Martin Olczyk

Europe's tech market has some catching up to do. #eu #techmarket #technology #techcompanies #marketvalue #financing #growthcapital #scaleups #commercialisation

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🇪🇺 The results of the EU elections are horrible (for all of us and in particular for investors and founders) given the strong gains made by far-right parties, especially in France and Germany: In a world that is increasingly leading to a cold war between 🇺🇸 and 🇨🇳, Europe must close ranks and stick together as quickly as possible. The parties that have started to gain the upper hand want to divide and weaken Europe. What makes Europe strong is democracy, the rule of law, diversity, migration and borderlessness. The far-right parties aim to do exactly the opposite. As founders and investors, we should be aware that our successes are based on precisely these five pillars: democracy, the rule of law, diversity, migration and borderlessness. And we should realise one more thing: In a world of cold war between China and the US, we must consider the geostrategic importance of technologies for Europe - also and especially to mitigate financial risk. It is not anymore about "only" managing the Green Transformation but we need to get it done as independently and autonomously as possible as Europe, while strengthening our resilience to defend our democracy, the rule of law, diversity, migration and borderlessness. The stakes are high. Perhaps even everything we have managed to build since the Second World War is at stake. I am worried. What will help is a new level of Corporate Political Responsibility (CPR). As entrepreneurs and investors, we can't stay out of politics because "we're just doing business". With every business and investment decision, we are doing politics, whether we like it or not! Again: It is time for a new level of Corporate Political Responsibility! A few entrepreneurs, investors and I have already taken the first steps; we will report back soon. I am seriously concerned. 🇪🇺

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Seraphim Space Ventures II (SSV II): Meet the companies 🛰 🌌 Following the same strategy as its original SpaceTech-focused venture fund, a top-performing fund for its vintage, SSV II aims to build a portfolio of c.30 companies. The Fund has already made nine investments aligned with some of our key themes via a warehouse portfolio. Hubble Network – Internet of Things satellite constellation for connecting directly to billions of Bluetooth-enabled devices Delos Insurance Solutions – Space data-powered wildfire home insurance provider ATMOS Space Cargo – Space cargo return service for life sciences Auriga Space – Novel electromagnetic launch system Array Labs - 3D satellite imagery on a global scale Privateer Space - constellation of small SATs for in-Space Situational Awareness (SSA) Ubotica Technologies - Live Earth Intelligence (Space: AI) Renoster - Deep Transparency for nature-based carbon projects constellr - Space data-powered high-precision smart farming services Take a look at our new page to find out more - https://lnkd.in/dau2tw2d

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🇩🇪 The German economy is weakening, which is also due to the self-imposed austerity measures; harming the whole of Europe. What we need is exactly the opposite, namely an investment plan the likes of which Germany has never seen before: 1,000 billion euros by 2030. This would enable us to create the industry of the future and even help to overcome the climate crisis. My guest article in Capital Magazin: https://lnkd.in/eu5fX4MC (in German)

