EUVC Newsletter - 22.09.2025
From EU-Inc to applied AI: Europe’s future will be built on structure, not slogans.
If there’s a single thread running through this week’s drops, it’s infrastructure over vibes. We’re past the “Europe needs to believe” phase; now it’s about wiring the system so founders can move faster and scale bigger. Andreas Klinger’s EU-Inc vision puts legal and financial plumbing where hand-waving used to be. Olav Ostin’s (TempoCap) secondaries play turns paper into progress. And Juliet Bailin’s (formerly General Catalyst) case for applied AI is a reminder that our superpower isn’t brute-force compute—it’s domain depth, trust, and deployment.
In between, we celebrate the builders who keep standards high—emerging managers who choose discipline over drift, vertical SaaS founders who win by going deep, and CVCs that add value without swallowing the cap table. And of course, Ventech’s announcement of their sixth flagship fund of 175M€ 🚀. Call it Europe’s quiet revolution: fewer slogans, more throughput; fewer hot takes, more compounding.
And finally, please make sure to participate in this year’s State of European Tech Survey.
With 💖David & Andreas
Table of Contents
🎧 Podcasts of The Week
Alex Bakir, Norssken Evolve: Resilience, Climate, and Building Europe’s Future
EUVC Summit 2025 | Tapestry Venture: Emerging Manager of the Year
EUVC Summit 2025 | Itxaso del Palacio, Notion Capital: Building European Cloud Challengers
EUVC Summit 2025 | Juliet Bailin, General Catalyst: European Resilience Through Applied AI
EUVC Summit: Nicholas Sauvage, TDK Ventures: The Path to CVC Success
EUVC Summit 2025 | Lucille, Eight Roads & Marc, Altitude: Europe’s Path to Vertical SaaS Leadership
EUVC Summit 2025 | Fred Destin, Stride: Living a Meaningful Life in Tech
This Week in European Tech with Dan, Mads, Andrew, Lomax & Mike
What’s your biggest fund modelling challenge?
Most people in venture will nod along when fund modelling comes up. But here’s the kicker: very few actually nail it. And yet, fund modelling is the backbone of every VC fund.
We’ve been digging into this in our Essential Building Blocks series and masterclasses — and what keeps surfacing is that GPs and LPs alike wrestle with the same messy questions:
Fund size = strategy. Get it wrong and you’ve misaligned your LP base from day one.
Follow-ons. How much to reserve? Everyone models it differently, almost everyone regrets it later .
Portfolio construction. Go too shallow and you’re just rolling dice. Go too concentrated and you can’t execute.
Distribution waterfalls. They’re not just technical plumbing — they decide who actually makes money .
Liquidity. Until fees and ops are covered, your fund is basically a very expensive hobby .
What’s striking is how few people talk about these challenges openly. Behind closed doors, every GP admits to second-guessing assumptions, and every LP admits that most models they get are… shaky.
So here’s what we want to do:
We’re collecting fund modelling challenges from across the community.
We’ll share back the key themes with everyone.
It’s a simple ask:
What’s your biggest fund modelling challenge?
Take 3 minutes and add your voice
Your response won’t just vanish into a spreadsheet. We’ll use it to shape upcoming content, masterclasses, and maybe even a bigger benchmark piece if the data warrants it.
Because at the end of the day, fund models aren’t just numbers in Excel - they’re the building blocks defining whether your fund survives or stalls.
Contribute to Europe's knowledge-base & help write our narrative
Six months ago, at the EUVC Summit 2025, Atomico was honored with the Achievement of the Year Award, sponsored by CEW Communications, for their groundbreaking State of European Tech 2024 report. This recognition celebrated their work in amplifying the collective voice of Europe’s tech ecosystem through state-of-the-art data and research. Now, it’s time for you to help shape the next chapter of this definitive report by contributing to the State of European Tech 2025 survey.
Why your input matters
The State of European Tech is the cornerstone of Europe’s tech narrative, reflecting the entire ecosystem’s insights and aspirations. Your contribution strengthens our knowledge base and helps craft a positive story for Europe on the global stage. As Tom Wehmeier of Atomico said, “We’re all here because we believe Europe needs to tell its story in a positive way. The need was great then, and it’s even greater today.”
How to participate
Take the 5-7 minute confidential and anonymous survey: take it here!
Have questions? Email Atomico at soet@atomico.com
Time is running out, so act now to ensure your voice is heard!
As a thank you, Atomico has partnered with Slush to give away four tickets to the world’s most founder-focused gathering and the largest VC event globally. Winners are announced weekly—complete the survey early for more chances to win!
