E642 | Lucanus Polagnoli & Stephanie Urbanski, Calm/ Storm: Digital Health, Not Hype - Building, Backing & Staying Calm Through the Cycle

Welcome back to another episode of Upside at the EUVC Podcast, where ⁠Dan Bowyer⁠,⁠ Mads Jensen⁠ of ⁠SuperSeed⁠, ⁠Lomax Ward⁠ of ⁠Outsized Ventures⁠ and ⁠Andrew J Scott⁠ of ⁠7percent Ventures⁠, and Lomax unpack the forces shaping European venture capital.This week’s conversation spans the spectrum, from AI moratoriums and political overreach to funding freezes, LP pullbacks, and the question of whether Europe still dares to dream big.The crew digs into whether regulation is protecting society or suffocating innovation, the chilling effect of capital retreat, and how optimism can be rebuilt amid macro fatigue.🎧 Here’s what’s covered00:41 – The “AI Pause” Debate — Can governments ever pause technology? Why moratoriums sound moral but stall momentum.05:25 – Europe’s Fear Reflex — The rise of “safety-first” politics and how overregulation is quietly killing risk appetite.09:57 – LP Freeze Frame — Europe’s institutional capital dries up as funds extend cycles — why secondaries and NAV loans are back in fashion.13:36 – The Optimism Deficit — How founders are stuck between doomist media and cautious investors, and why conviction is now a superpower.17:59 – Policy Paralysis — The mismatch between innovation speed and Brussels process — can Europe’s bureaucracy ever run at startup pace?22:44 – The Deep Tech Divergence — Climate tech, quantum, and AI hardware get hot — but early checks are scarcer than ever.27:32 – Founders as Statesmen — Why European founders must now act as ambassadors for progress — defending the right to build.32:18 – The Politics of Optimism — Why Europe’s next unicorns will be built by those who ignore the headlines and build through doubt.37:20 – AI Regulation & Reality — The EU AI Act’s new interpretive layer — compliance theater vs. competitive advantage.42:48 – The Great European Reset — Why this downturn might finally force quality, discipline, and depth into the ecosystem.

This week on the EUVC Podcast, Andreas Munk Holm sits down with Sebastian Peck, Partner at KOMPAS VC, Europe’s leading specialist in industrial tech and the decarbonisation of manufacturing and the built world.KOMPAS VC is an early- and growth-stage venture capital firm backed by leading corporates, focused on transforming how the world builds, moves, and powers itself. With offices in London, Amsterdam, and Copenhagen, KOMPAS partners with startups and industrial leaders driving efficiency, automation, and decarbonisation across sectors like manufacturing, construction, energy, and mobility.With the firm gearing up for major announcements, Sebastian unpacks why industrial tech is finally having its moment in European VC — and why resilience, regulation, and risk appetite will determine whether Europe leads or lags.Here’s what’s covered:00:20 Defining Industrial Tech - Decarbonisation, productivity, and resilience: the three pillars driving transformation in Europe’s industrial base.03:30 The Energy Debate: Transition vs pragmatism, nuclear’s comeback, and Europe vs US vs China09:14 Fragmented Corporate Commitments: Nordics doubling down, US ambivalence, China scaling renewables fast11:21 AI in Industrial Tech: From power-hungry models to agentic AI: where real productivity gains are emerging and what’s still hype.16:02 Robotics: Hype vs. reality: Why humanoid robots won’t take over factories (yet) — and where automation truly moves the needle.21:57 Adoption Hurdles: Why industrial tech moves slower than SaaS, and how smart VCs help bridge the gap between pilots and production.24:37 AI & Jobs: Creative destruction or just destruction? How Europe, the US, and China are charting radically different paths.33:18 Regulation: Europe’s protective instinct: how the EU’s AI Act balances innovation with oversight - for better and for worse.40:27 Startups × Corporates: Why pilots fail, and how KOMPAS VC brokers real commercial traction44:48 KOMPAS VC Fund II: New bets, Makersite’s standout Series B, and how the firm is deepening its industrial tech thesis.45:54 Specialist vs Generalist VCs: Why Europe needs deep domain VCs working alongside generalist syndicates to build lasting industry platforms.48:52 Magic Wand Policy: Pension capital reform and risk appetite as Europe’s bottlenecks51:09 It’s Not Founders, it’s the Ecosystem: Employees, customers, regulators, and LPs — everyone needs to lean in if Europe is to lead.