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Italy has a new VC Fund🌟 🏦The Italian Founders Fund (IFF), which has closed at €50m with backing from over 100 Italian founders. IFF aims to invest in pre-seed and seed-stage startups founded by Italians, regardless of where they are based. This development is a positive sign for Italy's startup ecosystem, which has been gradually improving. Serial founders are returning to Italy to start new businesses, family offices are showing increasing interest in venture investments, and Italy now boasts three unicorns: software builder Bending Spoons, and fintech companies Satispay and Scalapay.🦄🦄🦄 📉Despite these advancements, Italy’s startup funding dipped last year to €1.3bn from 2022’s $2bn, amid a broader downturn in the ecosystem. This year has also been slow, with just over €500m raised across 155 rounds. However, IFF believes that the trend is upward from here. "A new chapter has begun for the Italian venture capital ecosystem," says Lorenzo Franzi, IFF's founding partner and former partner at Global Founders Capital. 🏃‍♂️IFF aims to lead investments in 25 startups, writing cheques of €500k to €1.5m, and reserving up to €2.5m per company for follow-on investments. Its first two investments are Jet HR, which raised €4.7m last summer led by Exor Ventures (the largest pre-seed round in Italy), and Glaut, which announced a $1.4m pre-seed round led by IFF in April. The fund is managed by Koinos Capital SGR, an investment firm based in Milan.🤝 📈While funding for Italian startups has been growing, Italy still ranks eighth in Europe by VC investment, according to Dealroom. IFF aims to help Italy catch up both in quantity and quality of investments. With €50m to invest in 25 companies, IFF positions itself as a sector-agnostic, founder-friendly fund that understands the pain points of entrepreneurs. 🦸‍♂️"IFF is addressing the challenge for early-stage founders in Italy to find a high-conviction lead investor at the pre-seed and seed stages," Franzi told TechCrunch. Despite the presence of other VC firms in Italy like CDP Venture Capital SGR, Exor Ventures, and LVenture Group, Franzi believes there is still a gap for early-stage capital. 🚀IFF also complements accelerators and provides a step up from the angel investing that Franzi and other entrepreneur-turned-backers had been engaged in. The creation of IFF is a significant step towards strengthening Italy's venture capital landscape and supporting its early-stage founders. ✅ Looking to raise capital for your #VCfund and increase the international pool of your LPs?   🤝 Need warm #LP introductions?   📝 Selling #secondaries to increase liquidity?   🧐 Looking for co-investments (Series A/Series B)?   ▶ G+QUANT's link for inquiries and fund decks: https://lnkd.in/gjC_EuTE #VentureCapital #VentureFunding #VentureDebt #Fundraising #Entrepreneurship #Investing #Network #Investors #LPs #GPs #EmergingManagers #StartupFunding

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💡 "The #Eurosongfestival should become an AI-driven festival where all Europeans can participate and win" 👇 #freeidea #innovation It's time to face the music. The music industry will never be the same again. Generative AI is much more than ChatGPT. New #GenAi tools can write - automagically - complete songs with vocals, harmonies and lyrics, based on your prompts. I explored a few GenAI music tools to understand better their current status Suno www.suno.com Udio www.udio.com The result: it's actually getting pretty good (not perfect) and getting better at lightspeed. A lot of AI attention went to ChatGPT but the impact of GenAI on the music industry deserves more mainstream attention. 🤘 Imagine a new generation of the Eurosongfestival where ..... * Every European can send in his GenAI generated song * Songs can be upvoted (using a suitable digital ID solution) * The top 30 gets into a TV/Youtube competition * Any European can become a Eurovision star Would you participate? Would you organize it? ... Ping me if you are interested to explore the idea 😎 ----------------- 🚀 I love to build the future. Let's have a talk on building the future (of your company) https://lnkd.in/e6kjakzF -------------------------------------------------------

peaq 🤝 Mastercard Excited about our portco peaq being selected for Mastercard’s award-winning Start Path program to explore synergies and opportunities between the #DePIN sector and the world of #TradFI and #FinTech 🏦 #TradFi infrastructure can massively accelerate #DePIN adoption. By tapping Mastercard's extensive network and user base, peaq aims to leverage existing, traditional infrastructure to scale #DePINs to billions of users and machines, while staying true to #Web3 values. From agriculture marketplaces (Farmsent) to machine tokenization (Teneo) to mapping noise pollution (Silencio) and dozens more – peaq is taking its place as the blockchain of choice for #DePIN builders. With Mastercard, peaq will explore how #DePINs in its peaqosystem can leverage this integration to drive mass adoption much faster and with far less friction ⚡ https://lnkd.in/dc_DrWhM