Not familiar with the report? Explore the 2024 State of European Tech here to see the insights you can help shape. Join us in building Europe’s tech future—take the survey today!
🥳 Ventech Closes €175M Fund to Fuel Europe’s Tech Innovators
Ventech, a leading pan-European VC firm, has closed its largest fund yet, Ventech Capital VI, at €175 million, with a 95% LP renewal rate. The fund targets 35 Seed and Series A startups, focusing on Vertical AI (50% of capital), Digital Health, Industrial Software, Cyber Security, and Sovereignty.
With 15 investments already made, including Okapi Orbits (Germany), Inven (Finland), Starhive (Sweden), Whithings, Vertesia, and Omaha Insights (France), Ventech continues its 26-year legacy of backing successes like Believe (BLV.PA) and Vestiaire Collective. Operating from Paris, Munich, Berlin, Helsinki, and Stockholm, Ventech has raised €1.1 billion, with 320+ investments and 185 exits.
Chairman Jean Bourcereau, Chairman and Managing Partner at Ventech, said:
“We’re proud to have raised this sixth-generation fund with the backing of a diverse group of international LPs. A 95% re-up rate speaks volumes about the trust in Ventech’s performance and core beliefs. We're also honored to see over a dozen former founders return as investors, one of the strongest endorsements we could receive. The entire team is deeply grateful for the continued trust of our LPs and the founders who chose us to stand by their side.”
Learn more at www.ventechvc.com.
🎧 Podcasts of The Week
EUVC Summit 2025 | Andreas Klinger, Prototype Capital: The Path to EU Inc: A Unified Future for European Startups
At the EUVC Summit 2025, Andreas Klinger didn’t mince words.
Europe lacks something every other industry has had for decades:
→ Big spending
→ Big infrastructure
→ Big exits
And without them, we can’t pretend we’re building a sovereign innovation ecosystem.
“Europe needs tech innovation to work—because without it, we will never be fully sovereign.”
Startups Aren’t Small. They’re Strategic.
Andreas opened by flipping a common narrative:
“Startups are too often framed as small, creative, ambitious companies. But in reality—they’re the foundation of sovereignty in tech.”
Europe doesn’t need more “projects.”
It needs repeatable, scalable, founder-first infrastructure to unlock its next wave of global tech companies.
Introducing EO Inc: Europe’s Standard Startup Infrastructure
“The easiest way to explain EO Inc? It’s Deliveroo—but for incorporation. A European legal and operational standard for startups.”
The idea is deceptively simple:
Standardized formation
Recognized structures across all member states
Seamless stock option systems
Taxation only at exit
Bank acceptance by default
“This isn’t just for startups. It’s a company structure any business can use—built for the modern economy.”
And the movement? It’s already here:
16,000+ signatories
Backing from founders of Wise, Bold, and countless unicorns
Support from every major VC fund and ecosystem body in Europe
Growing traction in Brussels
Founders Did This. In a WhatsApp Group.
This wasn’t launched by a ministry.
It wasn’t cooked up by consultants.
“EO Inc was built by founders, VCs, and ecosystem people who literally just got together in a WhatsApp group.”
The message is clear:
You don’t need permission. You need momentum.
The Missing Piece: IPOs in Europe
Andreas ended on a blunt but vital point:
“If one of my founders did an IPO in Europe right now—I’d sue them.”
Why? Because there’s no pan-European IPO framework. No deep exit market. And without exits, VC doesn’t work.
“So please. Someone. Anyone. Get together and fix this.”
He wasn’t joking.
He was inviting.
Final Words: Just Do Things
Andreas closed with the same clarity he opened with:
“You can just do things.”
This wasn’t a stage for platitudes—it was a platform for action.
So if you know a policymaker, a president, a minister—connect them to EO Inc.
And if you care about making European venture work—get involved.
Thanks, Andreas—for reminding us that sovereignty isn’t just about borders. It’s about infrastructure.
Let’s build it.
Full lifecycle legal advisory for LPs, GPs, startups & scaleups — get to know Haynes Boone.
Olav Ostin, TempoCap: Europe’s Secondaries Boom
Today we welcome Olav Ostin, Founder & Managing Partner at TempoCap, one of Europe’s few dedicated secondary direct firms. With a nine-year track record, a 12-person team in London and Berlin (soon Paris), and multiple $500M+ exits, Olav is perfectly placed to explain why secondaries have gone from taboo to the hottest corner of venture.
From buying whole portfolios from corporates to cherry-picking strip deals with VCs under LP pressure, TempoCap has built a reputation for navigating complex transactions and delivering liquidity in a market starved of exits. In this conversation, Olav shares what makes secondary directs different, how pricing really works, and why “who isn’t selling?” is the right question in today’s market.
