Europe does not have a deep tech problem. It has a commercialisation problem.
The last European companies to reach €100B+ market caps were SAP and ASML, both founded 40–50 years ago. If Europe wants a new generation of deep tech champions, venture capital alone won’t get us there. Customers have to step in.
In this episode, Andreas Munk Holm is joined by Martin Schilling, former operator, investor, and founder of Deep Tech Momentum, to unpack why Europe excels at funding breakthroughs, but consistently fails to industrialise them.
This is a conversation about:
Why enterprise buyers are the missing link in European deep tech;
What corporates are doing wrong (and how they can fix it);
How founders actually win large customers in complex, regulated markets;
And why courage — not grants — is Europe’s real constraint.
Here’s what’s covered:
01:15 Martin’s background: from N26 operator to deep tech ecosystem builder
01:52 What is Deep Tech Momentum (DTM)?
03:00 Why commercialisation — not capital — is the real bottleneck
04:19 The age gap: Europe’s top companies vs the US
06:26 Why US corporates acquire twice as many startups as Europe
06:54 The uncomfortable truth: Europe funds innovation others industrialise
08:54 Why corporates (not just VCs) must change behaviour
10:49 Neo-primes: the new system integrators Europe desperately needs
12:50 The four things corporates must fix to work with startups
15:06 Why startup collaboration must be CEO-owned
17:14 Buyers first: why conferences get this wrong
19:03 Money + customers: the only two things founders really need
21:27 Trust, speed, and why procurement kills startups
23:25 Why trust starts inside the corporate, not with founders
27:03 Selling deep tech to enterprises & governments: what actually works
32:03 When CVCs help — and when they hurt
33:08 Enterprise sales mistakes founders keep making
38:28 Deep tech sales reality: defense, policy, and long cycles
44:57 Why DTM is not EU-funded — by design
49:07 The state’s real role: customer, not grant machine
49:23 Final takeaway: Europe needs courage, not more programs
Show notes
Europe’s deep tech bottleneck isn’t science — it’s demand
Europe has world-class research in:
Quantum;
Robotics;
Biotech;
Advanced materials;
Space & defense.
What it lacks is enterprise pull.
As Martin puts it:
“Europe funds breakthroughs — and others industrialise them.”
The result:
European deep tech startups scale slower;
Exits skew toward US acquirers;
Capital recycles out of the continent.
This isn’t new — but it’s now existential.
The age problem no one talks about
One of the most striking stats Martin shares:
Top 10 European companies by market cap: average age ~87 years
Top 10 US companies: average age ~30–35 years
Why this matters:
Younger companies collaborate more easily with startups;
Older corporates accumulate bureaucracy, risk aversion, and procurement drag;
Acquisition and partnership muscle atrophies over time.
In the US, Fortune 500 companies acquire 2x more startups than their European counterparts. Silicon Valley giants acquire 10–20x more.
That difference alone reshapes ecosystems.
Neo-primes: Europe’s missing layer
Martin introduces the idea of “neo-primes” — modern system integrators that:
Assemble deep tech into deployable products;
Act as customers, partners, and acquirers;
Industrialise innovation at speed.
Examples are emerging in defense and AI — but Europe needs many more.
“These companies must become the next SAPs and ASMLs — and pull startups with them.”
The four corporate failures blocking deep tech
Martin outlines four systemic problems corporates must solve:
1. CEO ownership
Startup collaboration cannot live in:
Innovation labs;
Venture units;
CTO side projects.
If it doesn’t sit on the CEO agenda, it dies.
2. Trust deficit
Corporates fear startups will:
Disappear;
Fail to deliver;
Collapse mid-procurement.
Founders fear:
Endless pilots;
Slow decisions;
Zero P&L ownership.
Trust must be rebuilt structurally — not rhetorically.
3. Capability gaps
Most corporates lack:
Fast POC budgets;
Empowered decision-makers;
Integration paths into core business.
Innovation theatre no longer works.
4. P&L clarity
Startups must articulate — clearly:
Revenue uplift;
Cost reduction;
Competitive advantage.
If it doesn’t hit the P&L within 9–12 months, it won’t scale.
Buyers first, not investors first
A core insight behind Deep Tech Momentum:
“Markets only work if buyers show up first.”
Instead of building conferences around:
Startups → then VCs → then LPs.
DTM flips it:
Enterprise buyers first;
Founders follow;
Investors amplify.
The goal isn’t inspiration — it’s contracts.
How founders actually win enterprise customers
From Martin’s operator playbook:
Track input KPIs, not just revenue:
proposals sent per week
outreach → meetings → pilots;
Maintain 3–4x pipeline coverage;
Design sales cycles around:
Regulators;
Policymakers;
Primes & system integrators.
In sectors like defense, founders must:
Engage political stakeholders;
Influence capability definitions;
Sell years before procurement begins.
This isn’t optional — it’s the job.
The state’s real role: customer, not grant giver
One of the sharpest critiques in the episode:
Europe doesn’t need more grants.
It needs state demand.
Historical reminder:
The US Department of Defense bought ~70% of early semiconductors;
That procurement created entire industries.
The lesson:
Less regulation;
Fewer fragmented programs;
More state purchasing power deployed deliberately.
Final thought: Europe needs courage
Martin closes with a challenge:
“Trust requires courage.
Courage to take risk.
Courage to buy early.
Courage to move fast.”
Europe doesn’t lack talent, capital, or ideas.
It lacks confidence and commercial bravery.
One-liner takeaway:
Europe doesn’t need more deep tech — it needs customers brave enough to buy it.