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How is 2024 going for the European VC ecosystem? Well the market seems to stabilise around what could be call a « new normal ». What are the indicators? The number of deal, even though decreasing year on year (-26.6%), is stabilizing at 2398 deals.  The deal value also stabilize at 16.3€B raised by start-ups in Q1 2024. It’s a 18.9% increase YoY. After the 2021 VC hype, a new normal seems to be seeting in since 2022. The amount raised by start-ups now ranges from 13.5€B to 20€B.  To give a comparison point amount raised pre-covid was ranging between 9€B and 15.8€ per quarter. But in this new normal a problem still remains : exits. Start-ups and VCs are still struggling to find a liquidity to get out of deal. Analysts are predicting that 2024 will look like 2023 on this point. For the moment only 1.9€B has been exited (VS 14.9€B in 2023). Only two sectors are doing well in terms of exits : Pharma & Biotech. Thanks to big incumbents, start-ups in these sectors are being acquired, mainly for their technology and IP.    In short, 2024 seems to be a normal year post-covid year in Europe. The only surprises that we can expect will come from the AI ​​which continues to be in a hype cycle.

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#NET #ZERO #TECH (for Italy’s Competitiveness) Are we on the verge of a multi-decade opportunity for #CleanTech? Beware of false starts. In mid 2000s, Kleiner & Perkins (at that time a leading VC firm) burnt its fingers in a bold bet on #CleanTech startups, proving that a large market does not necessarily imply a profitable market. #CapitalIntensity and longer #time-to-maturity make these investements challenging. The resolve of #Governments to #decarbonise is therefore key: that’s why #policy #frameworks and #regulation are crucial to create the favourable conditions for #CleanTech startup and their dedicated #VentureCapital funds to prosper (in #Italy and elsewhere). The #Coalition approach proposed today in #Rome by Cleantech for Italy is the right path to have a #common #purpose that can combine #public interests (the #Good for #people and the #planet) and #private interests (#profits for companies and #remuneration for funds). Kudos to Federico Cuppoloni and Leonardo Massa for a top event with over 60 key #players of the #Italian #CleanTech ecosystem. The TIME IS NOW! Alessandro Izzo European Investment Bank (EIB) Antonio Frezza Francesco Paolo Salzano SACE MITO Technology Nicola Rossi Enel Group Claudio Spadacini Energy Dome Elisabeth Rizzotti Ruggero Corrias newcleo Francesco Fontana NEVA SGR Enrico Pochettino Letizia Magaldi Alessandro Santo Algebris Investments Stefano Peroncini Eureka! Venture Lorenzo De Michieli Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia Richard Youngman Julia Reinaud Breakthrough Energy Alessandra Pasini Carlotta Orlando CDP Venture Capital SGR Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy Italian Trade Agency INNOVIT - Italian Innovation and Culture Hub Italian Tech Alliance InnovUp Roma Startup Cleantech for Europe #CleanTech #ClimateTech #AgriFoodTech #WaterTech #CleanEnergy #innovation #startup #technology #TechnologicalInnovation #VentureCapital #innovation