🎧 Here’s what’s covered:
01:00 TempoCap’s story: founded in 2016, 9 years of secondary directs, team and footprint
02:00 What secondary directs really are: single-asset vs. portfolio transactions
03:03 What they buy: later-stage, €10–30M ARR, fully funded enterprise software, fintech, cyber & more
05:00 Typical deal sizes: €5–20M singles, €20M–€100M+ portfolios
06:30 How deals come in: board seats, VC relationships, and corporate inbound
09:50 Portfolio deals: cherry-picking vs. full takeovers, strip deals, and tailored solutions
15:00 Misconceptions: discounts are not automatic; valuation discipline and liquidity dynamics
23:40 How a secondary deal is actually done: NDA, desktop analysis, confirmatory DD, SPA
28:20 Who’s selling? Corporates offloading, GPs under DPI pressure, but few fire sales
36:00 Notable exits: Onfido ($650M), D-Orbit ($500M), and what they say about today’s market
39:20 The future of TempoCap: bigger funds, becoming Europe’s leading secondary direct player
You can watch the episode here, or add it to your queue on Apple or Spotify 🎧 (chapters for easy navigation available on both).
Alex Bakir, Norssken Evolve: Resilience, Climate, and Building Europe’s Future
Today we welcome Alex Bakir, General Partner at Norrsken Evolve, the new €57M pre-seed fund spun out of the legendary Norrsken family of funds. Together with Johan Attby and Rebecka Löthman Rydå, Alex is doubling down on impact-driven founders building Europe’s resilient and sustainable future—with backing from EIF, Saminvest, SmartCap, and operators like Taavet Hinrikus and Sten Tamkivi of Plural.
We dive into Alex’s journey - with family roots in Iraq and England to Cambridge, the World Bank, Climate Change Capital, and Planet Labs; his lessons from the clean-tech crash of 2008; why resilience is now the lens for Europe’s industrial strategy; and how Norrsken Evolve is rethinking fund construction with 80 portfolio companies, automated follow-ons, and a sprint model for founder collaboration.
Here’s what’s covered:
01:38 Alex’s path: Iraqi–English upbringing, Cambridge climate science, World Bank, first-wave cleantech VC
04:30 Lessons from the cleantech crash (’08): macro can kill even great theses
07:19 Why this time is different: realism, supply chains, energy security
10:31 Fundraising the hard way: €40M → €57M; satellites vs. raising a fund
12:36 Mistakes & pivots: from naive global to Europe-first resilience
15:50 LP profiling: local anchors + institutional validation (Saminvest, EIF)
19:00 The trough of despair & team completion with Rebecka Löthman Rydå
22:11 The “funky” model: 80 companies, €250K tickets, no boards, automated follow-ons
26:06 Sprint model: six-week in-person collaboration (not a school)
31:22 Investment focus: The carbon-free economy, the infrastructure of tomorrow, future of Europe
40:57 Founder fit: mission-driven, experienced builders with scars and purpose
You can watch the episode here, or add it to your queue on Apple or Spotify 🎧 (chapters for easy navigation available on both).
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EUVC Summit 2025 | Tapestry Venture: Emerging Manager of the Year
At the EUVC Summit 2025, the award for Emerging Manager of the Year went to a team that has carved its place in Europe’s venture ecosystem with grit, heart, and vision: Tapestry Venture.
Founding Partners Patrick Murphy, Audrey Miller, David Kelly, and Alex McKenzie were celebrated for their relentless effort to build something new—not just for themselves, but for founders and LPs across the continent.
Not Just Another Fund. Not Just Another Story.
Tapestry isn’t simply adding capital to the market. They’re challenging the established players in Luxembourg’s fund admin industry, pushing through barriers that often make it hard for emerging managers to break in.
From Ireland to Venture
Patrick’s journey into venture wasn’t planned.
“I grew up in Ireland building computers and websites. I didn’t know venture capital was even a thing—that people could believe in your dreams and then give you money to do something about them. It’s pretty wild. I’m glad venture found me.”
That spirit—of discovery, belief, and persistence—is what defines Tapestry.
In Service to Founders
If there was one theme in Patrick’s words, it was service.
“To be in venture is to be in service,” he said. “There’s no exam, no syllabus, no license for board members—though I wish there was. There’s no ombudsman, no complaint line for founders. So it’s up to us to raise our own standards. To be in service to the great founders who want to change Europe and change the world.”
That vision is backed by their LPs and by a belief that the ecosystem thrives not through competition alone, but through collaboration—co-investors and friends lifting each other up.
