EUVC

Complexity is one of the biggest barriers to scaling, and AI may make it worse. As building new features gets easier, the temptation is to keep adding.

Dave Bailey, CEO of Founder Coach, argues that scaling requires the opposite: subtraction.

In this talk from the EUVC Summit & Awards Show 2026, he shares a practical framework for focusing on the goal that matters most, challenging plans that no longer serve it and removing the hidden priorities that create complexity.

Dave coaches venture-backed CEOs from Seed to pre-IPO and previously co-founded and scaled multiple venture-backed companies, including Delivery Hero.

Highlights

• Why simple scales and complex fails
• How bigger goals and shorter timelines create clarity
• Why AI can increase organisational complexity
• How hidden goals and fear keep weak plans alive
• Why raising the bar is a tool for subtraction

Timestamps

• (01:15) Why simple scales and complex fails
• (03:00) Why AI makes complexity worse
• (03:40) Finding your simplifying goal
• (05:15) Why bigger goals create clarity
• (05:40) Compressing the timeline
• (07:00) Clean thinking vs dirty thinking
• (08:30) The hidden goal iceberg
• (10:35) Why fear keeps bad plans alive
• (10:50) Raising the bar through subtraction
• (11:45) The path to simplicity

Want to simplify how you scale? Book a discovery call with Dave Bailey to identify the challenges holding your company back and explore how Founder Coach can help.

https://www.eu.vc/products/dave-bailey-ceo-founder-coach

What if the better environmental solution is also the better business?

Michael Smith, General Partner at Regeneration.VC, argues that regeneration is about building products and systems that waste less, use resources better and outperform what they replace.

He explores why we may have a design problem rather than a consumption problem, how corporate supply chains can drive change and why the ambition should go beyond sustainability and circularity towards restoring natural systems.

Highlights

• Why better environmental solutions can also deliver better economics
• How supply chains can become a platform for impact
• The difference between circularity and regeneration
• How technology could help restore natural systems

This session was recorded at the Love Tomorrow Summit, where EUVC curated the investor-focused programme.

Timestamps

• (01:18) From DJ to regeneration
• (03:16) A design problem, not a consumption problem
• (04:06) Supply chains as a force for change
• (05:00) Regeneration in practice
• (05:50) When environmental solutions make better business
• (06:18) Beyond circularity
• (07:05) Super nature: where technology meets nature

A corporate investor should offer more than capital. The strongest CVCs connect startups with corporate expertise, industrial capabilities and valuable networks.

That is the approach of Marc Thom, Head of Henkel Ventures, who accepted the Corporate Venture Capital of the Year award at the EUVC Summit & Awards Show.

The award recognises Europe’s leading CVC arm based on investment activity, innovation, impact and contribution to the ecosystem.

Henkel Ventures focuses on investments where Henkel’s business units, technical expertise and wider network can create strategic value.

On stage, Marc shared how CVCs can use their parent companies’ capabilities to support startups in practical ways.

Highlights

• What founders should expect from a strategic investor
• Why CVC is a marathon, not a sprint
• How Henkel Ventures aligns strategy and partnerships
• Where European corporates still hold an advantage

The EUVC Summit & Awards Show returns in April 2027. Secure your spot here.

Exotec’s journey from an early-stage warehouse robotics company to France’s first industrial unicorn, now valued at $2bn+, reflects what IRIS looks for in applied deep tech: differentiated technology, a clear market need and founders who understand both.

In this EUVC episode, we are joined by Julien-David Nitlech, Managing Partner at IRIS, to explore why Exotec initially seemed too early, what changed his mind and how the company continued to evolve through international expansion.

Julien-David then takes us inside IRIS, the European venture and growth firm founded in 1986. He explains how the firm has navigated four decades of technological change by renewing its teams, ownership and investment thinking while preserving the values at its core.

