EUVC

At the EUVC Summit 2025, the Firm of the Year award didn’t go to a household name—or a partner of the presenter. It went to a firm that’s quietly built one of the most impactful portfolios in European venture over the past decade:Credo Ventures – winner of this year’s Firm of the Year Award.And the irony? They didn’t see it coming.“I never really liked awards like this… but maybe I’m ready to reconsider.”Credo Ventures’ rise hasn’t always been center stage. Based in Central and Eastern Europe, they’ve long bet on founders and ecosystems that many in mainstream venture overlooked.But the results speak for themselves—category-defining companies, global expansion stories, and a consistent track record of backing ambitious founders early.“Maybe having such an award can be a new KPI for us—right next to DPI.”The Credo team kept the moment light, thanking not just their founders and LPs—but even the investors who didn’t back them.“Thank you, Thomas, for not investing in us. Maybe that pushed us forward even more.”This self-awareness is part of what’s made Credo so beloved in the ecosystem: no arrogance, no buzzwords—just clear conviction, strong founder relationships, and outcomes that speak louder than headlines.This award wasn’t just about Credo—it was a signal to every fund building off the beaten path:That it’s possible to build world-class performance from anywhereThat recognition follows consistencyAnd that humility and humor are strengths, not liabilities“The real credit goes to the founders we’ve backed. Their success is why we’re here today.”Congratulations to Credo Ventures—EUVC Firm of the Year 2025.May DPI stay high, and KPIs stay fun.

At the EUVC Summit 2025, Tom Wilson took the stage to highlight something we often overlook when talking about Europe’s breakout tech stories:“The real engine of growth isn’t just the unicorns. It’s what happens after.”Tom opened with a striking stat:“Over 2,000 startups have been founded by alumni of just 250 European unicorns.”This ripple effect—beautifully documented in the Atomico State of European Tech report—is the unsung compounding force in our ecosystem. Each breakout company doesn’t just create returns—it creates founders. And each founder then builds the next set of teams, products, and outcomes.“Tech is right at the heart of Europe’s growth story. It’s what drives jobs, resilience, and momentum.”While the flywheel is turning, one spoke is still weak: liquidity.“The recycling of capital is still too thin across the ecosystem.”Without steady exits—IPOs, large acquisitions, secondary markets—we limit:Angel reinvestmentEmerging manager formationOperator talent flowing back into early-stage companiesTom called for more policy, infrastructure, and cultural support to celebrate exits—not just fundraises—and to empower alumni to give back as investors, advisors, or future founders.Tom also made a powerful point about non-linear outcomes.“Not every startup becomes a unicorn. But the people who build them still carry value—and often show up in the next big story.”He cited examples of founders who, after shutdowns, joined early teams at Revoo, Vizier, and other category leaders—and played crucial roles in their success.This isn’t just resilience. It’s how ecosystems mature.“We need to do more to recognize and encourage the second act: the angels, the early hires, the operators who cycle back in.”Because Europe’s breakout companies aren’t just wins.They’re launchpads for the next generation.And every reinvested euro—and recycled founder—keeps the flywheel spinning faster.2,000 Startups Later: The Alumni EffectWhat’s Still Missing? Liquidity.Failures That Feed the FutureFinal Message: Celebrate the Cycle

In this episode, Andreas Munk Holm and Jeppe Høier sit down with Paul Morgenthaler, Partner at CommerzVentures, to unpack the inner workings of a single-LP CVC and how strategic structure can drive long-term VC success. Paul shares insights from over a decade of fintech investing, offering a rare look into how one of Europe’s leading corporate venture arms thinks about climate, compliance, and the coming wave of agentic AI in financial services.They explore what it takes to make a single-LP model work, how GenAI is reshaping fintech workflows, and why European regulation may be a global feature, not a bug.🎧 Here’s what’s covered:03:54 How LP alignment shapes internal incentives & decision-making06:28 What fundraising looks like when your only LP is a bank12:52 How CommerzVentures handles regulatory risk15:24 Customer insights from climate fintech portfolio founders17:27 Climate policy, public budgets & surviving U.S. turbulence19:10 Why ROI matters more than mission in today’s market21:11 Timing markets vs. betting on long-term trends33:35 What metrics matter most in AI x FinTech startups39:19 Can the EU AI Act be a wedge for new startups?41:55 Paul’s call to Series A/B fintech founders across Europe