Leadership That Raises the Bar
For Tapestry Venture, winning Emerging Manager of the Year is less about the trophy and more about the mandate:
To challenge entrenched structures
To empower founders head-on
To raise the standards of venture itself
Congratulations to Patrick Murphy, Audrey Miller, David Kelly, and Alex McKenzie of Tapestry Venture—Emerging Manager of the Year.
Because in their words: “We’re all winners in this ecosystem. And we’re going to be here for a long time.”
Join ImpactVC, a global community of 900+ VCs driving change and using venture capital to tackle the world’s biggest challenges—explore their community, resources, and training at impactvc.co.
EUVC Summit 2025 | Itxaso del Palacio, Notion Capital: Building European Cloud Challengers
At EUVC Summit 2025, one of the most anticipated sessions broke down a powerful data set: 100 of Europe’s breakout startups. This wasn’t theory—it was company-by-company insight, straight from interviews and bottom-up analysis.
Yes, there were rogue slides.
Yes, the crowd wanted to skip to the AI part.
And yes, it delivered.
🇫🇷🇩🇪🇬🇧 Still Rule the Map
~75% of these startups are based in Germany, France, and the UK.
Despite growing noise around new hubs, Europe’s big three remain dominant. It reflects ecosystem maturity—but also a challenge: how do we better back breakout teams in the Nordics, Baltics, Southern Europe, and CEE?
📉 Fintech Cools, GTM Tools Rise
For the first time in years, Fintech dropped in sector rankings.
Instead, we saw a wave of AI-native sales and marketing tools—building products that help companies grow smarter, automate go-to-market, and personalize customer acquisition at scale.
“This year’s cohort is selling before building. AI is their leverage.”
🧍 Solo Founders On the Rise
One of the most notable shifts: a significant increase in solo-founder companies.
This reflects:
A rise in repeat operators
Greater early-stage tooling
More confidence in focused execution
It also implies VCs may need to shift their bias—many of these founders are no longer waiting for a co-founder to “complete” them.
💡 AI-Native: Not Just a Feature—A Foundation
The moment everyone waited for: AI-native insights.
49% of these 100 startups are AI-native at their core.
This means:
AI is not bolted on—it's the product itself
Many founders have already moved beyond horizontal LLMs to verticalized applications
They're monetizing via use-case depth, not just model architecture
🧑💻 Teams Are Leaner, Sharper
Last year’s 100 had an average of 25 employees per company.
This year’s cohort? Just 14. That’s a 40% drop.
But don’t mistake that for weakness—roles are more specialized, and teams are more surgical. These aren’t MVPs—they’re hyper-focused execution machines.
“Today’s teams are smaller, sharper, and trained on efficiency from Day 1.”
🔄 Low Loyalty, High Velocity
Across hundreds of founder interviews, one theme stood out:
Tool loyalty is low.
Founders are switching infra, models, APIs, and tooling with no hesitation.
That’s not a sign of flakiness—it’s a sign of rapid evolution, where AI-native teams optimize continuously.
🇪🇺 Regulation: Burden or Opportunity?
Controversially, the speaker closed with a contrarian take:
“I believe European AI regulation will actually accelerate enterprise adoption.”
Why?
Clarity breeds confidence
Corporate buyers need frameworks
Knowing what’s allowed = faster go/no-go decisions
In a twist, Europe might become the first-mover on enterprise AI—not in spite of regulation, but because of it.
Final Message:
“AI-native is not a trend. It's a new category of company. And Europe is building it—faster and leaner than ever before.”
Let’s keep watching the signals. Let’s keep fueling the flywheel.
Where operational expertise and innovation work for you.
EUVC Summit 2025 | Juliet Bailin, General Catalyst: European Resilience Through Applied AI
“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.
Why Europe? Because We're Built for It
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.”
Applied AI Is Europe’s Opportunity
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
A Call for Innovation-First Policy
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.
What Founders Can Do
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)
From GDP to Legacy
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.”
Discover EU-backed startups, raise capital & connect with innovation leaders — explore Dealflow.eu, the EU-backed platform bridging founders, VCs & corporates.
EUVC Summit 2025 | Achievement of the Year Award: Atomico
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.
Honoring the Builders Behind the Scenes
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.
The Power of the Collective Voice
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.”
Why This Award Matters
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.”
Make an impact with the bank made for the innovation economy
EUVC Summit: Nicholas Sauvage, TDK Ventures: The Path to CVC Success
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.
CVCs: The Good, the Bad, and the Misunderstood
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.
What Makes a Great CVC?
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' Framework: Triple Mandate
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.
