Another packed newsletter for you. Let’s get into it.
We’ve got some standout submissions on the community insights platform to share, plus upcoming workshops in the EUVC community you won’t want to miss.
📝 Living a new life and playing the long game: A conversation with Lomax Ward
📝 Making fashion sustainable with a specialized fund, interview w. Michael Kleindl (Collateral Good)
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AI Startups' Revenue, EU Startup Passport Launch, German Government Collapse, and Google's AI Coding Surge – with Dan Bowyer
Welcome to a new episode of the EUVC podcast, where we’ll cover recent news and movements in the European tech landscape with Dan Bowyer and Mads Jensen from SuperSeed.
Watch it here or add it to your episodes on Apple or Spotify 🎧 chapters for easy navigation available on the Spotify/Apple episode.
✍️ Show Notes
AI Startups Making Real Money
AI startups are gaining traction faster than ever, with the average time to hit $1M in revenue being 11 months—significantly faster than SaaS at 15 months. Highlighting this success is Cursor's impressive leap from $4M ARR to $4M MRR in under a year. Dan and Mads discuss how OpenAI's soaring revenue, nearly reaching $4 billion, is further proof that AI is generating tangible financial value and not just hype.
Faster Revenue Milestones: AI startups are reaching $1 million in revenue within an average of 11 months, significantly faster than SaaS companies, which take around 15 months.
OpenAI’s Growth: OpenAI has notably achieved $4 billion in revenue, showcasing the impressive financial potential of AI technology.
Increased Automation: AI now writes over 25% of Google's code, reflecting a broader trend towards automation in software development, which is reshaping the industry's landscape.
COP29 - none of the big wigs are there
The climate conference COP 29 turned out to be underwhelming this year with major leaders absent, including Xi Jinping, Joe Biden, and Putin. Mads reflects on the consequences, emphasizing that Europe can’t rely on these big global events alone for change. Instead, European nations must take a lead role in climate action.
Lack of High-Level Participation: The absence of leaders from key countries like the US, China, and Russia has weakened the perceived legitimacy of COP 29, with many dismissing it as a symbolic event rather than a platform for concrete action.
UK’s Aggressive Emission Targets: In contrast, the UK, under Starmer, has set ambitious emission reduction targets—aiming for an 81% cut by 2035. This demonstrates that local leadership may be crucial in spearheading climate initiatives when global cooperation falls short.
Questions of Effectiveness: With fewer influential leaders involved, the effectiveness of COP 29 in fostering meaningful change is in doubt, emphasizing the need for regional and national leaders to take more decisive actions.
The new EU Startup passport
Ursula von der Leyen has announced the EU Startup Passport, also called the 28th regime, which aims to simplify regulations for startups across the EU, creating a unified regulatory framework. The key motivations and anticipated impacts are:
Regulatory Simplification: Startups often face difficulty in navigating the varying laws across the 27 EU member states. The 28th regime aims to create a single, standardized set of rules, providing startups with a consistent framework regardless of location.
Increased Competitiveness: By reducing bureaucratic hurdles, startups can focus more on growth and innovation, ultimately making the European market more attractive compared to other regions such as the US, which has a more unified commercial environment.
Support for Smaller Startups: Unlike large corporations that have teams to navigate complex legislative differences, smaller startups struggle to expand across borders due to resource limitations. The EU Startup Passport aims to level the playing field, allowing smaller entities to benefit from easier access to all member states.
Next Step for the Single Market: This initiative is seen as a crucial evolution of the EU's single market, promoting growth, fostering innovation, and encouraging startups to take advantage of the European ecosystem in a way that has previously been difficult due to fragmented regulations.
German Government has collapsed
The collapse of the German coalition government due to disagreements over Ukraine and domestic reforms has led to significant political instability. The key issues and potential impacts are:
Political Instability: The collapse has introduced uncertainty, which may create short-term challenges for governance and policy-making in Germany.
Opportunities for European Reforms: This turmoil could pave the way for broader European reforms, potentially creating momentum for improving energy, trade, and economic policies.
Implications for EU Leadership: Germany, as a major EU power, plays a critical role in driving the bloc's initiatives. A more reform-minded government could potentially lead to significant positive changes for Europe.
AI Now Writes Over 25% of Code at Google
AI Now Writes Over 25% of Code at Google. Google's use of AI to write code marks a significant shift towards automation in the tech industry. The key insights and potential impacts are:
Automation in Software Development: Over 25% of Google's code is now written by AI, which is reshaping the role of software engineers and how code is developed in large tech companies.