Welcome back to another episode of the EUVC Podcast, where we gather Europe’s venture family to share the stories, insights, and lessons that drive our ecosystem forward.Today we welcome Enrique Alvarado Hablutzel, Co-founder and Chief Investment Officer of Chi Impact Capital, and Marvin Nusseck, Finance Lead at Circle Economy. Together they’re behind the landmark Circularity Gap Report, the reference point for tracking how much capital flows into the circular economy — and where it still falls short.We dive into the latest data, why most money is still chasing recovery-phase solutions with the least systemic impact, the outdated risk models blocking capital flows, and how circularity can address not only climate but also geopolitics, competitiveness, and resource security.🎧 Here’s what’s covered:01:00 Why the Circularity Gap Report matters: tracking where capital really flows.03:00 The numbers: From $10B in 2018 to $42B peak in 2021 — and why momentum slowed.05:00 VC on the ground: Enrique on why linear models still attract most capital.07:00 Where the money goes: 50% of flows target recovery, not design or use phases.08:00 Geopolitics & resources: Why circularity = resource security in a multipolar world.10:00 Cynics & excuses: Why “China won’t play along” isn’t a reason to sit out.12:00 Linear risk models: Outdated finance ignores systemic and material risks.15:00 What’s missing: Correctly pricing resources — recycled vs. virgin.17:00 Investor levers: Bio-based chemicals, methanol, hydrogen as circular enablers.20:00 Circularity as systemic lens: Tackling biodiversity, climate, and geopolitics together.23:00 Local loops: Why Amsterdam and Dutch PP partnerships matter.25:00 Misalignment: Money goes to transport, but construction offers far bigger impact.26:00 The 7.2% economy: More than 90% of global materials are still in a linear economy.

Welcome back to another episode of Upside at the EUVC Podcast, where Dan Bowyer, Mads Jensen of SuperSeed, and Lomax unpack the forces shaping European venture capital.This week: Can Europe build a “VC Alliance” like the US and India? Why pensions remain the missing piece of Europe’s capital markets. Gold, bonds, and macro risk: what really matters for startups. Google’s antitrust reprieve, the UK’s “middling AI power,” and how Europe should play catch-up. Plus: Xi Jinping’s military parade, why manufacturing supremacy is destiny, and quantum’s hot streak in Europe.Here’s what’s covered:00:01 Europe’s VC Alliance? Lessons from the US–India deeptech pact00:06 Europe’s Capital Gap: pensions, late-stage funding, and IPO droughts00:09 Macro Forces: gold, bonds, deficits, and what founders should care about00:24 Google’s Antitrust Ruling: no breakup, just data-sharing00:29 The UK’s Middling AI Power: Eisenberg supercomputer & Europe as a “power user”00:34 Tesla, humanoid robots, and China’s military parade00:41 Europe’s Defense & Industrial Base: what’s at stake00:44 Deal of the Week: Quantum computing’s billion-dollar moment00:46 Looking Ahead: All-In Summit, new funds, and Lisbon reflections

At EUVC Summit 2025, few sessions packed as much history, humility, and hard-earned wisdom as the conversation with Bernard Dallé and Thomas Kristensen.What began as a one-man show in the early ’90s—when venture in Europe was barely a concept—has become one of the most respected platforms in the global industry.“I joined Index before it even existed as a venture firm. It was still Index Securities.”This was more than a talk. It was a journey through time, with insights for every fund manager—new or seasoned—building for the long haul.Before Skype, before unicorns, before European VC had a flag to wave, it was about scraping together conviction and capital.Index Fund I: $17 millionRaised in 1999, following years of groundwork and trialNo real ecosystem, no pattern recognition, and no “easy” capital“You can’t raise without a track record. So we used Fund I to create it.”And then came the landmark deal: Skype’s acquisition by eBay for $3–4 billion. That one outcome shifted the trajectory of Index—and of European venture as a whole.“After Skype, we could raise with more ease. It gave us credibility.”One of the standout themes was Index’s philosophy around team building:“The hires that worked? People we knew—or people who joined slightly below partner level and grew into the role.”In contrast, hiring senior talent cold—especially across geographies—proved far harder. Culture cohesion was key, and misalignment at the top often broke the system.The advice was clear:Grow talent internally when you canOnly bring in outsiders when they’re “known entities”Avoid parachuting in partners who haven’t lived the firm’s values“At some point, having someone senior focused purely on operations becomes essential.”This wasn’t about back office—it was about survival.Today’s LP demands include:ESG complianceFund reportingExit prepOngoing fundraisingPortfolio support“You need to start thinking about this 10 years in advance.”“It takes 15 years to become somewhat successful in this business. And once you get there—you need to start thinking about who’ll take over.”Venture isn’t just about spotting founders. It’s about building the kind of firm that can back them for decades to come.Bernard and Thomas left the stage with no fluff—just a quiet reminder:Build slowly. Hire wisely. Think in generations.And good luck to all of us doing the same.The Early Days: A Market Without MomentumScaling a Firm: Culture First, Titles LaterOps Matter More Than You ThinkThe Final Lesson: Play the Long Game

