EU CVC

Welcome to another episode of the EUVC Podcast! Today, we’re diving into How Corporates Might just be able Beat VCs in the AI Race. Or maybe more importantly, how we can collaborate.Our guest is Alex Dang, co-author of the bestselling book The Venture Mindset: How to Make Smarter Bets and Achieve Extraordinary Growth. Alex is a seasoned technology executive and innovation advisor with over two decades of experience. He was a product leader at Amazon, where he launched new businesses across e-commerce, supply chain, and AI; a partner at McKinsey, helping Fortune 500 companies build digital ventures; and today advises corporate leaders and investors on AI strategies, venture building, and applying VC principles to large organizations.In this conversation, Alex shares provocative insights on why the venture mindset is now non-negotiable for corporates in the AI era, where incumbents hold hidden advantages over VCs, and how to avoid “innovation theater” while turning data, distribution, and scale into real venture wins.Let’s jump in!Here’s what’s covered:01:56 | The Venture Mindset in one frame with nine principles from 20 years of Stanford VC research: uncertainty → portfolios → outliers03:44 | The post-book update Alex wishes he had added time compression: “days, not weeks,” and the rise of the “one slice team”05:53 | Venture mindset applied to AI 07:34 | Why “adding AI” is the wrong framing; start customer-backward, not tech-backward08:43 | “AI theater”, innovation theater and press release strategies vs real product value11:19 | The European corporate trap: regulation, consensus, and downside protection as the enemy of transformation11:56 | The right AI rollout sequence with start in back office to learn and protect trust, then go customer-facing at scale15:21 | Why CVCs die after 3.7 years: incentives, leadership fear, and why corporate venturing fails structurally17:24 | AI is now the world’s most democratized intelligence: everyone has the same tools; the gap is execution18:47 | Where corporates fit in venture + startup ecosystems: strengths: data, distribution, enterprise scale20:38 | When corporates should build in-house, when to partner, and why AI must become an internal muscle25:24 | Incentives drive behavior: why executives won’t take venture-style risks unless failure is structurally safe28:18 | AI-native teams and corporate reskilling among smaller, senior teams + digital workers replacing junior tasks35:24 | What happens to the average corporate employee: tasks disappear, workflows evolve, but people still matter38:50 | If Alex were CEO: how to move a workforce into an AI-safe future and target 25% profit uplift through AI44:01 | Most counterintuitive venture principle — “drop bad ideas fast” and why persistence is sometimes the wrong discipline46:05 | What top CEOs are doing right now: coding with Claude, learning by building, and staying close to users49:00 | The compounding effect: “what was impossible 6 months ago is normal today” and why constant feedback loops win

Welcome back to the EUVC Corporate Podcast. This week, Jeppe sits down with Axel Deniz, CEO of Bosch Business Innovations and Head of Venture Building at Bosch.Axel is building Bosch’s venture-building engine with a clear mandate: get Bosch technology out into the world, through founder-led spinouts, joint ventures, and seed rounds that can stand on their own with external investors. With ~80,000 active patents, 20 new patents per day, and 20,000 researchers globally, Bosch has the assets. Axel’s job is turning them into investible companies.🎧 Here’s what’s covered:02:30 Bosch’s unfair advantage: 80k patents, 20 patents/day, 20k researchers04:10 Horizon 2/3: building for 2030–2035 where incumbents can’t reach05:30 Hybrid execution: not all in-house, not all studio but a blended model06:25 Problem definition: Bosch theses + founders bringing problems from outside08:25 Stage gates: “get to no fast” + external validation early09:05 Gate #1: attracting “triple-A founders” before anything else10:35 Founder-led 80/20 vs joint ventures when tech risk is still high13:10 Venture market fit: choosing where to build is a venture builder superpower16:20 Founder acquisition: why mediocre pre-seed talent is the biggest risk23:05 Working with scale-ups: co-create instead of buying or minority investing24:15 University engine: 5–6 deep partnerships (Carnegie Mellon example)27:15 Biggest surprises: founder scarcity and portfolio restructuring complexity29:05 Axel’s advice to founders: don’t start deep tech from scratch30:30 Axel’s advice to VCs: don’t underestimate corporates’ learning curve32:00 Axel’s background: founder → Silicon Valley → PWC CVC → Bosch35:15 Career advice: no cookie-cutter route and trust your gut sometimes37:10 How founders can engage: programs + direct outreach on LinkedIn#EUVC #VC #VentureCapital #Investing #TheEuropeanVC #Podcast #Tech #Startup

