Corporate venture building and the people shaping Europe’s capital stack
Spotlighting Europe’s Next Venture Leaders: Nominate the Emerging Manager & Newcomer of the Year
Hi friends 👋
This week, we’re focusing on what it really takes to turn good ideas and serious assets into companies that can grow.
We sat down with Axel Deniz, CEO of Bosch Business Innovations and Head of Venture Building at Bosch, to unpack what corporate venture building actually looks like when it works. Not the theory but the real decisions: how founders are chosen, when spinouts make sense (and when they don’t), how much independence is enough, and what it takes for a venture to survive beyond the mothership.
On the ecosystem side, EUVC Awards nominations are open, and this week we’re highlighting Emerging Manager of the Year and Newcomer of the Year — two categories that often reveal where momentum is building before it shows up in the numbers.
In an EUVC Insights piece, David takes on one of Europe’s biggest structural constraints: institutional aversion to risk, and why it plays such a decisive role in whether European companies scale here or elsewhere.
We’re also opening registration for two hands-on learning moments this month: a 2-hour advanced masterclass on VC fund modelling, focused on how assumptions actually shape outcomes, and an LP AMA with Chris Wade (Isomer Capital).
Hope you enjoy,
with 💖 David & Andreas
Table of Contents
Insights of the Week
EUVC Awards Spotlights:
Podcasts of The Week
Europe’s Real Problem: Institutional Aversion to Risk
Europe’s economic challenge isn’t a lack of talent, ideas, or capital. It’s an institutional system that systematically avoids productive risk. Vast pools of long-term capital exist in pensions and insurers, yet governance, regulation, and incentives push them to retreat precisely when companies need scale capital most. This isn’t prudence. It’s a structural choice that sidelines institutions from renewal and growth. If Europe wants companies to scale locally, its institutions must stay engaged as risk increases, not disappear. Avoiding risk may feel safe, but over long horizons it underfunds the future.
In an EUVC Insights piece, our co-founder David Cruz e Silva unpacks this dynamic, why it’s consequential, and what could actually change outcomes.
EUVC Awards Spotlights: Emerging Manager & Newcomer of the Year
Thank you to everyone who has already submitted nominations for this year’s EUVC Awards. We truly appreciate it.
This week, we’re highlighting two standout categories:
Emerging Manager of the Year recognises new funds demonstrating strong early performance, clear strategy, and momentum.
Newcomer of the Year celebrates individuals or firms making a meaningful impact in European venture within their first years.
Nominations remain open across all categories. Submit your favourite individuals and firms and help define excellence in European venture.
[Masterclass] Fund Modelling in VC: Assumptions Sheet Construction
This 2-hour advanced online workshop covers how to build and analyse an assumptions sheet for VC fund modelling and how assumptions drive fund performance. It focuses on three areas—Core Assumptions, Asset Development, and Equity Valuation Dynamics—and examines how different levers and scenarios affect outcomes.
Designed for emerging and established VCs, family offices, CVC professionals, and HNIs, the session combines expert overview, hands-on analysis, interactive model building, and Q&A. Participants will learn how to develop, analyse, and apply assumptions sheets to better understand strategic levers and improve fund decision-making.
Register using the code EUVC50OFF for €50 OFF.
Members of the EUVC community receive a 50% discount.
🎧 Podcasts of The Week
Axel Deniz, CEO Bosch Business Innovations: Venture Building, Spinouts & How Corporates Can Power Europe’s Deep Tech Wave
In a new episode of the EU CVC podcast, EUVC Corporate co-founder Jeppe Høier speaks with Axel Deniz, CEO of Bosch Business Innovations, about how one of the world’s largest industrial groups is reinventing itself to build the companies of tomorrow.
Bosch brings unmatched raw materials to the table: ~80,000 active patents, 80,000 researchers globally, and ~20 new patents per day. Axel’s mandate is to turn that technological depth into founder-led spinouts and joint ventures that can raise external capital and stand on their own.
Key takeaways from the episode:
▪️ From innovation to venture building: Bosch is moving beyond internal R&D projects to create founder-led spinouts and joint ventures that are built for the real market and external capital.
▪️ A built-in unfair advantage: With ~80,000 active patents, 80,000 researchers, and ~20 new patents filed every day, Bosch gives founders access to deep tech and IP—often translating into a two-year head start.
▪️ Founder-first by design: The model focuses on attracting top-tier founders, giving them autonomy, and applying a disciplined “fail fast” approach to concentrate resources where conviction is highest.
▪️ Global from day one: Ventures are built across seven international hubs, from Brazil to Japan, reflecting Bosch’s ambition to create globally scalable companies.
▪️ A message to founders: Don’t start from scratch. Axel Deniz encourages deep tech and hardware entrepreneurs to be bold and partner with corporates to accelerate what’s already possible.
It’s a must-listen for any founder, investor, or innovator passionate about turning technology into world ventures.
🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or queue it for later with chapter markers ready to go.
This Week in European Tech with Dan, Mads, Lomax and Andrew
Dan Bowyer, Mads Jensen of SuperSeed, Lomax Ward of Outsized Ventures and Andrew J. Scott come back for another episode to go behind the headlines shaping European tech, capital, and power.
From autonomous AI agents to defence spending, from mega-cap tech earnings to the question of whether Europe needs a unifying mission, this episode captures a moment where technology, capital, and politics are colliding fast.