What we cover:

• Why Exotec initially looked promising but was early for IRIS’s investment thesis
• What Julien-David saw during a 20-minute meeting with its founder
• Where IRIS draws the line between applied deep tech and capital-intensive foundational bets
• How early customer validation helps IRIS assess a technical stack
• What AI companies need to build lasting value as technologies and markets evolve
• Why IRIS may be approaching what Julien-David describes as its “fifth life”

Follow EUVC for more conversations with the founders, investors and operators shaping European tech and venture capital.

Timestamps

• (01:20) IRIS at 40: how the firm has kept reinventing itself
• (05:00) What IRIS looks for in tech investments
• (07:00) How venture firms survive generational change
• (13:00) Humility, governance and growing as an investor
• (18:00) Why fundraising changes how VCs think
• (22:50) Exotec: the investment IRIS nearly missed
• (31:00) How IRIS approaches deep tech
• (38:00) IRIS’s AI investment thesis
• (44:00) What creates a durable moat in AI
• (47:00) Concentration, uncertainty and the future of VC
• (49:00) Could IRIS enter its fifth life?

Europe’s deep tech companies will not become global leaders by copying traditional venture playbooks. They need specialist investors who can tackle commercialisation, manufacturing and supply chain bottlenecks from the earliest stages.

After accepting the Newcomer of the Year award on behalf of Ruya Ventures at the EUVC Summit & Awards Show 2026, Founder and Managing Partner Rick Hao explains:

• Why Ruya backs a small, concentrated portfolio at pre-seed and seed
• How early support and global supply chain expertise can help hardware startups scale
• Why underinvested sectors such as battery technology may offer overlooked opportunities

Hear how Ruya is helping deep tech companies scale faster with less capital and compete globally.

The EUVC Summit & Awards Show returns to London in April 2027. Secure your ticket here.

Chapters

• (00:00) Intro
• (01:00) Ruya Ventures’ pre-seed and seed strategy
• (02:00) Global supply chain expertise and the fundraise
• (03:00) Lessons from specialist and generalist VC funds
• (04:00) Why deep tech needs a dedicated investment thesis
• (05:00) Combining the strengths of both fund models
• (06:00) A different scale-up strategy for hardware
• (07:00) Ruya’s first investment and scaling ambition

Hampus Jakobsson, General Partner at Pale blue dot, explains how Founders and investors can balance careful planning with decisive action when doubt takes over.

Through the true story of polar explorer Ann Daniels and his “swimming with sharks” framework, he explores:

• Why planning without action keeps you stuck
• Why speed without direction wastes energy
• How extraordinary people act before certainty arrives

Recorded at Love Tomorrow Summit, where EUVC curated the investor-focused programme.

 Subscribe to EUVC for more insights.

Timestamps

• (01:00) Ann Daniels reaches a breaking point
• (02:00) An unexpected opportunity at the North Pole
• (03:00) Surviving the expedition selection process
• (04:00) What makes extraordinary people different?
• (05:00) Why you have to handle cringe
• (06:00) Breaststroke versus crawl
• (07:00) Planners, action heroes and why you need both
• (08:00) Scheduling your breaststroke meeting
• (09:00) Give doubt an appointment

The next wave of AI will not be driven by larger general-purpose models alone. It will be verticalized, grounded in the physical world, and trained on reality-grade 3D data.

In this EUVC episode, host Andreas Munk Holm speaks with Michael Brehm (General Partner and Founder at Redstone), Ben Scheidt (Partner at Redstone) and Franz Tschimben (Co-Founder of ALLSIDES).

They explore why one-size-fits-all AI falls short in robotics, simulation, and other physical applications, and how ALLSIDES converts physical objects into relightable 3D digital twins in minutes.

ALLSIDES has worked with clients such as Meta, Amazon, Nike, adidas, Zalando, NUREG, GORE-TEX, La Sportiva, and Inditex Group brands including Zara, Massimo Dutti, and Bershka. It also has a deep integration with NVIDIA.