Welcome back to the EUVC Podcast, where we bring you the people and perspectives shaping European venture.Today we’re joined by Lucanus Polagnoli (Founding Partner & CEO) and Stephanie Urbanski (Managing Director) of Calm/Storm — a specialist early-stage fund backing software-only digital health across Europe. Fresh off the close of Fund II, we dive into how they’ve evolved from a solo-GP experiment into a community-powered platform, why they keep the scope digital-only, and how they navigate regulation, AI and the post-COVID reality without losing the plot.🎯 This Episode’s ThemesSame, same — but sharper: Fund II doubles down on pre-seed/seed, software-only digital health, with bigger checks and higher ownership.Community as a product: 60+ “supporting partners” and 110+ LPs powering 100+ co-invests — founder-to-founder help on demand.Specialist by design: Why digital health (no molecules, no hardware) lets a small fund move fast and add tangible value.Regulation ≠ roadblock: In health, approvals can protect moats — if you have the patience and the cash plan.AI without the buzzwords: Companion to clinicians, not a replacement; curated, longitudinal data beats generic LLM advice.Europe’s moment (still): Later-stage money does show up now; e-prescriptions and rails are here; US health is just as complex.Logo gravity matters: Follow-on quality (Sequoia, Balderton, Creandum et al.) is the strongest portfolio predictor.⏱️ Here’s what’s covered00:24 | Names & origins - how to say “Polagnoli” (and why words matter)01:24 | Fund II - same stage/sector/geo; larger tickets (€400–500k initial), higher ownership, co-lead when conviction is high03:30 | Supporting partners - 60+ founder-operators + LPs as an on-call help network05:45 | Why Calm/Storm - the gap they saw in 2019; launching Feb 5, 2020, right before the pandemic wave08:52 | Post-COVID reality - rails stayed (e-scripts, digital flows), tourists left; real followers now fund B/C rounds in Europe11:08 | Longevity & prevention - out-of-pocket willingness, AI unlocking insights from dormant data13:21 | Team split - Stefanie’s operator engine + community execution; Lucanus on strategy and navigation16:10 | Why digital-only - software speed, small teams, low capex; pass on molecules/hardware for fund construction reasons22:45 | Regulation as moat - ThinkSono’s 8-year climb on DVT ultrasound automation; Europe vs. US complexity myths26:44 | AI in health - pattern recognition, prep and triage; risks of generic LLMs for personal diagnosis31:10 | Adoption & incentives - public vs. private delivery, prevention economics, and Europe’s risk-capital bottleneck36:26 | Where AI wins first - curated data, longitudinal monitoring, workflow copilots; the missing top-10 health app42:58 | Community receipts - burnout averted, board-level engagements, LPs turning co-investors45:27 | Portfolio & follow-ons - Nelly, Lindus, 9am Health; why “who picks you up” predicts outcomes48:56 | Exit math & fund design - earlier liquidity via M&A/secondaries; co-lead over “winner-takes-all”; stay early-stage by choice