Key takeaways from the episode:
▪️ AI agents are crossing a line: Tools like Clawdbot/Moltbot signal a shift from “assistive AI” to autonomous agents with real-world agency: negotiating deals, managing workflows, even making purchases. Powerful, but still borderline terrifying.
▪️ The AI arms race is accelerating, not slowing: OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI are raising historic rounds while capex at hyperscalers keeps climbing. Despite skepticism, the AI build-out now looks funded well into 2027.
▪️ China is quietly leading on AI efficiency: Moonshot’s new swarm-based model shows how parallel agent coordination could unlock faster problem-solving—hinting at a different, more resource-efficient AI trajectory.
▪️ Big Tech earnings reveal a split reality:
– ASML confirms AI hardware demand is still red hot
– Meta is printing cash by using AI to supercharge ads
– Microsoft faces investor nerves as capex rises faster than cloud growth
– Tesla reframes itself as a “physical AI” company, not a carmaker
▪️ Europe lacks a unifying mission: Inspired by Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, the group debates whether Europe needs a guiding “why” to unlock deeper integration—or whether only crisis ever truly mobilizes the continent.
▪️ Defence is becoming a structural tech opportunity: Europe is re-arming, but from a low base. Gaps in drones, satellites, ISR, logistics, and autonomous systems create long-term opportunities for startups and investors—if political commitment holds.
▪️ Social media regulation is heading for a reckoning: Europe is regulating, the US is litigating. Lawsuits targeting design choices (not content) could become Big Tobacco–style cases for Big Tech.
▪️ Deal of the week: Sword Health acquires Germany’s Kaia Health for $285M, marking consolidation in digital health—and a major European scale story in the making.
This episode is essential listening for anyone trying to understand where European venture, AI infrastructure, and geopolitics are heading next—and why the next decade may look nothing like the last.
🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or queue it for later with chapter markers ready to go.
Roamless’ Plan to Kill Roaming for Good
We sat down with Ali Gazioglu, founder & CEO of Roamless, soon after the company announced its $12M Series A, backed by Shuruk, Revo, and Ross Maldentis.
Roaming is one of those problems everyone tolerates… until they travel.
Then there are tradeoffs: local SIMs, roaming bills, broken WhatsApp numbers, or going dark on WiFi.
Roamless believes this isn’t a technical problem anymore. It’s an industry workflow problem.
Roamless is building what they see as the next evolution of telecom: a truly global mobile operator, starting with global data and expanding into voice, numbers, and messaging—so your mobile plan travels with you.
Roamless is building a global connectivity layer that:
works instantly across borders
starts with global data
expands into phone numbers, voice, and SMS
keeps your number wherever you go
eliminates roaming entirely
and collaborates with telcos instead of replacing them
Not a roaming bundle.
Not a travel SIM.
Not “install an eSIM when you land.”
Just connectivity that follows you.
Ali brings 15 years of deep telco infrastructure experience—and has personally lived the problem across 65+ countries. That combination is clear in how Roamless is built: not as a UI layer, but as real telecom infrastructure.
With eSIM adoption accelerating globally, Roamless is betting that 2026 will be the year roaming finally disappears.
Save the Date: EUVC Summit 2026
📅 Date: 22/04/2026
📍 London
Europe’s builders take the stage.
The EUVC Summit returns with founders, operators, VCs, and LPs focused on one question: how Europe wins.
From what it really takes to build category-defining companies in Europe, to how capital, conviction, and long-term alignment must evolve to compete globally — this is a working room, not a trends conference.
More details coming soon.
A small step toward better fund models (for all of us)
We’ve been digging deep into fund modelling through masterclasses, podcasts, and countless GP/LP conversations. One thing is clear: everyone’s wrestling with similar challenges, but almost nobody talks about them openly.
So we’re pulling together a shared snapshot for the whole community. Not an ask, just something we’re building together so we can all get a clearer picture of where the real friction points are in fund modelling today.
You can read about it here, but more importantly, please add your voice 👇.
We’ll gather the themes and share them with everyone. No fluff, just continuously striving to raise the bar and giving Europe’s venture ecosystem the signal it’s been missing.
Grateful to be building this with you all.
LP AMA with Isomer Capital’s Chris Wade
Join us on February 17th, 2026 at 12pm GMT for an intimate, no-BS AMA with Chris Wade, Partner at Isomer Capital. In this 60-minute live AMA (Virtual) session (capped at 20 seats), you will engage directly with Chris in a candid discussion under Chatham House rules. There are no scripts, no sales, just real questions and real answers.
EUVC Academy members get priority access, with remaining seats available on a first-come basis.
Non-members can still register on a first-come, first-served basis while seats last.
Join our team in Lisbon!
We’re looking for a Content Production Assistant to help bring EUVC’s podcasts, newsletters, and content to life. You’ll work closely with our Content Lead and founders in a hands-on, early-career role that’s perfect for someone curious, organized, and excited to learn how great content gets made. If you love storytelling and want to grow inside Europe’s venture platform, we’d love to hear from you. Lisbon-based.
🤗 Join the EUVC Community
Looking for niche, high-quality experiences that prioritize depth over breadth? Consider joining our community focused on delivering content tailored to the experienced VC. Here’s what you can look forward to as a member:
Exclusive Access & Discounts: Priority access to masterclasses with leading GPs & LPs, available on a first-come, first-served basis.
On-Demand Content: A platform with sessions you can access anytime, anywhere, complete with presentations, templates, and other resources.
Interactive AMAs: Engage directly with top GPs and LPs in exclusive small group sessions — entirely free for community members.