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 Cyber
03:30 Mapping the Cybersecurity Investment Gap: US vs Israel vs Europe
05:20 The Tech Stack Power Shift: From Cloud to AI, and Why Security Must Catch Up
07:30 Europe’s Fragmentation Problem—Or Its Untapped Advantage?
09:45 The Role of ECSO in Building a Unified European Cyber Strategy
11:45 Why Europe Needs Specialist Cybersecurity VCs
15:30 What Other Movements Can Learn from the ECSO Playbook
20:00 Cybercrime vs Cyber Spending: The 10 Trillion Dollar Wake-Up Call
21:30 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 Attention
28:00 Where Cyber Ends and Defense Begins—Drawing Ethical Boundaries at 33N
📺 Watch the episode here or stream it on Spotify or Apple Podcasts—now with chapters for easy navigation 🎧
✍️ Show Notes
The State of Cybersecurity in Europe
Carlos lays out the reality: Europe is one of the largest cyber markets globally, but vastly underinvested compared to the US and Israel. While fragmentation has historically been a weakness, ECSO is now working to turn that into a strength by building a continent-wide platform for founders, funds, and policymakers.
From Startup Access to Capital Coordination
ECSO began with a simple insight: startups couldn’t meet cyber investors. Now, it’s working on a Europe-wide investment platform to match the scale and specialization of global peers. Carlos shares lessons from inside this initiative—and why specialization, not generalism, is critical for success in this category.
AI Has Already Changed Cyber (And It’s Just Starting)
With cybercriminals already using AI to scale and personalize attacks, the defensive side must evolve rapidly. From AI-enabled fraud detection to automated protection, Carlos explores why AI is no longer a “nice-to-have”—but the new baseline.
Building Champions Means Thinking Global, Not Local
Carlos makes the case that Europe must think beyond its borders when scaling cyber startups. It’s not about protectionism—it’s about building global leaders. But to do that, Europe needs its own sophisticated capital stack—from early-stage specialists to pan-European funds.
Why Invest in Cyber (and Why Now)
Cyber is one of the few tech sectors to remain resilient through downturns. And it’s one of the few with growing demand, rising geopolitical relevance, and emerging AI-driven tailwinds. LPs, pay attention.
Free and exclusively available for community members.
Jonathan is a Partner at Bullhound Capital. He joined Bullhound Capital from Molten Ventures (formerly DFJ/Draper Esprit), where he was a Partner for 16 years, focused on direct investments and successful exits, including RavenPack, Ledger, M-Files, and PodPoint. At Molten, he also led the Fund of Funds and Secondary practices, investing in over 80 early-stage VC funds and managing multiple secondary portfolio transactions. These initiatives provided exposure to standout companies such as UiPath, Revolut, TransferWise, Peak Games, and Typeform.
Jonathan’s career began in investment banking, advising on equity offerings and mergers & acquisitions at leading firms including Apax Partners Corporate Finance, Rothschild & Cie, and Jefferies.
Jonathan holds a master's degree in Management from EM-Lyon and the University of St. Gallen, and a postgraduate degree in advanced corporate finance from the University of Paris IX Dauphine.
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