Advice to Founders & VCs
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.
Get trusted legal advice for investors & entrepreneurs — from start-up to scale. We know tech — get to know Goodwin here.
EUVC Summit 2025 | Lucille, Eight Roads & Marc, Altitude: Europe’s Path to Vertical SaaS Leadership
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.
The Horizontal SaaS Dilemma
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.
Why Vertical SaaS Wins
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.
The Secret Sauce? Deep Workflow Integration
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.
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EUVC Summit 2025 | Fred Destin, Stride: Living a Meaningful Life in Tech
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.
This Week in European Tech with Dan, Mads, Andrew, Lomax & Mike
Welcome back to another episode of Upside at the EUVC Podcast, where Dan Bowyer, Mads Jensen of SuperSeed, Andrew J Scott of 7percent Ventures, and Lomax unpack the forces shaping European venture capital.
This week, veteran journalist Mike Butcher (ex-TechCrunch Europe, The Europas, TechFugees) joins the pod. From the creator economy eating media brands, to Europe’s fragmented ecosystem and the capital gap that won’t die, we dive into EU-Inc, Draghi’s unfulfilled reforms, ASML’s surprise bet on Mistral, Europe’s defense awakening, Klarna’s IPO, and quantum’s hot streak.
Here’s what’s covered:
00:01 Mike’s Reset
03:00 Media Evolution & Creator Economy
06:45 Europe’s Ecosystem & Debate Culture
12:00 All-In Summit Debrief
17:00 EU-Inc & Draghi Report
35:00 Deal of the Week: ASML × Mistral
49:00 Defense & Industrial Base
59:00 Klarna IPO & the Klarna Mafia
01:03:00 Quantum’s Hot Streak
01:05:00 Wrap-up
🎧 Listen on Apple or Spotify — or queue it for later with chapters ready to go.
SPVs in the Spotlight
Two of the world’s most valuable AI companies took a stand:
OpenAI formally warned investors against “unauthorized” investment vehicles, stressing that any SPV, forward contract, or tokenized structure without its written consent may be void.
Anthropic went further, telling even Menlo Ventures that it must invest directly from its own balance sheet - no SPVs allowed.
At first glance, this looks like a crackdown on secondary trading. But I see something bigger:
The Access Paradox
We’ve entered a strange moment in venture:
Demand for breakout companies has never been higher.
Access has never been more tightly controlled.
The syndicate/SPV model sits right in the middle of this tension.
For founders, SPVs can feel like a loophole - a way for unknown names to sneak onto the cap table without consent. They complicate shareholder dynamics, blur transparency, and often exist to extract fees. No wonder companies like OpenAI and Anthropic are pushing back.
But if we stop here, we miss the real story.
Not All Syndicates Are Equal
Lumping every SPV or syndicate into the same bucket is lazy thinking.
Some are “grey-market wrappers” built to ride hype and scarcity. They add nothing but noise and opacity. Those deserve to die.
But others - when done right - are a form of infrastructure. They:
Walk through the front door invited, not through side deals.
Strengthen GPs and founders by bringing strategic angels, operators and families around the table.
Add trust, transparency, and contribution - not just capital.
The EUVC Model
This is the model we’ve been building at EUVC. Our pledge is explicit:
No backdoors. No ghosting.
GP-first, always. We only invest when we’re invited in.
Contribution over capital. Our members commit not just money, but deal flow, diligence, and ecosystem support.
Because Europe doesn’t need extractive access plays. It needs trusted syndicate infrastructure that expands access while respecting founders and GPs.
This is why I believe the crackdown from OpenAI and Anthropic isn’t the death of SPVs. It’s a wake-up call. Only the right kind of syndicates - the ones companies want at their table - will endure.
And that’s exactly the bet we’ve made at EUVC.
Join the Debate
I unpacked more of these thoughts on LinkedIn and launched a quick poll:
👉 Are SPVs the future of access, or already a relic?
You can cast your vote here - and more importantly, add your perspective. Because this debate isn’t just about AI giants. It’s about the future of access in venture capital, in Europe and beyond.
If this sparks thoughts or you’d like to debate the future of SPVs and syndicates, I’d love to chat.
📩 Reach me directly at david@eu.vc.
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Before you go…
We also wanted to share the final newsletter from the CO-INVESTIN project, which we’ve been proud to be part of. While the project is wrapping up, the mission continues — connecting Europe’s investment ecosystems, bridging funding gaps, and driving more transparency and inclusion. This edition is packed with updates on new collaborations, upcoming roundtables, insights on diversity and impact investing, and highlights from recent forums shaping the future of European venture.