Hightech Ventures

“High tech” or “deep tech” sits, by definition, at the intersection of research and entrepreneurship. Leveraging both domains’ complementarities is key for successful innovation. That is why we invited Prof. Dietmar Harhoff to join this week’s episode to shed light on some of the most important questions around how to make tech transfer happen.  

Dietmar is, first and foremost, the Director at the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition. He has been observing global invention and innovation activities for decades through the lens of a researcher and gained a very rich understanding of the underlying mechanisms. Due to his outstanding expertise, Dietmar has been invited to be an advisor for and board member at several public and private organizations, such as the German government through the Commission of Experts for Research and Innovation (EFI), Angela Merkel’s “innovation dialogue”, the Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation (SPRIND), the German Accelerator, or the Siemens Technology Accelerator. He truly understands deep tech innovation from a scientific and very practical perspective. 

In this episode, we talk about what levers to pull in a deep tech ecosystem to increase entrepreneurial activity in general, how to fix the role of tech transfer offices, the need for more private capital to fund deep tech innovation and incentive systems that are conducive for tech transfer. 

Jacinto is Chief Science and Innovation Officer and most importantly founder and brain behind the technology of Peafowl Plasmonics as well as Professor at Uppsala University in Sweden. We learn about his journey from research to startup and he gives us an understanding of plasmonics, the physics of solar cells and the new opportunities his research brings. With a platform technology like his, Jacinto shines light on how he thinks about finding the best use case for your technology.

We learn about the specialties of the Swedish tech transfer system, how they think in a circular manner but also about the moral responsibility that Jacinto thinks lies on scientists to make use of their technology. And most importantly, we get to know Jacinto as someone who is a master at separating his ego from the success of his company. We hear the story of how he found an external co-founder and CEO and built a trustful relationship with him to make Peafowl Plasmonics succeed.

This episode is with Silvio Bonaccio, the Head of ETH transfer at ETH Zurich. Silvio is a chemist by training with an outstanding experience in technology transfer and years of industry expertise from Nestle. He is the kind of person not seeking to be in the spotlight although he deserves it way more than many others in the world of high-tech innovation. Silvio is humble, kind and lets facts speak. 

Since the ETH Zurich is a global leader in education, science and tech transfer, we dive deep into ETH’s magic formula and special ecosystem. A key ingredient is the incredible amount of smart people from all over the world. For Silvio technology transfer is “all about the people”.  

Another focus of this conversation is how to structure tech transfer deals. There is quite some debate what actually makes a deal spin-off and venture capital friendly. Silvio outlines ETH’s policy in detail and also stresses why expectation management is key.   

Lamin has been in various roles in the hightech venturing ecosystem and in this episode, we will almost cover them all. As a mechanical engineer by training, he has been keen to pursue projects surrounded by uncertainty since the very start of his career. And after several business-oriented roles in small and big companies, he naturally ended up in the innovation ecosystem. Especially in roles that required building cooperative models between different players: business development and tech transfer at Fraunhofer and Oxford, Siemens Next 47, or his current position as Head of Start-Up Cooperation & Partnerships at Infineon. 

Due to all these different perspectives, we will learn from Lamin what is important when building the interface between big organizations and small ventures. We dive deeper into the recipe for success of the Oxford ecosystem and why it excels many others, globally. He also helps us understand the two fundamental cooperation models between startups and Infineon and Lamin also outlines concrete examples of ventures working on a more sustainable future. 

Marc Sedam is the Vice President for Technology Opportunities and Ventures at NYU Langone Health. Marc, a biochemist by training, gained an outstanding experience in technology transfer through several leadership roles in academic settings as well as as a COO for a biotech company. His expertise includes oversight of hundreds of intellectual property collaborations and more than 50 startup companies, including 2 as a founding member.  

Marc explains why "serve the idea" is his guiding principle for technology transfer and how to collaborate with industry players in an effective manner. He has also clear advice for KPIs when building up or improving performance of tech transfer units. As a visionary thinker, he has implemented standardized deal terms already and envisions a digital platform for automated tech transfer - the Amazon for IP licensing. We also touch upon company formation, the ideal founding team for spin-offs and the power of alumni networks. 

