EUVC E654 | Adrian Locher, Merantix Capital: AI Studios & the Future of Venture Building
Welcome to a new episode of the EUVC Podcast, where we bring you the people and perspectives shaping European venture.
Today, we’re joined by Adrian Locher, co-founder and GP at Merantix Capital, the Berlin-based AI venture capital firm and venture studio that’s just planted its flag in London. Known for building and investing in AI-first companies from the ground up, Mirantix operates at the intersection of venture creation, community, and applied AI consulting — a model Adrian argues is especially well-suited to the AI age.
In this conversation, we dive into the reality of the studio model, what makes it work (and not), and why Adrian believes validation with paying customers before a single line of code is written is the ultimate early-stage filter.
🎧 Here's what's covered:
02:00 | Why Merantix Capital Chose Berlin Over Silicon Valley — and Why London’s Next
05:00 | The Three Pillars: Studio, Community, and Consulting
08:00 | Deep Tech vs Wrapper AI — Going Beyond the Hype
11:00 | Why Many Venture Studios Fail — and Where Merantix Capital Adds Value
16:30 | PowerPoint to Paying Customers — The Validation-First Approach
20:00 | Why AI Makes the Studio Model More Relevant Than Ever
30:00 | Regulating AI — Why Europe Should Target Applications, Not Tech
36:00 | Europe’s Edge in Healthcare, Manufacturing, and Finance
44:00 | The Future of Venture Studios — Where They’ll Win by 2030
49:00 | Betting on Neurotech — Frontier Opportunity or Too Soon?