Key takeaways

• As foundation models commoditize, defensibility shifts toward specialized data and infrastructure
• Physical AI and world models require high-fidelity 3D data, not only internet-derived 2D content
• Reality-grade digital twins at scale can unlock robotics, simulation, generative 3D, digital commerce, and AI content creation
• Building global deep tech from Europe requires proximity to customers and demand in the US and Asia

Timestamps

• (00:00) The 3D data opportunity
• (01:05) Why AI needs real-world grounding
• (02:20) Why AI is becoming verticalized
• (05:10) Building the data layer for physical AI
• (07:25) Why robots need 3D data
• (09:10) Automated 3D scanning at scale
• (13:15) Market size and the platform opportunity
• (17:00) Mapping the physical world
• (21:00) Customers, NVIDIA and market adoption
• (26:20) Building a global deep-tech company

Subscribe to EUVC for more insights.

A great venture exit is not necessarily the biggest headline transaction. The better test is whether it returns meaningful capital while allowing the company to keep building.

Balderton Capital’s exit from Dream Games offers one model. CVC acquired the VC investors’ stakes, creating liquidity for early backers while Dream Games continued building the Royal universe and pursuing its ambition to create world-leading games.

After Balderton received EUVC’s Exit of the Year award, Partner Rob Moffat reflected on the investment and why venture investors should think beyond the traditional IPO path.

Balderton backed Dream Games in 2019 when it was just two months old, with five founders, no employees and, as Rob recalls, around 12 slides.

The conviction came from an exceptional team with product obsession, ambition and competitiveness, including experience building Toon Blast and Toy Blast.

Rob also explains how secondaries and private equity can provide liquidity without requiring founders to sell the company or give up control.

Key takeaways

• Exceptional teams can justify very early conviction
• Product obsession can be a powerful investment signal
• IPOs are not the only route to venture returns
• Private equity can create liquidity while founders keep building
• Exit structures can align investor returns with founder control

Timestamps

• (00:00) Why team quality matters at the earliest stage
• (01:00) Backing five founders with zero employees
• (02:00) What makes an exceptional founder
• (03:00) Dream Games’ obsession with product quality
• (04:00) Why “IPO or nothing” is the wrong approach
• (05:00) Finding the right liquidity route
• (06:00) Preserving founder control in the CVC transaction
• (07:00) Why private equity is moving into mobile games and tech

Subscribe to EUVC for more insights.

Eric Lagier shares his perspective on stage following byFounders’ recognition as Emerging Manager of the Year 2025 at the EUVC Summit & Awards Show 2026.

The award recognises a rising fund manager across financial performance, firm building, impact, diversity, transparency and fairness.

Eric is a Founding Partner at byFounders with more than 20 years of operational experience across Silicon Valley and Scandinavia.

He was part of the early teams at Skype and Tradeshift and co-founded Memolane, which was acquired by HP. byFounders’ investments include Lovable.

In the discussion, Eric explains why capital is increasingly a commodity, how byFounders’ founder network supports sourcing and company building, and why the firm prioritises long-term relationships over simply joining a fundraising process.

He also reflects on Lovable, conviction at seed and why the Nordics need to think bigger.

The EUVC Summit & Awards Show returns in 2027. Find out more and secure your spot here.

Ricardo Sequerra Amram⁠ takes the stage following ⁠Point Nine⁠ after Point Nine was named Firm of the Year 2025 in the sub-€200 million category at the EUVC Summit & Awards Show 2026.

The award takes a holistic view of a venture firm, considering financial performance, firm building, founder and LP value creation, impact, diversity, transparency and fairness.

Ricardo is a Partner at Point Nine, a thesis-driven early-stage venture firm based in Europe and investing globally.

Point Nine operates as an equal partnership and has remained focused on leading pre-seed and seed rounds, with each partner making only a small number of new commitments each year.

In the discussion, Ricardo explains why the firm has deliberately resisted scaling into later stages, how its thesis has evolved from B2B SaaS and marketplaces towards AI and other emerging technologies, and why staying close to what is genuinely new matters at seed.

He also shares how Point Nine thinks about identifying founders before the opportunity is obvious, from the “magnetism” of people who attract talent, capital and customers to three qualities the firm looks for more deeply: insight, obsession and taste.

The EUVC Summit & Awards Show returns in 2027. Find out more and secure your spot here⁠.