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Vsquared VC: New Fund II Raised💰 Vsquared Ventures has successfully closed its Fund II at €214m to invest in early-stage deeptech startups across Europe. The fund significantly exceeded its initial target of €165m, reflecting the growing momentum and understanding of deeptech's importance in Europe. Founding partner Thomas Oehl attributes this success to the increasing recognition of deeptech's potential.🌟 The fund will invest between €500k and €5m in approximately 25 companies, reserving two-thirds of the fund for follow-on investments. The portfolio already includes notable startups: cylib, Synthara AG, and NEURA Robotics.🤖 🔎The new fund will focus on six key themes: AI and next-gen software, energy transition, new computing and sensing, space, tech bio, and robotics and manufacturing. Oehl emphasizes that Vsquared aims to be the first institutional investor in these deeptech startups, positioning itself as a leading supporter of innovative technologies.🦸‍♂️ Vsquared's latest fund is primarily backed by European LPs, including Novo Holdings, the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF), the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark, the European Investment Fund (EIF), and Germany’s KfW Capital . This deliberate choice showcases Vsquared as a pan-European fund. The fund also includes founders as LPs, such as Simon Bolz of Klara, and Dr. Oliver Trinchera and Dr. Alexander Huettenbrink, co-founders of KINEXON.💵 GP Lise Rechsteiner, PhD notes a significant shift in the perception of deeptech investments over the past few years. "Two or three years ago, you had to explain a lot why you were doing deeptech investments, and that has completely changed. There is no question around that anymore," she says. Rechsteiner emphasizes that Europe's strength in deeptech is underpinned by its high-quality universities, scientific research, and graduate talent. Rechsteiner highlights several emerging deeptech hubs outside the traditional powerhouses of Munich, London, Paris, and Stockholm. She sees Vilnius as strong in cybersecurity and tech bio, and Copenhagen emerging as a hub for quantum and biomanufacturing.🏦 Despite the immense opportunity for Europe to build deeptech champions, Rechsteiner points out challenges such as fragmentation in the European IPO market. Unlike the centralized Nasdaq in the US, Europe's decentralized IPO markets create a fragmented investor base, making it difficult for not-yet-profitable companies. "Getting rid of hurdles and trying to really see Europe as a united region would be amazing," Rechsteiner concludes. 🌍✨ ✅ Looking to raise capital for your #VCfund and increase the international pool of your LPs?   🤝 Need warm #LP introductions?   📝 Selling #secondaries to increase liquidity?   🧐 Looking for co-investments (Series A/Series B)?   ▶G+QUANT's link for inquiries and fund decks: https://lnkd.in/gjC_EuTE   #Deeptech #VentureCapital #EuropeanInnovation #Startups #TechInvesting

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Mistral AI an OpenAI Rival in Europe, which has recently started generating revenue, is in talks to raise capital at a $5 Billion valuation. Details about the specific investors Mistral has engaged with for this new funding round are currently unclear. Among its existing investors are Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Microsoft the latter having also invested significantly in OpenAI but with a larger capital commitment. It is clear that this is no longer just an industrial battle but a clash to occupy a strategic area at both continental and global levels. Not having proprietary technology in this sector is equivalent to experiencing a gap similar to what we have recently seen in the energy sector. It means depending on exporting countries, where the price for our productivity depends on third parties. As a country, Italy needs to support our national champions like iGenius, companies that have technology and numbers to compete. #AI #LLM #opensource #future #italy #europe #vc

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𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞’𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐬𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐬❓     "Europe’s real problem is not seed capital. European startups raised $13.7 billion in the first quarter of 2024, up 5% year on year. The continent’s share of global VC reached 17% in 2023. Yet 60% of European venture capital was raised in just three EU member states and the United Kingdom.  The biggest challenge comes in the second stage of funding needed for minnows to grow into full-fledged unicorns. The US boasts a large pool of venture capital targeting later-stage startups." #startup #entrepreneur #venturecapital #investing #vc  

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Pleased to share some insights into our latest fund SSV II 🛰 🌌 Following the same strategy as its original SpaceTech-focused venture fund, a top-performing fund for its vintage, SSV II aims to build a portfolio of c.30 companies. The Fund has already made nine investments. The 9 companies currently making up the SSV II portfolio are: 💫 Hubble Network – Internet of Things satellite constellation for connecting directly to billions of Bluetooth-enabled devices Delos Insurance Solutions – Space data-powered wildfire home insurance provider ATMOS Space Cargo – Space cargo return service for life sciences Auriga Space – Novel electromagnetic launch system Array Labs- 3D satellite imagery on a global scale Privateer Space - constellation of small SATs for in-Space Situational Awareness (SSA) Ubotica Technologies - Live Earth Intelligence (Space: AI) Renoster - Deep Transparency for nature-based carbon projects constellr - Space data-powered high-precision smart farming services Find out more👀 https://lnkd.in/eS_9w7c3

