EUVC

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The home of European tech. Connecting the people, capital, and companies building Europe. Conversations with the investors, founders, and operators shaping the continent.

1d ago

Episode #2: Consumer Tech Napkin | Building moats in consumer tech

What if the strongest moats in the AI era aren't algorithms, but the data those algorithms depend on? In the second episode of the Consumer Tech Napkin series, Andreas Munk Holm speakes with Renato Circi and Rafaël Michali, Co-Founders at Sava, and Joe Seager-Dupuy, Director, Investment at True, to discuss how founders should think about defensibility when technology is becoming easier to build. SAVA is developing advanced biosensing technology designed to access bodily information in a painless, real-time and affordable way. Their core belief is that while AI may accelerate software development, the hardest problems and the most valuable companies will be built around scarce data, difficult infrastructure and bottlenecks that cannot easily be replicated. Together, they explore what separates static moats from dynamic ones, why patents and regulatory approvals are often just the starting point and how the best companies create advantages that strengthen as they scale. Topics covered Why the best moats are often non-consensusStatic versus dynamic moatsWhy patents and regulation are not enoughIdentifying bottlenecks that create lasting valueAI, proprietary data and defensibilityBuilding platforms instead of productsWhy user experience can be a moatEurope's advantage in deep techTimestamps (00:00) Why moats matter in consumer technology(02:00) Introducing Sava and the future of health monitoring(06:00) What a moat actually is(09:00) The Apple Watch question and non-invasive sensing(12:00) Consumer experience versus incumbent medical devices(15:00) How great companies sequence moats(18:00) From patents to platforms(22:00) Bundling, ecosystems and long-term defensibility(24:00) Static versus dynamic moats(27:00) Why patents only buy time(29:00) Owning bottlenecks in health data(31:00) Why AI increases the value of proprietary data(36:00) Europe's deep tech advantage(40:00) The biggest misconceptions about moats(43:00) Why the best moats are often non-consensusConsumer Tech Napkin is brought to you in partnership with True. Subscribe to EUVC, the home of European tech, for more insights.

45 min
4d ago

The AI jobs panic might be wrong

Everyone says AI is taking jobs. The data says something more complicated. In this episode of This Week in European Tech, Dan Bowyer and Mads Jensen of SuperSeed unpack the growing panic around AI-driven job losses, why junior hiring is falling across many industries and whether AI is actually the culprit. They explore new research suggesting remote work may be having a bigger impact on entry-level employment than AI, discuss the UK's record number of young people not in employment, education or training and examine what the data really shows about automation and labour markets. They also cover Anthropic's latest model release, the rise of AI application-layer companies, Europe's sovereignty debate, the economics of AI infrastructure and a zero-employee AI company that just raised $30 million. Topics covered Is AI really replacing workers?Why junior hiring is fallingWhat the data says about AI and employmentAnthropic's rise and Opus 4.8Why the AI application layer is winningEurope's tech sovereignty dilemmaThe zero-employee AI company phenomenonAI infrastructure beyond GPUsTimestamps (00:00) The rise of the zero-employee AI company(04:50) Why AI applications are becoming more valuable(09:00) AI infrastructure moves beyond GPUs(16:00) Snowflake, Salesforce and enterprise AI adoption(24:00) Anthropic's latest model and valuation surge(27:00) Europe's sovereignty dilemma(33:00) The $30 million zero-employee AI startup(35:45) Is AI actually taking jobs?(38:00) What the data says about junior hiring(41:00) Why AI may not be the main cause(46:00) Predictions: which AI unicorn could fail next?(48:00) Deal of the week: Cognition and DevinFor more European venture, AI and startup insights, subscribe to EUVC, the home of European tech.

