York Stock Exchange.Together, we dive into how Tony built Oyster into an impact unicorn, what it means to lead a mission-driven company, and why he believes impact and financial success are collinear. From hiring across 45 countries to creating a billion-dollar company in just two years, Tony shares the lessons, challenges, and values that guide him.This is the playbook for building impact unicorns — straight from the founder’s journey.🎧 Here's what's covered:02:11 Witnessing the Power of Global Hiring in 45 Countries05:02 Why Oyster Started: Democratizing Access to Global Jobs08:27 From Zero to $1B in Two Years — How the Pandemic Accelerated Demand12:04 Impact Entrepreneurs: Using Technology as a Means, Not an End15:43 Aligning Financial Success with Impact — The Virtuous Cycle20:12 The “Inner Rock”: Sticking to Your Values Under Pressure24:05 Playing the Infinite Game: Building for the Next Generation27:44 Recruiting for Mission Alignment & Emotional Stability33:02 Why Impact Businesses Attract the Best Talent and Investors37:19 The Oyster Framework: Wellbeing as a Core OKR41:08 Choosing Impact-Driven Investors with Real Frameworks46:30 Actionable Tip for Generalist VCs: Get Curious and Start Testing

Mike Maples Jr., the legendary co-founder of Floodgate and early backer of Twitter, Lyft, and Twitch, joined EUVC to deliver a masterclass in contrarian venture investing. His message to European GPs and LPs was clear: the biggest winners don’t follow the rules — they break them.He not only challenged European venture capitalists to rethink their playbooks but also distilled years of hard-won wisdom into a framework he calls Inflection Theory, urging GPs and LPs alike to focus on pattern breakers instead of pattern matching.In typical fashion, Mike was sharp, candid, and even a bit irreverent, dropping truth bombs about everything from what makes a founder truly breakout to why fund size is a VC’s destiny. This essay captures those key insights and explores what they mean for European investors who aspire to back the future’s biggest winners.Mike Maples Jr. has never been one for incremental change. As our conversation revealed, he believes venture success comes from “changing the subject” entirely – defying conventional wisdom and waging “asymmetric warfare on the present”. European GPs and LPs tuning in were treated to a masterclass on identifying unreasonable founders who don’t fit the mold, and why the usual check-the-box approach to startups misses the mark. From Inflection Theory and the anatomy of breakout founders to the transatlantic culture clash in tech, let’s dive into Maples’ playbook – and see how it challenges us all to up our game.

Welcome back to another episode of Upside at the EUVC Podcast, where , of and from unpack what’s happening in European tech and venture capital.This week: Why Series A in Europe now often means “multi-seed” and what founders should do about it, Germany’s €100B industrial policy push and whether it can actually deliver, and the Bank of England’s rate cut as a red flare for the economy. Plus: the OECD’s warning on corporate underinvestment, why the EU’s Chips Act 2.0 risks missing the AI boom, and the latest in the global AI race from GPT-5 rumours to billion-dollar raises. Also: Clay’s $100M relationship-intelligence war chest, N8N’s unicorn momentum, and a Spanish autonomous tractor that’s rewriting farm economics.🎧 Here's what's covered:01:12 Series A Reality Check: US vs Europe timelines, bridge rounds, and why naming matters.06:04 The Multi-Seed Era: How European founders should think about funding milestones.10:47 Germany’s €100B Deutschlandfonds: Ambition, execution risk, and industrial policy priorities.17:58 UK Rate Cut at 4.0%: Red flare for growth, modest boost for VC competitiveness.22:31 OECD on Corporate Investment Stagnation: Why regulatory drag is Europe’s silent growth killer.29:44 Europe’s Chips Act 2.0: From missed targets to high-value manufacturing opportunities.38:11 AI Corner – GPT-5 Rumours & Claude 4.1: Funding surges and the open-source shift.45:27 IP & AI Models: Data leakage risks and the Napster-era copyright parallel.52:03 Deals of the Week: Clay, N8N, and Voltrac’s autonomous tractor breakthrough.57:46 Closing Takeaways: Focus, speed, and execution as Europe’s competitive levers.