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🔥List of Seed & Series A US VCs🔥 US investors' average valuation in the seed phase is $15m, compared with European, which is $7,1m. This is a good opportunity for US companies and European-based startups with HQ or legal entity from the US. I would love to share lists of the active US seed & Series A VCs that are actively invested in companies with a presence in the US market. To get the database, please complete BOTH STEPS (Step 1 & Step 2) Step 1: Comment on the post below Step 2: Drop me a DM/Inmail (with a connection request if we're not synced up) saying "US VC" and I will send you a link to the database. Step 3: (Optional) ♻️ Found this helpful? ↳ Repost it so your network can benefit from it, too.

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💼 Are you an angel investor diving into the exciting world of startup investments? Keeping track of your investment portfolio is crucial for making informed decisions and maximizing your returns. But with so many startups in the mix, how do you stay organized? 📊 Let's talk strategies! I'm eager to hear from fellow angel investors: How do you prefer to keep records of your investments in startups? 🔍 Whether you rely on specialized software, spreadsheets, or another method altogether, your insights could provide valuable guidance to others navigating the startup investment landscape. 💡 Share your preferred approach in the comments below! Let's exchange tips and tricks to help each other manage our startup investment portfolios effectively. #AngelInvesting #StartupInvestments #InvestmentManagement #LinkedInDiscussion 💸

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To all my network members who are running a #sustainability #startup or know someone with a mission, you folks are the true heroes, and I want to ensure your hard work is recognised not just on #EarthDay, but far beyond. That's why, at ETA Technologies, we're dedicated to contributing to your efforts by assisting those who are actively doing so in securing more funding. As a former VC, I understand the landscape inside and out. Amidst all the complexities, one truth consistently emerges: investors invest in people. This is where ETA comes in. We produce sophisticated and quantitative reports for investors, helping them identify the teams with the greatest potential. Let's change the game for now! Over the next week, all sustainability start-ups can receive a free report from us. This will provide insights into how investors perceive your team and what areas can be improved before you begin #fundraising. And if you've already opened your round, feel free to incorporate it into your outreach.

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https://lnkd.in/epFgH79T You’ve probably read tons of articles about the different rounds of VC funding and all the associated terms, but how often do you come across something that really breaks down the numbers? Ever wondered how to keep track of your startup’s equity as you grow? Dive into our hands-on guide to cap tables, where I break down everything from your first seed round to that exciting exit moment.  By walking you through various scenarios and terms with comprehensive examples and visual aids, I offer a solid foundation for managing equity financing in startups. While real-world cap tables can be intricate, this primer ensures fair ownership and proceeds distribution, helping you maintain investor confidence and support your startup’s long-term growth.Let’s get your cap table game on point!

Moonfire is the only European early-stage investment firm with more engineers than investors. Like our founders, we have a builder mindset. When we started Moonfire, we wanted to build the most quantitative early-stage investment firm in the world. And this is what sets us apart: We see ourselves as a tech company whose business is venture, rather than a venture firm that dabbles with tech. Why? Because our tech stack allows us to both go deep and broaden our reach: 1️⃣ It solves the mental-manual work, so we can focus on the sort of work that humans are better at – actually investing in and forming relationships with founders. 2️⃣ It enables more comprehensive coverage to help us find the best-fit opportunities, while also making VC more inclusive: finding talent wherever it is, and finding it early. It’s amazing to see from the DDVC Landscape report that so many teams are hiring engineers and building their own tools. This isn’t a trend, or even the ‘future’: it’s the present. https://lnkd.in/eQtGV2ky

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If your currently missing out on the SVRN train 🚂 then you need to get on it now! SVRN is the future of venture and these are the founders & investors who will be generating Trillions in GDP, creating millions of jobs, educating the masses, and driving innovation for business, tech, art, and culture for the economy during the next several decades. Mark my words & don’t miss out on this opportunity to build relationships with those founders & investors!

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