Increased Productivity: The use of AI for coding is enhancing productivity, allowing developers to focus on more complex tasks while AI handles repetitive or foundational code work.
Future of Engineering Roles: This trend could lead to a shift in software engineering roles, with a greater emphasis on creative problem-solving and system-level design as AI handles more of the routine coding tasks.
Google Confirms Jarvis AI Is Real by Accidentally Leaking It
Google Confirms Jarvis AI Is Real: Google accidentally confirmed the existence of Jarvis AI through a leak, raising questions about the capabilities of this previously unknown project. The key insights and potential impacts are:
Confirmation of Jarvis AI: The accidental leak reveals that Google is working on a powerful AI known as Jarvis, suggesting advancements in AI development that were not previously public.
Implications for AI Capabilities: The existence of Jarvis could point towards highly sophisticated AI capabilities that may significantly enhance productivity and integration across Google's services.
Future AI Applications: This leak indicates that Google may be preparing for the launch of new AI-driven products or services, potentially setting new benchmarks for what AI can accomplish in the tech industry.
Artificial Intelligence, Scientific Discovery, and Product Innovation
Artificial Intelligence, Scientific Discovery, and Product Innovation: The report by Aidan Toner-Rodgers at MIT explores how AI is transforming scientific research and innovation. The key insights and potential impacts are:
AI-Powered Idea Generation: AI automates 57% of idea-generation tasks, freeing scientists to focus on evaluating AI-suggested compounds rather than repetitive exploration.
Reduction of Low-Value Research: By minimizing the pursuit of low-value or dead-end research directions, AI helps researchers concentrate on more promising opportunities.
Increased Discovery and Innovation: AI-assisted researchers have experienced a 44% increase in material discoveries, leading to a 39% rise in patent filings and a 17% boost in product prototypes that incorporate these newly discovered materials.
The Agrifoodtech Effect 🍽️ - Transforming Gastronomy with Cutting-Edge Technology
Guest post by Ander Lopez Delgado - Entrepreneurship Manager at the Basque Culinary Center. | Originally published on The VC Corner.
Hi, I'm Ander López, currently serving as the Entrepreneurship Manager at the Basque Culinary Center (BCC), the foremost university in gastronomic sciences and food technologies.
At BCC, we champion Foodtech startups from all the gastronomy value chain, across diverse sectors including agritech, restaurantech, delivery, food sciences, etc. We provide comprehensive support through our incubator, a global acceleration program, our R&D Center, and our dedicated Venture Capital Fund.
This post is crafted for the weekly edition of The VC Corner newsletter, aiming to give the audience an insightful glimpse into the vibrant world of foodtech. I hope you enjoy it! 😀
The Big Problem
For decades, global demand for food has increased steadily, driven by the growing world population and the diversification of diets, changing what we eat but also how we eat it.
However, our current food system poses significant challenges. It is one of the main drivers of biodiversity loss on our planet and is responsible for a quarter of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. The way we produce, distribute, and consume food is putting immense pressure on our environment, leading to the consumption of natural resources and contributing to climate change:
Ironically, if we analyze history's top 10 life-saving discoveries, innovations in food and agriculture stand out as one of the most critical areas, and have been indispensable for ensuring global health and longevity.
From breakthroughs in nutrition and food safety to sustainable farming practices, the impact of food-related sciences is immense, proving that food is not just a basic necessity but a pivotal element in saving lives and improving the quality of life worldwide.
But with big problems come big opportunities. Embracing new advancements can lead to healthier diets, reduced environmental footprints, and a more equitable distribution of food resources.
As we stand at the intersection of innovation and necessity, it's time to recognize the pivotal role of agri-foodtech in shaping the future of our food system and embrace it with open arms!
But… What is Agri-Foodtech?
Agri-Foodtech, also known simply as Foodtech, is the industry that leverages new technologies to revolutionize how the food value chain and industry operates. From mobile app-based services to innovative alternative proteins, these advancements are reshaping the entire food ecosystem.
Within the foodtech startup landscape, several categories or verticals stand out, each contributing uniquely to the industry's transformation:
Nevertheless, foodtech is significantly broader than other sectors that have emerged in the startup ecosystem to date. This breadth allows for the emergence of numerous hybrid startups that intersect multiple verticals beyond just foodtech, creating innovative solutions that span various industries:
The actual landscape
If you’re skeptical about the technological disruption wave hitting the food industry, just look at the quantity invested by Venture Capital firms as a clear indicator. The sheer volume and upward trend of funding in recent years speak volumes.