53 min
May 27

Why Henkel Ventures believes CVCs can outperform VCs

Most VCs think corporate venture capital is slower, more conflicted and structurally weaker than traditional venture firms. Marc Thom, Corporate Vice President and Head of Henkel Ventures, argues the opposite and explains why the best CVCs may actually outperform traditional VCs over time. In this episode, Marc joins Andreas Munk Holm and Jeppe Høier to discuss how Henkel built one of Europe’s leading corporate venture platforms, why most startup-corporate partnerships fail and how corporates can create both strategic and financial advantage through venture investing. Topics covered Why the best CVCs can outperform VCsHow Henkel structures venture investing and partnershipsThe “holy bible” behind startup collaboration inside corporatesWhy most startup partnerships fail internallyThe role corporates should play on startup cap tablesHow AI is reshaping industrial R&D and materials scienceTimestamps (00:00) Why CVCs can outperform traditional VCs(04:00) How Henkel structures startup sourcing and partnerships(11:00) The use case framework behind Henkel Ventures(16:00) The “Role of Henkel” in startup investing(23:00) Why Henkel invested in ResearchGate(27:40) AI, chemistry and the future of industrial R&D(30:20) Why Marc believes CVCs can outperform VCs(36:00) How Henkel built internal alignment for venture investingSubscribe to EUVC, the home of European tech, for more insights.

41 min
May 22

AI is rewriting the global economy

AI is no longer just a technology story. It is reshaping capital markets, infrastructure and industrial policy. In the latest episode of This Week in European Tech, Mads Jensen and Dan Bowyer of SuperSeed break down NVIDIA’s dominance of the AI economy, the return of the IPO market through OpenAI, Anthropic and SpaceX, and Europe’s push to build sovereign technology capabilities. Highlights NVIDIA and the economics of AI infrastructureOpenAI, Anthropic and the IPO market reopeningEurope’s sovereign AI pushAI backlash and political risk in the USUnitree and the rise of humanoid roboticsIsomorphic Labs and AI-driven drug discoveryTimestamps (03:00) NVIDIA is swallowing the AI economy(06:20) The IPO market is reopening through OpenAI, Anthropic and SpaceX(08:40) Why SpaceX is really an AI infrastructure story(11:40) OpenAI’s IPO could expose the real economics of AI(13:40) Why Unitree and humanoid robotics matter for Europe(20:10) Europe’s sovereign AI push through Mistral, EQT and Quantexa(27:40) Americans are turning against AI(36:10) Isomorphic Labs and Europe’s biggest AI biotech opportunitySubscribe to EUVC, the home of European tech, for more insights.

42 min
May 21

Sebastian Mallaby on Demis Hassabis, DeepMind and Europe’s AI future

Demis Hassabis, Co-Founder and CEO of Google DeepMind, refused to leave London, challenged Google on AI safety and helped lead DeepMind back into the AI race. Sebastian Mallaby, author of The Infinity Machine and The Power Law, joins Andreas Munk Holm to discuss the founder psychology of Demis, the story behind DeepMind and why Europe may be entering a new era in technology. The conversation explores DeepMind’s fundraising journey, the Google acquisition, the merger with Google Brain, AI safety, sovereign technology and why Demis remains sceptical of parts of Silicon Valley culture despite operating at the centre of it. Timestamps (00:00) Why Demis Hassabis matters(01:12) Why DeepMind could not raise from European VCs(07:35) The Peter Thiel chess story(11:00) What DeepMind reveals about European venture(14:42) Why Europe’s tech ecosystem is accelerating(18:20) European sovereignty, defence tech and AI(21:20) DeepMind’s sale to Google and tensions over AI safety(29:40) The founder psychology of Demis(41:35) Google’s ChatGPT moment and Gemini’s comeback(45:05) Demis’ critique of Silicon Valley(50:45) Europe’s AI sovereignty problem(54:05) Final thoughts and Sebastian’s new bookSubscribe to EUVC, the home of European tech, for more insights.

56 min
May 19

Building the world's 'thinnest' battery out of Europe

Batteries do not just power products anymore. They shape what products can be built. In this episode, Andreas Munk Holm speaks with Michael Brehm and Mohamed Foulser from Redstone alongside Moritz H. Futscher, CEO and Co-Founder of BTRY, about why the next wave of battery innovation is not about bigger battery packs but entirely new form factors. BTRY is a Swiss battery startup developing an ultra-thin, foldable solid-state battery designed for IoT, medtech and consumer electronics. Founded in 2023 as an Empa and ETH Zürich spin-off, the company is building a new category of batteries aimed at enabling products that previously were not possible. The discussion covers Europe’s industrial opportunity in batteries, the importance of scalable manufacturing, overlooked opportunities in embedded electronics and why the future of hardware may make batteries effectively disappear. Key highlights Why battery innovation is shifting from chemistry to product design and manufacturingHow BTRY is creating a new category of ultra-thin batteriesWhy scalability matters more than lab breakthroughs in deep techEurope’s opportunity to build globally competitive battery companiesWhat embedded batteries could unlock across wearables, sensors and medtechTimestamps (00:00) Why batteries still limit innovation(04:10) The overlooked opportunity in sub-1Ah batteries(07:25) Rebuilding battery manufacturing from scratch(10:00) What foldable batteries could enable(14:00) Smart labels, sensors and embedded devices(18:00) Why scaling production is the real challenge(24:30) Can Europe compete in batteries?(34:00) The future of ultra-thin battery-powered productsSubscribe to EUVC, the home of European tech, for more insights.