Welcome to a new episode of the EUVC Podcast, where our good friends Dan Bowyer, Mads Jensen, Lomax Ward, and Andrew Beebe (Managing Director at Obvious Ventures) dig into the headlines shaping Europe’s venture, policy, and tech future.This week, the crew dives deep into automation and AI’s real-world impact:Amazon’s plans to replace half a million jobs with robots, the question of whether AI can truly spark a new industrial revolution in Europe, the UK’s new AI sandbox experiment, and an update on the long-awaited 28th Regime—the EU’s bid for a unified startup entity.They also unpack China’s automation surge, Europe’s productivity crisis, and whether policy and politics are keeping pace with the technology curve.🎧 Here’s what’s covered00:24 Amazon’s Robot Push - Replacing 500,000+ jobs with automation — what it means for Europe’s workforce and competitiveness.05:26 Automation & Employment - Europe’s 31M manufacturing workers, Germany’s 80% robotized auto sector, and whether job “shifts” beat displacement.09:37 Productivity & Policy Tension - Can Europe keep up as Asia deploys 70% of new industrial robots? And how do we balance growth with labor protection?16:00 AI’s Second Industrial Revolution - John Thornhill’s “Industrial Revolution 2.0” thesis — does Europe have the institutional capacity to absorb and profit from AI?21:24 Enterprise AI Failure Modes - Why 50–75% of AI implementations flop — and why it’s a skills and structure problem, not a tech one.26:05 White Collar Co-Pilots - AI as enabler, not replacer — from doctors to lawyers — and why the change must happen at human speed.28:00 China’s Lead & Europe’s Complacency - China’s robot factories, biotech dominance, and why European policymakers “don’t feel the fire.”34:15 Politics & Technocracy - Why Europe needs tech-literate leaders before the next wave of disruption turns social.38:00 UK’s AI Sandbox - A new initiative to let startups test AI in the wild — but is it another FCA-style fix or a token gesture?41:30 AI in the NHS - Where regulatory sandboxes could actually work — in diagnostics, admin automation, and cutting waiting lists.48:00 EU’s 28th Regime - A pan-European startup entity proposal — regulation vs. directive, and whether it can fix the admin drag across borders.55:00 The German Bottleneck - How 200+ local laws still choke innovation — and why fixing Germany alone could free €800M+ annually.59:00 Deal of the Week: CoalMine - Plural backs UK brain-computer interface startup CoalMine with a $102M Series A — Europe’s Neuralink moment.

Welcome back to another EUVC Podcast, where we explore the lessons, frameworks, and insights shaping Europe’s venture ecosystem.Today’s episode marks a major milestone for Notion Capital - the launch of its new Growth Fund, designed to back Europe’s most ambitious B2B software founders beyond Series B.Today, Andreas Munk Holm sits down with Stephen Chandler, Jessica Bartos, formerly of Salesforce Ventures, and Stephanie Opdam, both key leaders at Notion’s growth fund. They discuss how Notion approaches growth-stage investments, the importance of founder quality, AI trends, enterprise go-to-market excellence, and the global ambitions of European startups.🎧 Here’s what’s covered:00:28 Jessica’s background & lessons from Salesforce Ventures — 15 years in deal-making, AI and enterprise software investments, and applying those lessons to Europe.02:54 Founder quality & endurance — How Notion supports founders over long journeys and ensures they can scale their vision.05:58 AI and incumbents — Insights on how AI is reshaping enterprise software and the competitive landscape, and why product-market fit remains central.07:39 Portfolio vs external opportunities — How Notion benchmarks internal portfolio companies while capturing external growth opportunities.08:53 Diligence at growth stage — Evaluating ARR quality, retention, repeatability, product-market fit, and team execution.13:30 Exit strategy considerations — Planning for IPOs, secondary markets, and liquidity while staying aligned with founders’ long-term vision.15:19 European companies and US markets — Why listing in the US does not make a company “less European” and the importance of global scale.17:17 Fund evolution & multi-stage strategy — Stephanie reflects on moving from venture to growth, leveraging internal ecosystem insights, and building top-performing funds.

