Welcome back to another episode of the EUVC Podcast, your trusted inside track on the people, deals, and dynamics shaping European venture.
This week, Andreas Munk Holm is joined by Max Kufner, Co-Founder and CEO of again, and Jan Miczaika, Partner at HV Capital.
again is one of those rare European deep-tech stories that blends academic brilliance, industrial execution, and venture pace. Born out of DTU, with roots at Stanford and MIT, again uses gas-eating microbes to turn CO₂ emissions into valuable chemicals and materials. In plain English: they take carbon that’s already in the air (not the ground) and repurpose it into things we use every day, from plastics to fertilizers.
Backed by HV Capital, GV, and a handful of top European and US investors, again is on a mission to decouple industrial growth from fossil carbon. But the conversation goes far beyond climate tech.
Max and Jan unpack what it takes to build deep tech at venture speed, the reality of talent scarcity in Europe, the cultural differences between US and EU deep-tech ecosystems, and how to navigate board dynamics, milestone-based investing, and the journey to a Series B in a capital-intensive world.
Whether you’re a founder, investor, or LP curious about deep tech’s reindustrialisation wave — this one’s for you.
Here what’s covered:
01:24 | again in one line — gas-eating microbes → chemicals (no oil out of the ground)
02:53 | Why HV Capital backed again — climate upside and a chance to redefine European chemicals
04:31 | Investor → founder pendulum — why Max went from Atlantic Labs partner back to operator
06:20 | The serial founder advantage (and its hidden trap)
10:17 | Building deep tech in Europe — talent constraints, optimism gaps, and moving early to the US
15:30 | Multipolarity — global operations, risk appetite, and where to spend your time
23:38 | Boardcraft — how to use your board (and avoid being over-managed)
28:39 | On-air sparring — asset-heavy vs. platform-heavy business models
33:17 | Prepping for Series B — risk, IRR, and the difference between validation and scale
36:59 | Milestone-based investing in deep tech — bridges, binaries, and how to keep momentum
43:12 | LPs and VCs — why deep tech is high-risk and high-alpha
46:08 | Founder lessons — customer co-creation, speed, and building fast with scientists
48:06 | Final reflections — Europe’s industrial renewal through deep tech
✍️ Show Notes
From CO₂ to Chemicals: How again Works
again uses gas-eating bacteria to convert CO₂ emissions into chemical building blocks that traditionally come from oil and gas.
In other words, it’s the same carbon chemistry — but sourced sustainably.
“It’s the same carbon molecules — we just don’t pull them from the ground.” — Max Kufner
The company stands on two pillars:
A manufacturing arm, building and operating plants that turn CO₂ into chemicals and fertilizers.
A computational biology / AI platform, enabling rapid discovery and optimization of new carbon-based molecules.
Together, they make up a hybrid model of hard tech and software — an “industrial platform” that’s both capital-intensive and IP-rich.
Why HV Capital Backed again
“This is a company that can redefine one of Europe’s base industries — chemicals.” — Jan, HV Capital
HV Capital’s deep-tech practice looks for innovation emerging from labs and universities that can reshape entire sectors. again checked every box:
Genuine lab-to-scale breakthrough technology.
A massive addressable market tied to Europe’s industrial backbone.
Founders capable of moving at venture speed, not academic pace.
And — as Jan notes — HV’s value-add isn’t in bacterial biology but in scaling operations, globalisation, and funding strategy.
The Investor-Turned-Founder Pendulum
Max’s career spans both sides of the table. Before again, he was a prolific angel investor and part of the Atlantic Labs team in Berlin, where he helped incubate startups.
So why switch back to operating?
“I love doing both. Building teaches you what great looks like; investing teaches you what investors look for. It’s symbiotic.” — Max Kufner
His model of “investor-founders” — similar to what US firms like Founders Fund practice — may soon become more common in Europe.
The Serial Founder Advantage — and Its Limits
Serial entrepreneurs bring pattern recognition, networks, and credibility — but also biases.
“If your first success was with a hammer, you might try to fix every new problem with a hammer. Sometimes you need a screwdriver.” — Jan
The duo agrees: experience multiplies effectiveness when the next company shares DNA with the last one. But in deep tech, humility matters — especially when moving into new scientific territory.