Welcome back to another episode of the EUVC Podcast. Today, Jeppe sits down with Emil Eifrem, founder & CEO of Neo4j, the world’s leading graph database and a core infrastructure layer for AI applications used by all 20 of the top US banks, 9 of 10 global pharma giants, and every major automotive OEM.Emil recently announced a $100M global startup program to back founders building the next generation of AI-native products on top of graph technology — from knowledge graphs to hallucination-free LLMs.We delve into why graph thinking matters now, how Neo4j came of age during the Panama Papers investigation, and why Europe is better positioned than people think to compete in the AI platform shift.Here’s what’s covered:02:00 — The Panama Papers “Coming Out Party”How journalists used Neo4j to uncover 7-layer-deep financial relationships invisible to traditional databases — and why it triggered a wave of global adoption.06:40 — Why Graphs Are the Missing Link for AIKnowledge, meaning, context, and relationships: why LLMs without structured knowledge graphs hallucinate.08:50 — The $100M Startup ProgramWhy Neo4j is returning to its roots to support AI-native founders — and why the packaging for startups had to change.12:00 — What Founders GetFree Aura credits, dedicated graph engineers, joint GTM, and access to the world’s largest graph developer community.14:30 — Early Traction: 300+ Startups in WeeksWhy early demand is far ahead of expectations — and the kinds of companies applying.16:10 — Community as a Strategic Moat500+ annual global events, deep developer love, and why skill availability is now a CIO-level buying criterion.19:00 — Building Deep Tech in EuropeWhy Neo4j kept engineering in Europe, how the ecosystem matured, and what today’s founders can learn.22:00 — Regulation & CompetitivenessWill Europe overregulate itself out of the AI race? Emil’s perspective on models vs infrastructure vs applications.23:40 — The Future of AI InfrastructureWhy every company must rethink its stack — and why the biggest threat is assuming your business will survive without change.

Corporate venture capital isn’t just having “a bit of VC on the side.” Done well, it’s a strategic lens on the future. Done badly, it’s a short-lived pet project with a half-life of 3.7 years and a trail of confused founders and annoyed co-investors.In this episode, we sit down with Martin Scherrer, Partner & Head of Managed Funds at Redstone, alongside our own CVC lead Jeppe Høier, to unpack what really happens when corporates leave venture — and how to do it without destroying value or reputation.Redstone runs a dual model: classic VC funds + “VC-as-a-Service” for corporates and family offices. Martin himself has lived three lives:Inside Swiss Re’s CVC (later shut down)As a founder of an insurtech in SwitzerlandNow as VC & fund manager at Redstone across multiple corporate mandates.🎧 Here’s what’s covered:01:37 Why Martin? Why now? — Jeppe on Redstone’s VC-as-a-service role, his history with them, and why Martin is the go-to voice on CVC secondaries.02:50 Redstone in both worlds — Martin explains Redstone as a VC + CVC-as-a-service platform with deep corporate, VC, and founder roots.06:12 Portfolio thinking 101 — Why corporates underestimate startup investing, ignore the J-curve, and must commit to true portfolio construction + financial KPIs.09:37 Runoff vs. selling the bag — Score case: options to sell the whole portfolio at a 50–80% NAV discount vs. patient value-maximising runoff.13:54 Spin-outs & resilience — How CVCs can evolve into mixed-LP or fully independent VC funds (Swisscom Ventures, Berliner Volksbank → Redstone Fintech III).18:27 Follow-ons in “shutdown mode” — Why corporates sometimes should still fund follow-ons in runoff to unlock new investors and protect upside.20:25 Designing the partnership — Governance, IC design, reporting (e.g. IFRS 9), and performance-based structures that align Redstone and corporates.31:41 Managing vs. buying portfolios — How Redstone runs CVC runoff as an external manager with fees + carry, versus secondary buyers who acquire the assets outright.44:02 How to avoid a wind-down — The “gold standard”: bring in third-party LPs, avoid annual-budget setups, ringfence capital in a dedicated entity, and keep exec sponsors close.

