Rokas Peciulaitis (Contrarian Ventures): Why responsible innovation wins with better products

Europe can invest heavily in AI, but without enough cheap, reliable electricity, its ambitions will eventually hit a physical limit. Data centres, industry and digital infrastructure all need power, making Europe’s energy system an increasingly important part of its technology strategy. Alex Bakir, General Partner at Norrsken Evolve, argues that electricity is becoming a question of competitiveness, resilience and sovereignty, not only climate. Alex traces how Europe became dependent on imported energy and why electrification now requires changes to grids, costs and supply chains. He also explains why Europe may already have the technology and capital it needs, if it can overcome fragmentation and build enough momentum to act. HighlightsWhy Europe’s AI ambitions depend on electricityHow energy became a competitiveness and sovereignty issueWhy grid infrastructure is becoming a bottleneckThe risk of swapping one dependency for anotherWhy Alex believes Europe already has the technology and capital to actThis session was recorded at the Love Tomorrow Summit, where EUVC curated the investor-focused programme.Timestamps(01:00) Why Europe should run on cheap, clean electricity(02:00) How Europe’s postwar model shaped its energy system(03:00) From industrial power to dependence on imported energy(04:00) Why this is bigger than climate change(05:00) Energy, geopolitics and economic power(06:00) Europe’s vulnerability to energy price shocks(07:00) Why AI raises the stakes for Europe’s electricity system(08:00) Grid bottlenecks, high costs and new dependencies(09:00) Why Europe already has the technology and capital to act(10:00) The case for a more electrified Europe

What Europe lacks is not necessarily talent. The bigger challenge is keeping ambitious founders here, financing them at scale and capturing more of the value created by European technology.In this episode of This Week in European Tech, Dan Bowyer and Priyanka Savjani of SuperSeed are joined by Andrew J Scott of 7percent Ventures to discuss what needs to change if Europe wants to build and retain more global technology leaders.They cover EU Inc., European pension capital, AI sovereignty and access to frontier models, as well as Europe’s space ambitions and the wider economic impact of AI. The conversation also looks at what happens if AI shifts more value from labour towards capital, and whether Europe is positioned to benefit from that shift.HighlightsWhy Europe’s talent may not be the real constraintWhether EU Inc. can reduce fragmentationWhy domestic capital matters for European techWhat AI sovereignty really meansWhy access to frontier models could become a strategic riskWhat Europe needs to unlock in spaceHow AI could reshape the balance between labour and capitalDeals of the week across AI and space

What does it really mean to be AI-native when hiring or backing a leadership team?Chris Preston, CEO at ZEREN, a global technology recruitment firm, and Rishabh Kaul, Venture Partner at Hoxton Ventures, discuss how AI is changing the signals that matter in senior talent, from curiosity and hands-on experimentation to judgement and functional expertise. Recorded at the EUVC Summit & Awards Show in April 2026, they explore the trade-off between proven experience and AI-native thinking, how founders can rethink hiring and how investors can better assess and support leadership teams as expectations evolve.HighlightsWhat AI-native leadership looks like in practiceHow founders and investors can assess AI capabilityWhy curiosity and experimentation matter alongside experienceWhen deep domain expertise still matters moreWhy interim executives can help shape evolving rolesWhy early-stage teams should focus on standout strengths rather than perfectionTimestamps(00:00) Intro(02:00) How AI is changing leadership hiring(04:00) Why experienced leaders need to stay close to how AI is being used(06:00) How to test for genuinely AI-native thinking(07:00) Balancing proven experience with AI curiosity(09:00) The investor perspective on AI adoption across portfolio companies(11:00) When deep domain expertise still matters more(12:00) Using interim leaders when roles are still evolving(13:00) Why founders should hire for standout strengths, not perfection

Responsible innovation works best when it creates products people genuinely prefer, not when it asks them to accept a compromise.Rokas Peciulaitis, Founder and Managing Partner at Contrarian Ventures, argues that better products, longer lifecycles and stronger customer loyalty can make responsibility a competitive advantage. Using examples from Vinted, Patagonia and Mako, Rokas explores how founders can build companies around durability, reuse and purpose, and why he believes every euro spent is effectively a vote for the kind of future we want to create. HighlightsWhy “climate change” may be the wrong framingWhy responsible innovation has to win on productWhat Vinted, Patagonia and Mako get rightHow purpose can become a long-term moatWhy every euro spent is a voteTimestamps(01:00) The Titanic metaphor and why climate action is too slow(03:00) Why “climate change” may be the wrong framing(05:00) Why builders matter more than waiting for policy(07:00) Mako: giving materials another life(08:00) Vinted and making secondhand mainstream(09:20) Patagonia and killing a bestselling product(11:00) What responsible companies have in common(12:00) Why every euro spent is a vote(12:40) The climate worsens by default, but gets better by choiceThis session was recorded at the Love Tomorrow Summit, where EUVC curated the investor-focused programme.

Apple’s decision to rent rather than build its core AI model raises a wider question for Europe: where should companies own the technology, and where does it make more sense to build on top of the best models available?That is one of the themes in this episode of This Week in European Tech, featuring Dan Bowyer, Mads Jensen and Priyanka Savjani of SuperSeed, alongside Andrew J Scott of 7percent Ventures. They also discuss where Mistral and Wayve can compete, why business data is becoming more valuable and how the AI infrastructure boom is starting to reshape capital markets.HighlightsWhy Apple may have made “renting AI” more respectableWhere Mistral could find an advantage beyond the frontier-model raceWhy business data is becoming one of AI’s most valuable assetsWhy governments should act as customers, not just grant providersHow AI infrastructure spending is moving into debt marketsWhy new forms of AI reasoning are raising questions around observability and safetyTimestamps(00:00) Intro(03:00) Broadcom and the AI chip race(06:00) Matt Clifford, Anthropic and where AI power sits(08:00) Apple rents AI: build or buy?(12:00) nScale and the numbers behind its AI infrastructure story(14:00) Wayve, Waymo and the autonomous driving race(17:00) Why governments should become startup customers(18:00) Europe, capital flows and the AI kill switch debate(21:00) Thinking Machines, Mistral and the open-source AI race(25:00) Meta’s AI pricing bet and the value of business data(31:00) Why bond markets suddenly matter to tech(37:00) AI financing moves from equity into debt(41:00) Oracle’s leveraged bet on OpenAI(43:00) What happens when AI models reason in their own language?(47:00) Deals of the week(50:00) What to watch next week

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.HighlightsWhy simple scales and complex failsHow bigger goals and shorter timelines create clarityWhy AI can increase organisational complexityHow hidden goals and fear keep weak plans aliveWhy raising the bar is a tool for subtractionTimestamps(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 simplicityWant 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.HighlightsWhy better environmental solutions can also deliver better economicsHow supply chains can become a platform for impactThe difference between circularity and regenerationHow technology could help restore natural systemsThis 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.HighlightsWhat founders should expect from a strategic investorWhy CVC is a marathon, not a sprintHow Henkel Ventures aligns strategy and partnershipsWhere European corporates still hold an advantageThe 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 thesisWhat Julien-David saw during a 20-minute meeting with its founderWhere IRIS draws the line between applied deep tech and capital-intensive foundational betsHow early customer validation helps IRIS assess a technical stackWhat AI companies need to build lasting value as technologies and markets evolveWhy 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 seedHow early support and global supply chain expertise can help hardware startups scaleWhy underinvested sectors such as battery technology may offer overlooked opportunitiesHear 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