Foodtech has become a prime segment for VC funding, attracting $13 billion in 2023 alone. Startups in this sector now boast a combined value of $1.4 trillion, with foodtech VC investment increasing more than fivefold in the past decade. This remarkable growth underscores the sector's booming potential and transformative impact on our future:
However, a closer look at the entire food value chain and the evolution of the foodtech sector reveals that most of the unicorns have been either consumer-facing or involved in digital distribution.
There hasn't been much investment in deeptech technologies related to foodtech, as this field requires a good understanding of how the deeptech cycle works. Investors need to grasp the intricacies of the technology, its development, and accurately determine future market needs—something achievable only through specialization and time.
To discover the future foodtech unicorns, investors will need to adopt bolder approaches, as traditional metrics and paradigms will not suffice. Instead of focusing on 10-minute grocery delivery, more investments should be directed towards deeptech 😉
Read the full version of the article on The VC Corner.
Living a new life and playing the long game: A conversation with Lomax Ward
Guest post by Robin Haak, Founder and Managing Partner at Robin Capital
For Lomax Ward, General Partner at Outsized Ventures and co-founder of DragonChasers, investing is all about becoming less stupid every year. This has become his philosophy, along with playing the long game. Three years ago, his biggest achievements were “setting up Outsized Ventures, an 80-mile run on the Jurassic Coast in the UK, and my 2:49 marathon time” Three years on, and having battled a rare form of colorectal cancer, he says “it’s fathering my two wonderful boys, being (more) present at home, consciously striving to be a good husband, building a healthier relationship with work, the DragonChasers community and finding a business partner I would build anything with.”
In this interview, we talk about how his life has changed since his cancer diagnosis at 38, and how he approaches investing and community building today from his new home in Lisbon. We talk about how he is pushing boundaries in deep tech investing and approaching venture capital like an ultra marathon. Lomax’s story is a powerful reminder that strength often comes from adversity, we hope you enjoy it.
Making fashion sustainable with a specialized fund, interview w. Michael Kleindl (Collateral Good)
Guest post by August Soliv, Author of Impact Supporters | Originally published on Impact Supporters.
Michael Kleindl is a German VC investor. He spent his studies in-between Germany France, and the USA. Michael co-founded a company in digital marketing in which he was a junior partner. They IPOed the business in 2000 🎉
Since then he moved to the investor side where he has lived in-between Madrid, Mexico City, and Zürich. He was a VC investing in traditional tech until 2018 when he hit the midlife crisis and got grey hair (as he says it himself) and started a search for purpose. That was the birth of the Collateral Good 🌱
🧠 Upcoming EUVC masterclasses
Advanced small-group sessions that take you from good to great. Lectured by leading GPs, LPs & Experts.
✍🏻 EUVC Masterclass | Marketing & VC Fund Narrative
Your brand is everything. It’s what sets you apart, helps you win the best deals, attract LPs, and ultimately drive your growth. For emerging fund managers, building a credible brand and establishing the right marketing foundations early on are game-changers. Yet, many don’t know where to begin.
Your fund’s narrative is what makes the difference between an LP glancing at your deck or deciding they’re ready to write a check. It’s your brand that makes LPs feel confident they’re partnering with someone who knows how to make magic happen.
We’re planning a masterclass on building strong marketing foundations with a top industry leader. If enough people show interest, we’ll make it happen.
✍🏻 EUVC Masterclass | Benchmarketing for GPs & LPs
Join us for an in-depth session on VC Fund Terms & KPIs: Mastering Metrics for Fund Success. This workshop will focus on the key performance indicators (KPIs) that drive VC fund performance and the critical timing for measuring these metrics. You’ll gain insights into what matters most to Limited Partners (LPs) and what General Partners (GPs) should focus on internally for effective fund management.
The session will also cover how to set up a comprehensive dashboard, including portfolio tracking, to streamline your reporting and ensure your fund’s success.
Special offer: Join the EUVC Community for 25€ per month and get 100€ off while enjoying access to on-demand masterclasses, tools & templates and monthly AMAs with leading GPs, LPs & experts.
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🗓️ The VC Conferences You Can’t Miss
There are some events that just have to be on the calendar. Here’s our list, hit us up if you’re going, we’d love to meet!
GoWest | 📆 28 - 30 January 2025 | 🌍 Gothenburg, Sweden
GITEX Europe 2025 | 📆 23 - 25 May 2025 | 🌍 Berlin, Germany
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