Welcome back to the EUCVC Summit Talks, where we bring you candid conversations with Europe’s leading founders, corporate leaders, and investors shaping the future of venture collaboration.In this session, Christian Tang-Jespersen, Partner at San Francisco–based ACME, and Claus Gregersen, CEO of the 275-year-old evergreen investor Augustinus Fabrikker, explore what global ambition really means in today’s venture landscape.From recalibrating US expansion strategies to navigating sovereignty, trade tensions, and structural resets, they unpack how investors and founders must adapt to thrive in a more complex—but still interconnected—world.🎧 Here’s what’s covered:00:00 Setting the stage: Cycles, crises, and why this downturn feels different.02:00 Structural reset, not just another downturn—why waiting for “normal” is not an option.03:30 Investors as navigators, not moral arbiters—what it means in practice.04:15 Why the US remains critical: learning, scaling, and surviving tough competition.06:00 Page nine of every pitch deck: the inevitable US expansion slide.07:20 Trade tensions vs. venture building—why early-stage models aren’t derailed by politics.08:30 The importance of value-adding capital—choose partners for impact, not geography.09:15 Lessons from COVID and defense: building lean, fast, and resilient.10:00 Closing thoughts: capital may be scarcer, but ambition must remain global.

Welcome back to the EUCVC Summit Talks, where we spotlight Europe’s corporate venture leaders, founders, and academics shaping the future of venture collaboration.In this episode, Francesco Di Lorenzo, Associate Professor at Copenhagen Business School, takes the stage to share fresh research on the state of corporate venture capital (CVC) in the Nordics. From Sweden to Denmark, Francesco explores how corporates are experimenting with different venturing models, what makes CVC effective, and why Nordic corporates are some of Europe’s most important venture partners.Rather than polished slides, Francesco offers candid reflections from the Summit itself: the open questions corporates face, the trade-offs in structuring CVC units, and why cultural change in the boardroom is key if corporate venturing is to succeed long-term.🎧 Here’s what’s covered00:10 Nordic snapshot — Why the region punches above its weight in tech and CVC.01:00 Tools beyond CVC — Incubators, accelerators, and venture clienting: complementary or conflicting?03:00 The CVC effect — Beyond capital: what corporates bring to the table (and why it matters).05:00 Measuring success — Why CVC units last only 3.7 years on average and the difficulty of proving ROI.07:00 Smart money vs. just money — How engineer exchanges and board participation can be more impactful than capital alone.08:00 Venture clienting — A rising model where corporates act as first customers instead of investors—and the risks it carries.10:00 Governance cycles — Why CVC units live and die with CEO tenure, and why board-level protection is essential.11:00 Collaboration vs. competition — What data says about corporates co-investing (and when they don’t).13:00 Nordic findings — Early results from research in Norway, Finland, and Sweden: small portfolios, early-stage focus, and bureaucracy as the top blocker.14:00 AI paradox — Corporates investing in AI startups but cutting internal AI budgets—what this signals for the future.

Corporate venture capital has become a $100B+ force in tech. Charlie Hayward from Global Corporate Venturing unpacks what’s really driving the trend: which sectors are heating up, where CVCs make a difference, and how Europe stacks up under capital constraints and geopolitical pressure.Here’s what’s covered:00:10 – Setting the stage: CVC as a $100B+ global force01:00 – Why corporate venture matters: from Microsoft’s outlier story to the role of corporate backers03:00 – Active CVC units: stock performance and why entrepreneurs should care04:00 – Lower bankruptcy risk & higher exit multiples for CVC-backed startups05:00 – State of play: fundraising headwinds, but CVCs take the long-term view05:30 – Early-stage shift: corporates getting active in seed & pre-seed rounds06:00 – Global hotspots: Latin America and APAC showing strong momentum07:00 – What CVCs bring: board seats, portfolio support, but still lighter on financial-return expectations08:00 – Who plays the game: large corporates with $1B+ revenues dominate, but LP stakes open doors for smaller players09:00 – New frontiers: universities, accelerators, and venture clienting as the next CVC battlegrounds

