Welcome back to the EUCVC Summit Talks, where we bring you candid conversations with Europe’s leading founders, corporate leaders, and investors shaping the future of venture collaboration.
In this episode, Samuli Sirén, Managing Partner at Redstone, joins Andreas Munk Holm to explore how data-driven deal sourcing is reshaping venture capital. Redstone has spent nearly a decade building SOPHIACI, its proprietary analytics platform, to track trends, identify group dynamics, and map startup opportunities long before they show up on mainstream radars.
From the promise and limits of AI in scouting to the common mistakes corporates make in startup sourcing, Samuli pulls back the curtain on what works, what doesn’t, and how data can give investors an edge without replacing human judgment.
🎧 Here’s what’s covered
00:00 Data, hype, and reality — is algorithmic deal flow just LP marketing or a real sourcing edge?
01:00 Building Sophia: Redstone’s proprietary database for mapping opportunities
02:00 Identifying groups and dynamics — why trends matter more than picking a single winner
03:00 From regulation to signals: how legal shifts and new markets trigger clusters of startups
04:00 Geography and global scope — why national champions rarely scale, and why global is better
05:00 Corporate mistakes in sourcing — overfocusing on core business and overestimating their value
06:00 Doing it right: how corporate LPs can learn, stay hands-off, and still gain massive value
07:00 Lessons from Redstone’s fintech funds — German banks as LPs and the power of curiosity
You can listen to the full conversation from the EUCVC Summit 2025 on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
✍️ Show Notes
Data as a Tool, Not a Silver Bullet
Redstone’s Sophia platform has been in development for 8–10 years.
AI helps identify patterns, clusters, and group dynamics, but it doesn’t pick the “one winner” for you.
Systems cover ~60–70% of the work; the final calls still need human judgment.
Signals & Trends
Startup sourcing is less about single companies and more about spotting shifts (new regulations, technologies, or behaviors).
Identifying clusters of 20–30 companies in a space is often the best entry point.
Geography Doesn’t Matter (Much)
For digital and AI, global champions beat national champions every time.
Investors should benchmark globally — not just against local competitors.
Where Corporates Fail
Over-indexing on their own core business when defining strategy.
Overestimating their ability to add value to startups.
Falling into “generic thinking” that leads to misaligned investments.
Corporate LPs Done Right
Corporates can gain huge value as LPs if they approach with curiosity, not control.
Example: German banks in Redstone’s fintech funds — open-minded, hands-off, learning-focused.
💡 One-liner takeaway: Data-driven sourcing helps investors spot trends early — but lasting success comes from combining analytics with judgment, and from corporates learning to play the long game without forcing their own agendas.
