In this episode, David Cruz e Silva sits down with Björn Tremmerie, Head of Technology Fund Investments at the European Investment Fund (EIF), live from the EUVC studio at SuperVenture 2025.
They delve deeply into the true state of European venture capital, examining long-term performance trends, the role of EIF as Europe's policy-aligned capital allocator, and how sovereignty, resilience, and maturity are reshaping the ecosystem.
Here’s what’s covered:
00:20 SuperVenture loyalty & ecosystem energy
01:02 The mood in market: storms, maturity & resilience
03:04 What makes this moment in venture a real opportunity
03:31 Recap of Björn’s panel with Joe from Isomer
05:15 DPI truths: the top 50 funds & a look back to 2017
06:04 Defense tech & dual-use: what EIF will (and won’t) fund
09:34 Sovereignty ≠ isolation: the real role of the EIF
11:00 Later-stage funding gaps & Europe’s infrastructure problem
12:36 Satellites, SpaceX & European strategic dependencies
14:14 Learnings from 25+ years in the game
15:01 Philosophical, but practical: what VC responsibility means
16:17 A clear statement on openness, not isolation
Watch the episode here or stream it on Spotify or Apple Podcasts—now with chapters for easy navigation.
Show notes
The market pulse: resilient, not panicked
Björn shares how EIF sees today’s environment not with panic, but perspective. Unlike past crises, today's GPs are more seasoned, founders more adaptive, and capital still ready—albeit more disciplined.
DPI: data over doom
Björn drops numbers that matter. The top DPI in EIF’s portfolio clocks in at 13.4x, and even the 50th best stands at 1.7x. Compared to 2017? That’s night and day. He reminds us: This is just a moment in time.
Defense tech: yes to sovereignty, no to weapons
EIF is investing in dual-use technologies—cybersecurity, secure communications, space access—but draws a hard line at arms and ammunition. The first dedicated fund? Shift Capital (Netherlands). The new €175M Defense Equity Facility launches later this year.
Late-stage gap threatens long-term autonomy
Björn argues Europe's late-stage funding gap is a real sovereignty issue. If we don’t build €1B+ funds here, our best tech champions will remain reliant on non-European capital—and ultimately, strategic decisions.
"It’s not about rejecting foreign money. It’s about not being 100% dependent on it.” — Björn Tremmerie
Infrastructure in orbit
Björn shares a sharp example: European carmakers needing SpaceX to launch satellites for autonomous driving. If your core infrastructure relies on your competitor, you have a problem. This is the type of strategic exposure Europe must fix.
What Europe’s missing: unity, not talent
Europe isn’t behind because of capability—it’s coordination. Fragmentation across 27 states, lack of unified policy signals, and under-leveraged institutional LPs are the bottlenecks now.
Reflections from the long haul
Having backed VC funds since the ‘90s, Björn reflects on what’s changed:
The rise of operator-led funds;
Stronger institutional knowledge;
The long game needed to mature ecosystems.
“We didn't make mistakes—we just hadn’t had the time to grow up yet.”
Europe’s tech moment
Björn sees a Europe that’s closer than ever to producing a trillion-dollar company—but only if we allow ourselves the flexibility to fail, the capital to scale, and the strategic clarity to build with autonomy.