Building Deep Tech in Europe: Challenges and Shifts
For again, the hardest challenge wasn’t capital — it was talent.
“We struggled to find the right scientists and engineers in Europe. The US just had a different optimism.” — Max Kufner
The result? again moved part of its operations to the US early. But Max remains bullish on Europe’s industrial partnerships, from chemicals to materials — “there’s no lack of will here, just friction.”
“Even the greatest European deep-tech companies should look abroad. You need that risk-on mindset.” — Max
Multipolarity: The New Normal
The world isn’t binary anymore. It’s multipolar — and founders need to think that way.
“If you build AI, you should probably be three weeks a month in San Francisco. If you build chemicals, one week might be enough.” — Jan
Between energy costs, regulation, and geopolitics, smart founders design for optionality — keeping production flexible, sourcing feedstock where it’s cheapest, and hiring globally.
Boardcraft: How to Make Governance Work
“If I add real value three or four times a year, I’m doing well.” — Jan
Boards in deep tech are tricky. Investors can’t micromanage, nor can they stay uninvolved. again’s approach:
Build a board with complementary skills — operators, scientists, financiers.
Handle critical topics 1:1, outside formal meetings.
Use the board for insight and network leverage, not approvals.
Max: “Our board is designed so everyone works on what they’re best at — ops, talent, R&D, strategy. It’s functional, not ceremonial.”
Prepping for Series B
The shift from Series A to Series B is a mindset change: you move from de-risking science to proving industrial scalability.
“Once you validate your production, you show investors you can move as fast as venture returns demand.” — Max
For again, that meant building a petrochemical-scale plant in under a year, proving engineering reliability, and expanding both vertically (new products) and horizontally (licensing via their comp-bio platform).
Jan adds: “We back-solve from the next round. What will you need to show for a strong B? Tech validated, demand secured, team ready. Then build workstreams around that.”
Milestones, Momentum & Bridge Rounds
Deep tech doesn’t follow SaaS-style metrics. Timelines slip — but value creation mustn’t.
“Momentum can’t just be a feeling — it has to be measurable.” — Jan
again keeps investors close through quantifiable progress: IP filings, yield efficiency, off-take contracts, and cost curves.
Bridge rounds, when needed, fund acceleration — not survival.
“We just didn’t allow timeline slipping to be a thing.” — Max Kufner
Europe’s Industrial Renewal
Europe’s industrial share of GDP has shrunk dramatically. Max is vocal about the need to rebuild the industrial base, powered by clean tech and biotech.
“We used to make things here. Now we import them. That’s dangerous long term.” — Max Kufner
again’s mission isn’t just climate — it’s industrial sovereignty. By turning waste carbon into materials and fertilizer, they’re tackling both emissions and economic dependency.
For LPs and VCs: Rewriting the Risk-Return Playbook
“You can’t bring your SaaS checklists into deep tech. This is a different animal.” — Jan
LPs chasing Europe’s deep-tech wave need new frameworks:
Replace NDR and churn with IP, patents, and efficiency curves.
Replace CAC with contracted offtake volume.
Focus on long-term asset value, not near-term MRR.
Deep tech may be harder to underwrite — but it’s also where true alpha lies, especially as competition remains thin and industrial partners pre-commit to adoption.
Founder Lessons from Max
Start selling before you’re ready. Talk to customers before your product exists — co-create value.
Stack momentum. Investors love progress — patents, contracts, efficiency gains.
Hire optimists. The right culture is as important as the right strain of bacteria.
“VCs love seeing contracts. Don’t wait until your tech is perfect — start with real demand.” — Max Kufner
LP & Investor Advice from Jan
Be open to risk and reward asymmetry. Deep tech’s variance is high — so is its upside.
Don’t transfer old templates. Traditional VC metrics don’t fit physics or chemistry.
Think portfolio-of-portfolios. Diversify across technologies; time bridges intelligently.
“We’ve seen real estate funds lose 80%. No VC fund has ever done that bad. Risk is relative.” — Jan
💡 Key Takeaways
Deep tech needs speed, not perfection — build fast, learn faster.
Boards should be functional partners, not mini-CFOs.
Momentum is your real KPI — patents, offtakes, efficiency, execution.
The US offers talent; Europe offers industrial depth — use both.
LPs: stop fearing the unknown. Deep tech’s volatility is where alpha lives.
