General Catalyst's Paula Wehmeyer on European tech & trends that are shaping the ecosystem

A deep dive into investing in innovation that builds global resilience and supporting the need to secure critical industries and supply chains.

Today, Andreas talks with Paula Wehmeyer, Partner at General Catalyst, a global investment powerhouse that partners with the world’s most ambitious entrepreneurs to drive resilience and applied AI.

General Catalyst has $8B in new capital, with a track record spanning over 700 investments in transformative companies like Stripe, Airbnb, Anduril, and Helsing. Paula has an extensive background in investing across stages, from pre-seed to pre-IPO, and she has expertise in navigating the global venture landscape.

Together, we’ll explore how General Catalyst approaches cross-sector investments and what it takes to build resilience in the ever-evolving tech ecosystem. We’ll also discuss how applied AI reshapes industries and the opportunities this presents for founders and investors.

Watch it here or add it to your episodes on Apple or Spotify 🎧 chapters for easy navigation available on the Spotify/Apple episode.

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✍️ Show notes

Who is Paula Wehmeyer? - A look at the person behind.

  • Coaching posture: Asking the right questions to support entrepreneurs in reaching their conclusions rather than being directive and giving them solutions and answers.

  • “Do what is uniquely you” rather than following any playbook: The only way to create alpha in any job or environment is to take an authentic and personal approach - particularly in investing. For example, I successfully sourced deals from organizing a “singles dinner” in Berlin because I found that fun and authentic, and it worked.

Deep Dive: GC's perspective on European tech, investing, and trends shaping the ecosystem.

  • Our goal: We expect 3 out of the 10 next big global AI companies to come from Europe, and we want to shape that. How?

  • Europe’s deep talent pool and unique industrial base offer us an opportunity to build the world’s most successful tech companies in the next decade -

    • For example, We have the largest cluster of AI labs globally - the Alice Initiative - here in Europe. A high percentage of AI research is driven by European researchers. I’m confident that AI companies will come out of Europe and conquer the world. We want to build a capital market and framework to support these researchers in turning their research into innovation and companies.

    • The return of experienced European tech leaders from global companies back to Europe.

  • Europe has some of the strongest established industries and sectors - from the midcap (”Mittelstand”) to large industrial conglomerates - all ripe for transformation.

    • Time to double leap-frog

    • Applied AI is at the heart of Europe's opportunity to transform sectors, including manufacturing, defense, and supply chains, through backing conscientious AI companies focused on positive, responsible transformation.

    • By going beyond the traditional venture model - for instance, with our creation strategy- we can be the investment and transformation company driving transformation, global resilience, and applied AI for Europe and the world.

  • Regulation (e.g., in AI) and fragmentation are challenges, but also opportunities to pay attention to

    • Overregulation threatens Europe, and we are not naive about it. However, responsible or progressive regulation can unleash creativity and innovation by setting legal frameworks. GC Institute is working with policymakers and industry to define a responsible approach to embedding AI into society.

Fragmentation: We look in particular for companies that take advantage/benefit from fragmentation, e.g., cross-border payment companies. Movements like the EU Inc. are all steps in the right direction, but they will not entirely change also the cultural fragmentation.

Deep Dive: GC's commitment to investing in innovation that builds global resilience - supporting the need to secure critical industries and supply chains.

  • Global resilience:

    • How do we think about the resiliency of nations and continents regarding key capabilities and infrastructure? In Europe, we have seen war and an energy crisis: this demonstrates how shifting global dynamics means we must build more resilient systems in our most critical sectors.

    • GR is about modernizing this critical infrastructure in industrial manufacturing, supply chains, defense, and energy.

    • We work as a global GR team between our geographies on these topics

    • In the EU, for instance, have invested in a bunch of companies in these segments - from Helsing, Fever Energy, Smalt, and many more unannounced - so stay tuned

  • Creation Strategy and “Applied AI”

    • We, as GC, have a deep history of hatching/incubating companies. Commure, Livongo, and Kayak are in the US, which we continue in Europe.

    • We also actively transform established businesses outside of the classical venture framework. Compared to PE, we bring technology and AI in rather than taking costs out. Europe is particularly well-suited here due to the huge inventory of amazing traditional businesses.

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