At EUVC Summit 2025, () didn’t give a talk—he threw down a gauntlet.Forget polite panel chatter. This was part existential reckoning, part investor roast, and part Radiohead reference. It left the room laughing, nodding, and—if we’re honest—slightly uncomfortable.Which was the point.“Venture is lending money to people believing one future. That’s what I do at least.”2019: The Climate Fundraising GauntletHampus opened with a flashback to 2019, when fundraising for climate still meant fighting disbelief.“One third of LPs didn’t believe in climate change. Another third didn’t understand the business models. The rest were waiting for someone else to go first.”Fast forward to today, and while climate events are louder, many investors still hesitate.“The expected value of climate change is huge. So why are we still asking if there’s upside?”Fossil Fuels vs. Electrons: Which Sounds Dumber?In classic Hampus form, he took aim at the status quo with punchy simplicity:“We burn things that explode to move forward. Or we could use electrons that fall from the sky for free. Which sounds smarter?”He skewered half-hearted circularity narratives and ESG buzzwords, pointing out the absurdity in how valuable materials (like titanium in aerospace) are wasted—literally thrown out next to cigarette butts.Radiohead, Trump & the Venture Job DescriptionAt one point, Hampus invoked a line from Radiohead:“If you're a plastic surgeon, you gotta know—gravity always wins.”Then added:“Sorry, Trump.”It was funny—but also cutting. The message was clear: You can deny physics and climate reality for a while, but eventually, gravity wins.How Venture Can Actually MatterHampus made one thing very clear: he’s not in climate to feel good—he’s in it to win.That means:Bigger roundsBigger companiesBigger exitsAnd fewer excuses“Let’s stop pretending it’s complicated. Let’s raise, build, scale—and let’s be less dumb.”

At the EUVC Summit 2025, of delivered a data-backed reminder: If we’re serious about building global companies from Europe, we need to stop treating the US as a rival—and start treating it like the deeply connected partner it already is.Robin Klein & the Power of Ecosystem BuildersThe session opened with a heartfelt nod to Robin Klein, this year’s Hall of Fame inductee. When Frontline asked leading investors across the continent “Who has been most influential in your journey in European tech?”—four out of five said Robin.“Building an ecosystem isn’t just about investing. It’s about building a fund, a culture, and a movement. Robin has done all three.”His recognition is a signal to us all: the best investors aren’t just backing startups—they’re laying foundations for the entire ecosystem to thrive.Europe vs. US? The Data Tells a Different StoryYou might think Europe and the US operate as separate tech spheres. The media often frames it that way. Politicians like Trump make it seem that way. But the data tells a different story:45% of the world’s internet traffic flows through just 17 transatlantic cables—every single day.In consumer tech, nearly 75% of global spend comes from Europe + the US combined.Signal AI, a Frontline portfolio company, analyzes global news in 150+ languages—yet a major share of its revenue comes from the US.“We’re already collaborating—just not always intentionally.”Think Big. Think Global.William’s message to investors was crystal clear:“We shouldn’t be advising founders to go small or to ignore the US. Europe and America are economically and digitally intertwined—and always have been.”He cited the powerful example of Dr. Katalin Karikó (Europe) and Dr. Drew Weissman (US)—the Nobel-winning team behind mRNA vaccines. Global breakthroughs, enabled by global collaboration.Yes, it’s harder today to build across borders. But that’s where investors need to step up—not retreat.Let’s not let political headlines shape our investment strategies.Let’s help our companies build globally, because that’s how we build lasting, category-defining businesses.And let’s take a page from Robin Klein’s book: invest in the ecosystem, not just the deal.