At the EUVC Summit 2025, the “Impact Leader of the Year” award went to a voice that’s impossible to ignore—and equally impossible to copy.Hampus Jakobsson, General Partner at Pale Blue Dot, was honored for his relentless push to bring urgency, clarity, and conviction to climate investing.The award, presented by Google Cloud, recognized not just a fund or a firm, but a force in the ecosystem—someone who has helped reshape the narrative on impact itself.As Google Cloud put it:“Innovation isn’t just the next feature. It’s about who’s solving the world’s most pressing challenges.”What Hampus and the Pale Blue Dot team have done is create a space—both intellectually and practically—that brings together VCs, LPs, founders, and operators who actually want to build things that matter.From climate investing as a sector (not a virtue), to challenging LPs who see ESG as a checkbox, to advocating for clarity over carbon offsetting theatre—Hampus has never opted for the easy soundbite.When he came back to the stage to accept the award, Hampus didn’t offer a speech. Just a sharp observation—about his T-shirt:“Some smart people noticed my T-shirt today. It’s not the Zuckerberg one that says ‘We need more emperors.’ It’s the one that says—‘We need fewer emperors.’”Because that’s the vibe:Less ego.Less bluster.More building.More impact.Hampus leads not with scale, but with substance.Not with "thought leadership", but with actual thought.He reminds the ecosystem that climate investing is:UrgentSmartPotentially enormousAnd yes, a little uncomfortable—because it means changing how capital behavesCongratulations to Hampus Jakobsson—Impact Leader of the Year.Let’s keep turning clarity into action. And ambition into outcomes.Not Just Widgets. Not Just Warm Words.We Need Fewer EmperorsLeadership That Leaves a Mark

European VC Power Law Report: Why Revenue Beats Unicorn StatusDealroom's recently released 2025 Power Law Investors Ranking 2025 report offers a unique milestone for European venture capital: 700 companies across EMEA now generate over $100 million in annual revenue. These aren't just unicorns floating on paper valuations. These are businesses with real customers paying real money.The report introduced a new category called "thoroughbreds" to capture this shift toward fundamental business metrics. While unicorns still matter for their forward-looking promise, thoroughbreds tell us something different: which companies actually built sustainable businesses that can weather market cycles.Today, Andreas Munk Holm digs into this topic and more with Saul Klein, co-founder of Phoenix Court (home to LocalGlobe, Latitude, Solar, and Basecamp) and the #1-ranked investor in the report, alongside Yoram Wijngaarde, founder & CEO of Dealroom.⏱️ Here’s what’s covered:00:39 - Saul on what topping the ranking says about Phoenix Court's approach01:53 - Yoram explains the thoroughbreds metric03:49 - Revenue vs valuation debate, lessons from Skype07:36 - Why Phoenix Court became multi-stage13:02 - The $35-50 billion growth stage funding gap17:38 - Advice for seed firms considering multi-stage expansion22:31 - Defense of the methodology's seed weighting24:58 - Picking companies at seed vs later stages