Mark is CEO & Founder of bit.bio, a UK-based startup on the path to creating every human cell type at scale, and Co-Founder of Meatable, a NL-based startup creating cell-based meat. For Mark it’s both an “insane opportunity” as well as “a privilege” to work on both these human and planetary health challenges. 

We talk about Mark’s journey from neurosurgeon to stem cell researcher and his conviction to stick with his research although he nearly ran out of money and credibility with no one believing their initial data. With a huge opportunity at his hands and neither his TTO interested nor a founder to be found, he got stuck with starting the company himself and getting his research out of the lab. His biggest learnings to date revolve around the people involved in and around the startup and how to design an organisation that fits the goals and current phase of the journey.

Rick, a computer scientist by training, most probably does the type of startup investments with the highest risk profile: early stage and deep tech only. He is a partner at one of Europe's top venture capital firms: Speedinvest. Rick can really tell the difference (and the similarities) between investing into tech startups vs. deep tech ventures with significant tech risk involved. We discuss Speedinvest's approach of embracing the early stage of deep tech investments and why ecosystems are crucial for nurturing the power of new technologies through ventures. Rick is also an expert in artificial intelligence and gives us his perspective on the most exciting developments in this very field.

Fernando is the Director of Runway and Spinouts at the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute at Cornell Tech. Located in a beautiful building on Roosevelt Island, New York City, he is on a challenging mission: find highly talented, yet highly frustrated researchers globally and support them in discovering their inner entrepreneur. He has built a program that serves as a runway for postdocs on their path towards a spin-off. The package includes significant funding, mentorship, a tailored MBA and even emotional support. Fernando can show today that the program delivers on its promise to build intellectual property, turn scientists into entrepreneurs and wipe away frustration.

We talk about what he sees in an empty lab and how this motivated him to dedicate his career to building startups. He also tells us the „dirty little secret“ of how he became the Director of Runway and Spinouts. His program is unique since it is tailored to a very specific target group. The uniqueness lies in its flexible support system, a carefully designed cohort of individuals in order to keep the pressure and emotional support high, plus an easy as well as transparent tech transfer deal. The conversation with Fernando is also fascinating because he is crystal-clear about his values and ambitions.

João Barros is CEO & Co-Founder of Veniam, connecting all mobile things – from car to drone to dash cam – to the internet. We talk about what it takes to make that seemingly simple step of connecting moving objects to the internet happen and where this could take us once millions of devices use Veniam. And João knows what he is talking about; having been deeply curious and excited about the future of the internet since the 90s and having an active role in building it starting with 2G and 3G phones.

João has always been driven by his curiosity to try out new things and the serendipitous connections to passionate people that inspired him. We hear his story of how in 2011/12 a lot of those ingredients came together perfectly to build Veniam from the research and IP created at University of Porto. João traces back a lot to a sabbatical at MIT and the on-going cooperation with US universities that fueled his own interest in entrepreneurship with the conclusion that the only way to really learn it is to do it. Serendipity brought him together with his co-founder and necessity in an economically dire situation propelled him to build a company to create a future for his students at the time.

After nearly a decade of building Veniam, we talk about the ups and downs of creating and scaling a company, the scientific method applied to business, making tough decisions and having to let go a third of your company and how to ultimately accept that the saying “the technology is only 5% of your business” might be true although tough to swallow as a professor.

As Director Venture Capital for Micron's $100M AI Fund, Gayathri, or just „G“, is actively investing in startups that apply AI to solve critical problems in the areas of manufacturing, healthcare and automotive. She brings over 20 years of multi-disciplinary experience across product management, product marketing, corporate strategy, M&A and venture investments in large Fortune 500 companies such as Dell and Corning and in startups. She has also worked as an early stage investor at Earlybird Venture Capital, a premier European venture capital fund based in Germany. G has seen the development of AI from day one of her career and understands the field from a technical as well as a business perspective.

We dedicate a major part of our conversation to the current state of AI ventures: the issue of „AI wash“, specific challenges for AI-based ventures and in which applications AI can already create significant value & impact. Wa also try to understand how the „crystal ball“ of venture capitalists works and whether AI might help here as well. Finally, we touch upon the benefits of corporate-startup-partnerships and the key lessons that G derives from her current role at Micron.