Welcome to a new episode of the EUVC Podcast, where we bring you the people and perspectives shaping European venture.Today, we’re joined by Ties Boukema, Head of Data, Tech & AI at Dawn Capital, one of Europe’s leading B2B SaaS and Fintech investors. With a background spanning law, statistics, Google Health, and five brain surgeries, Ties brings a rare mix of grit, optimism, and technical firepower to Venture and he’s putting it to use by building Rolodex, an internal AI-powered operating system for Dawn.This is not an AI trends episode. This is an inside look at what it takes to build and deploy technology within a venture firm—and why the industry has been lagging behind.🎯 This Episode’s Themes:How a near-death experience shaped Ties’ perspective—and his edgeWhy most software in VC is “surprisingly bad” and what to do about itHow Dawn is building Rolodex: AI-powered prep, network graphs, and event intelligenceThe myth of “no data in early-stage” and why private markets still need softwareWhat Gawande’s checklist manifesto can teach European ventureHere’s what’s covered:02:00 | Meet Ties: From New York brain surgery to Google to Dawn04:00 | Life Before Surgery: Growing up with 200+ hospital stays09:30 | A Second Life: What changed post-op—and how it shaped his drive11:00 | From Sales to AI: Ties' journey at Google and pivot into health12:45 | Why Venture: “These people are smart… but why are they fixing slides at 2 AM?”14:00 | Perspective as Edge: Handling pressure, breaking rules, and ignoring experts17:30 | AI vs Experts: The false trust in tradition—and how AI challenges it20:00 | The Speed Mismatch: We can produce info 100x faster than we can understand it24:00 | Building Tech for Venture: The reality, the resistance, the rewards29:00 | Buy vs Build: Why VC firms should think like operators, not tinkerers32:00 | Rolodex Origins: The deal Dawn lost—and what it taught them36:00 | Entity Resolution Hell: Why syncing your contacts is harder than you think40:00 | Rolodex in Action: Deal prep, relationship mapping, board meeting alerts44:00 | Quantifying Network Power: How Dawn tracks angels & co-investors46:00 | Strong Opinions, Loosely Held: Why Ties changed his mind on VC’s “human core”50:00 | The Checklist Revelation: What brain surgeons taught him about process

This year at the EUVC Summit Awards, Robin Klein was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Backed by HSBC Innovation Banking, the award celebrates a lifetime of impact—and Robin’s legacy stands as a blueprint for what long-term conviction in European tech can look like.As Chris Adelsbach reminded us on stage, we’re no longer an emerging ecosystem. We’ve grown up. And few have helped shape that growth more consistently, more humbly, and more powerfully than Robin.A Legacy That Began Before Venture Had a NameRobin’s story doesn’t begin with startups—it begins with family, migration, and belief.A century ago, his grandfather left Eastern Europe for South Africa. Years later, he handed over his life savings to a young engineer—Robin—to start a business. That first act of belief, Robin said, was venture capital before we had the word for it.From there, the journey spanned decades:→ Two companies built and exited.→ A pivot to angel investing in 1999.→ A front-row seat to the power law—and the human stories behind it.From Fledgling Angels to a $2B PlatformWhat followed was a fundamental reshaping of Europe’s innovation landscape.Across LocalGlobe, Latitude, and Solar, Robin and his team have helped founders build not only unicorns—but also communities, movements, and ecosystems. They’ve backed science and inclusion, food banks and frontier tech, with LPs from both East and West. Today, their platform manages nearly $2 billion.And through it all, one belief has remained constant:Innovation and technology are forces for good—capable of delivering stellar returns to LPs, and positive change to society.A Call to Builders—And the FutureRobin closed by thanking his grandfather—the original backer—and his son and partner, who now help lead the next generation forward.His message to the room was clear:We have the talent, the universities, the engineers. We have the moment.The time is now.Thanks to the foundations we’ve laid— the best is still ahead.

At this year’s EUVC Summit, Oliver Holle from Speedinvest delivered a powerful call to arms. In a room filled with the ecosystem’s builders, he laid out a bold vision for European venture: one that embraces our values, recognizes our untapped capital strength, and demands we shift from fragmentation to scale. His words weren’t just timely—they captured a moment of reckoning for European VC. The message? The opportunity is ours to lose, and the only thing standing in the way is us.Something strange has happened lately—I’ve never felt more proud to be European.Not in a jingoistic way. But in the sense that Europe’s values—modesty, facts over noise, democratic principles, and consensus-building—are becoming a competitive advantage. At a time when reliability and trust are global currencies, Europe’s soft power has quietly gained weight.But soft power alone isn’t enough.