37 min
May 14

What happens when AI agents become customers?

What changes when AI agents can transact on their own? Andreas Munk Holm speaks with Viggo Stenseth, CEO and Co-Founder of SolvaPay, alongside Redstone General Partners Samuli Sirén and Mickaël Bellaïche, about building payment infrastructure for the agentic economy. The conversation explores agent-to-agent transactions, usage-based billing, protocol interoperability, regulatory moats and why existing payment rails may not be designed for AI-native commerce. Key highlights Why AI agents need payment infrastructure built for agentic commerceHow businesses can monetise APIs, datasets and digital services used by agentsWhy SolvaPay plugs into existing financial rails rather than bypassing themThe “battle of protocols” across agent marketplaces and ecosystemsWhy regulation, licensing and identity matter in agentic paymentsTimestamps (00:00) Why payments are blocking the agentic economy(02:00) What SolvaPay is building(05:10) Why customers already want agent-to-agent transactions(06:30) Existing financial rails versus crypto-native approaches(08:10) The “battle of protocols” and AI marketplaces(12:00) Redstone on why agentic payments are real(17:20) Why Redstone invested before traction existed(27:00) Can SolvaPay become the Stripe for AI agents?(32:00) Why incumbents may struggle to adapt(36:10) Building long term versus building for exit(41:00) Does the world need an agentic bank?Subscribe to EUVC, the home of European tech, for more insights: https://www.eu.vc/subscribe

47 min
May 13

Ro Gupta, Woven Capital: How Toyota uses corporate venture to win in AI and robotics

Most corporates struggle to move fast enough for AI and robotics. Toyota’s answer is corporate venture. In this episode, Andreas Munk Holm and Jeppe Høier speak with Ro Gupta, CEO and Managing Director of Woven Capital, Toyota’s growth-stage venture fund focused on mobility, AI, automation and climate technology. They discuss how Toyota uses CVC to identify frontier technologies, work with startups and think decades ahead. Ro shares how Woven Capital functions as agile “speedboats” around Toyota’s industrial “supertanker”, scanning for strategic opportunities across AI, robotics, mobility, manufacturing and infrastructure. Highlights Why Toyota invests through both “inside-out” and “outside-in” models How Woven evaluates AI, robotics and the future of labour Why strategic engagement matters more than passive investing How Toyota balances long-term thinking with venture-speed execution Why Europe is becoming increasingly important for Toyota’s innovation strategy Timestamps (00:00) Ro Gupta’s founder background and move into Toyota(04:00) Startup operators vs corporate insiders in CVC(10:00) Toyota’s multi-fund venture strategy(15:00) The “supertanker and speedboats” framework(18:00) AI hype cycles and long-term industrial strategy(23:00) AI, robotics and advanced manufacturing themes(27:00) What Woven Capital looks for in startups(30:00) What founders expect from CVC investors(33:00) How Woven collaborates with traditional VCs(35:00) Europe’s role in Toyota’s future strategy(39:00) Toyota’s next 100-year opportunity(44:00) The “build, move and connect” framework Subscribe to EUVC, the home of European tech, for more insights: https://www.eu.vc/subscribe

49 min

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out of 5

4 Ratings

Important European perspective

01/03/2023

oh24

Great to have a VC show dedicated to our increasingly exciting European VC community. It is not a given that the US dominate in this field - the whole industry is still in its infancy :)
UpLink supports EUVC

01/02/2023

John Logan Dutton

The EUVC has been a great supporter of UpLink over the last year and is providing a critical resource for the European innovation ecosystem with this podcast.

The home of European tech. Connecting the people, capital, and companies building Europe. Conversations with the investors, founders, and operators shaping the continent.