Anne C. Fleischer (Global VP of Consumer Engagement & New Business Models at Novo Nordisk) and Henrijette Richter (Managing Partner at Sofinnova Partners) join Jeppe Høier on stage at the EUCVC Summit 2025 to explore how corporates and VCs are shaping the next wave of health innovation.From personalized treatments powered by AI, to the crucial role of data rights and trust in scaling digital health, Anne and Henrijette share hard-won insights on how pharma and venture can collaborate without killing speed or innovation.They discuss the “impatience economy,” where patients increasingly demand fast, personalized solutions, and why collaboration across startups, corporates, and investors is essential to turn science into scalable business models.🎧 Here’s what’s covered00:10 The next wave of health innovation — AI, deep tech, and strategic investment.01:00 Beyond the pill — Novo Nordisk’s vision for personalized, AI-driven patient care.03:00 Investor lens — what separates fundable AI health companies from “science projects.”04:00 Data rights & distribution — why exclusivity and integration pathways are critical.05:00 Corporate–startup collaboration — Novo Nordisk’s partner platform for scaling innovation.06:00 Scaling globally from day one — why diversified data and pharma channels matter.07:00 The “translator role” — people who speak both startup and corporate languages.08:00 The impatience economy — consumerization of health and the risks of losing trust.09:00 Looking ahead — specificity for patients as the next frontier in health innovation.

Welcome back to the EUCVC Summit Talks, where we bring you candid conversations with Europe’s leading founders, corporate leaders, and investors shaping the future of venture collaboration.In this episode, Samuli Sirén, Managing Partner at Redstone, joins Andreas Munk Holm to explore how data-driven deal sourcing is reshaping venture capital. Redstone has spent nearly a decade building Sophia, its proprietary analytics platform, to track trends, identify group dynamics, and map startup opportunities long before they show up on mainstream radars.From the promise and limits of AI in scouting to the common mistakes corporates make in startup sourcing, Samuli pulls back the curtain on what works, what doesn’t, and how data can give investors an edge without replacing human judgment.🎧 Here’s what’s covered00:10 Data, hype, and reality — is algorithmic deal flow just LP marketing or a real sourcing edge?01:00 Building Sophia: Redstone’s proprietary database for mapping opportunities02:00 Identifying groups and dynamics — why trends matter more than picking a single winner03:00 From regulation to signals: how legal shifts and new markets trigger clusters of startups04:00 Geography and global scope — why national champions rarely scale, and why global is better05:00 Corporate mistakes in sourcing — overfocusing on core business and overestimating their value06:00 Doing it right: how corporate LPs can learn, stay hands-off, and still gain massive value07:00 Lessons from Redstone’s fintech funds — German banks as LPs and the power of curiosity

Welcome back to the EUCVC Summit Talks, where we bring you candid conversations with Europe’s leading founders, corporate leaders, and investors shaping the future of venture collaboration.In this session, Marcus Behrendt, Managing Director at BMW i Ventures, and Nicole LeBlanc, Partner at Woven Capital (Toyota’s global growth fund), join Andreas Munk Holm to explore the shifting landscape of mobility and corporate venture.From navigating capital-intensive hardware bets to finding the balance between strategic alignment and financial discipline, Marcus and Nicole share what they’ve learned running two of the world’s most active mobility CVCs. They open up on exits, collaboration with startups, and how CVCs must evolve to remain relevant in an era of autonomous, connected, and electrified vehicles.🎧 Here’s what’s covered00:10 BMW i Ventures’ journey from corporate “experiment” to one of Europe’s most established mobility CVCs.01:00 Woven Capital’s global mandate — $800M to invest in growth-stage companies shaping the future of mobility.02:00 Strategic vs. financial returns: how to keep credibility with founders while serving corporate parents.04:00 The hard part of hardware — why scaling in mobility takes patient capital and operational backing.06:00 Startups + corporates = frictions and opportunities — lessons from portfolio collaborations.08:00 Exit realities: IPO droughts, M&A dynamics, and how mobility startups find liquidity.10:00 The next decade of CVC in mobility: sustainability, AI, and cross-border collaboration.