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?