Welcome back to another episode of the EUVC Podcast, where we gather Europe’s venture family to share the stories, insights, and lessons that drive our ecosystem forward. Today’s conversation takes us on a global journey from Croatia to San Francisco to uncover how one founder caught lightning in a bottle and is now racing to harness it.Our guest: Ivan Burazin, founder of Daytona. With a career spanning Toronto, Croatia, Infobip, Shift Conference, and now Daytona, Ivan brings a rare, global perspective on how Europe can lead in DevTools and AI infrastructure. Alongside him, our dear friend Enis Hulli from E2VC joins to spotlight Daytona’s story, the lessons from its dramatic pivot, and what it means for founders and investors navigating this new AI wave.Ivan has spent two decades at the intersection of infrastructure and developer communities. From racking servers in the early 2000s to launching one of the first browser-based IDEs in 2009 to scaling the Shift Conference to thousands of attendees, his career has consistently circled around enabling developers.Daytona’s first act was a cloud IDE provider for enterprises — “one-click setup for secure developer environments.” With Fortune 500 customers onboard, revenue flowing, and a healthy pipeline, Daytona 1.0 showed promise. But something was missing.Six months ago, Ivan and his team made a bold decision to pivot. Daytona 2.0 is no longer about provisioning dev environments for humans — it’s about powering AI agents with the computers they need.“Agents are not computers themselves. They need access to computers to run browsers, clone repos, analyze data. Daytona gives them that — an isolated sandbox with machine-native interfaces built for agents.” – IvanThe differences between human and agent runtimes turned out to be massive:Humans tolerate 30 seconds of spin-up; agents need milliseconds.Humans solve problems sequentially; agents branch into parallel “multiverse” solutions.Humans parse terminal output; agents require clean APIs.By recognizing this, Daytona carved out a new category: the computer for agents.The pivot coincided with a deliberate move to San Francisco. Ivan recalls how Figma embedded with designers at Airbnb, or how Twilio found adoption among early Valley startups. To own mindshare in a new category, location mattered.“From San Francisco outwards, adoption flows naturally. From Europe inwards, it’s like pushing uphill.” – IvanSo Daytona went all-in: presence at AI meetups, team members flying in and out, and early product evangelism on the ground.HAfter the pivot, Daytona saw extraordinary pull from the market:Customer conversations ended with “send me the API key”.Infrastructure demand showed power-law dynamics: just a handful of fast-growing customers could drive scale.Instead of polished decks, Ivan shared raw revenue dashboards with authenticity.The momentum was immediate and tangible.Ivan admits he hadn’t explicitly asked permission to pivot. He hinted at it in updates, tested the idea with a hackathon, and only later informed his cap table. The response? Overwhelmingly positive.“Almost half the angels replied. Go f***ing go. Let’s go. I should’ve told them sooner.” – IvanEnis highlights this as a key distinction: experienced angels with broad portfolios encourage bold swings, while less diversified angels may fear the risk.Catching lightning is one thing. Harnessing it is another. Ivan’s current focus:Hiring deliberately: keeping the team small and ownership-driven.White-glove onboarding: every serious customer gets a Slack channel with the whole team.Balancing speed and reliability: ship daily, but solve today’s scale problems without over-engineering.Enis introduces a new term: seed-strapping — raising a seed, skipping A and B, and scaling straight to unicorn status.Ivan is cautious. Infra is capital-intensive, and while Daytona could raise a Series A today, he’s committed to doing it on his terms.

When Hampus Jakobsson and Romain Diaz took the stage at EUVC Summit 2025, the conversation wasn’t about convincing people that climate matters. That part’s done.This was about the harder bit:→ How do we fund the climate transition without compromising ambition?→ How do we handle LPs who see impact as indulgence, or carbon reporting as box-ticking?→ And how do we build conviction-led portfolios in a world that wants both velocity and virtue?One of the most powerful reframes came from Hampus:“Climate is like mobile or AI—it’s not a virtue, it’s a vertical. The difference is: in AI, we don’t know the problem. In climate, we do—we’re just figuring out the solutions.”That means climate investing is not philanthropy. It’s not reputation management. It’s venture—with a horizon, a thesis, and real outcomes.“If you're just looking to carbon offset with our fund, I’m fairly uncomfortable taking your money.”As Romain and Hampus both pointed out, climate LPs today fall into three broad groups:Impact-maximizers – want carbon reporting, ESG scoring, metrics.Return-seekers – want DPI, not data tables.Narrative-driven LPs – want the signal value of “being in climate.”A good fund has to navigate all three—with alignment being more valuable than agreement.“We had an LP walk away from Fund I because we wouldn’t do their carbon reporting. And we were okay with that.”Instead, Pale Blue Dot found alignment with LPs like IIP, the pension fund for Denmark’s nurses:“I sometimes ask myself—will this startup help deliver a pension to Danish nurses in 10 years? That’s the kind of alignment I want.”From methane-reducing agtech to fintech disruptors, the pair underscored the importance of building for what the world will need—not just what it rewards today.“We’re backing founders who are asking: will this still make sense in 2050?”The subtext: stop treating the climate transition as a hypothetical. It’s already here. And it’s reshaping everything from agriculture to infrastructure to insurance.“We don’t need everyone to believe. We just need to keep showing portfolio wins. The returns—and the reality—will take care of the rest.”The closing message from Romain and Hampus was clear:We don’t need more virtue. We need more velocity.Velocity in:Deploying capitalBacking bold foundersScaling actual solutionsAnd reshaping LP mindsets—one fund, one return, one story at a timeThe climate transition isn’t waiting. Neither should we.Climate Is Not a Virtue Signal—It’s a SectorThe Tension: Impact vs Reporting vs ReturnsOn Methane, Neobanks & the Year 2050Climate Investing Is Growing Up