Welcome back to another episode of the EUVC Podcast, where we bring you the people and perspectives shaping European venture.Today, we’re joined by Alexandre Mars, the French entrepreneur and philanthropist behind Blisce, one of Europe’s pioneering B Corp-certified venture funds. From bootstrapping his first business at 17 to building and selling multiple startups across Europe and the US, Alexander has seen both sides of the entrepreneurial journey — the grind and the freedom.In this conversation, we explore his evolution from founder to impact investor, the trade-offs between wealth and purpose, the challenge of defining “impact” in venture capital, and why Europe’s next tech era will depend on bridging public policy, capital, and purpose.🎧 Here’s What’s Covered:00:19 | Welcome & Origin Story — From a 17-year-old entrepreneur to serial founder and philanthropist02:37 | Freedom Redefined — What “no boss” really means when clients become your new one05:44 | Sacrifice & Grind — Why success without discipline doesn’t exist08:12 | From Founder to Investor — The transition from building to backing11:03 | Birth of Blisce — From family office to impact VC13:32 | Series A to B Sweet Spot — Why Blisce focuses on post-revenue scale-ups15:08 | Returns & Responsibility — Outperforming funds while doing good17:21 | The Problem with Defining Impact — Why dogma kills nuance21:05 | Europe vs. US — Risk, failure, and ambition across cultures25:47 | The Role of Tech in Society — Investing with purpose, not just profit28:19 | Sovereignty & Scale — Europe’s AI and data independence moment31:02 | Policy & Venture — Why investors can’t stay silent in the public debate34:29 | Paris as a Rising Hub — Why France is building something real this time

This week, Andreas Munk Holm and Jeppe Høier sit down with Matti Rönkkö, Managing Director of Kiilto Ventures, the venture arm of Finnish family-owned Kiilto.From Rocket Internet to running a corporate-backed, family-owned venture arm, Matti shares how Kiilto Ventures blends family capital, industry know-how, and VC pace to back startups in the sustainable built environment. They dive into portfolio examples, CVC vs VC dynamics, co-investing with generalists, and why superior product performance at price parity is the only path forward in climate and construction tech.🎧 Here’s what’s covered:00:30 – Cold open & setup: why this is a “CVC episode”01:00 – Who is Matti? From Rocket Internet & scale-ups to Kiilto Ventures02:00 – What is Kiilto Ventures: mandate, geography, and ownership model04:56 – CVC, VC, or family office? Matti’s “best-of-all-worlds” answer07:30 – How Kiilto’s mothership helps: labs, chemists, and customer intros10:44 – Rocket Internet lessons: speed, scale, and culture18:12 – The built environment’s big four problems: carbon, circularity, health, inefficiency20:25 – Portfolio snapshots: Recoma, Nobody Engineering, Acembee24:21 – Co-investing & partnerships: specialists + generalists, and when offtakes make sense37:27 – Macro & climate politics: why only price-parity products will win

In this episode, Andreas Munk Holm speaks with Anders Kjær, General Partner at PSV Hafnium, Denmark’s first dedicated deep tech fund. Together, they explore the evolving role of technical founders, the Nordic research-industrial complex, and how early-stage deep tech capital needs to work differently to unlock tomorrow’s transformative companies.Here’s what’s covered:01:30 Why PSV Hafnium Was Built—and the Deep Tech Opportunity in the Nordics04:13 PSV Hafnium as a Symbol of Deep Tech: The Element & the Brand08:24 Turning Research into Portfolio Power: DTU's Role in Diligence & Support10:19 Can a Copenhagen-Based Fund Compete Across the New Nordics?14:26 Nordic Tech Clusters: Are There Regional Strengths or Pure Serendipity?19:43 Bio Solutions, Green Energy & Industrial Legacy: Why Deep Tech Thrives Here21:15 Sciencepreneurs Rising: Shifting Founder Mindsets in Deep Tech24:52 How PSV Hafnium Gauges Entrepreneurial Readiness in Deep Tech Teams27:44 What Generalist VCs Get Right—and Wrong—About Deep Tech30:18 What “European Resilience” Actually Means at the Early Stage36:18 The Common Thread in All Deep Tech Bets (Hint: It’s Not Sector)42:09 Bridge Rounds in Deep Tech: A True Test of Conviction45:53 Rapid Fire: Nordic Bets, Myths to Kill, & Advice to Scientist Founders

Welcome to a new episode of the EUVC Podcast, where our good friends Dan Bowyer and Mads Jensen from SuperSeed are joined by Lomax Ward from Outsized Ventures and Ben Prade, investor & operator at Bullhound Capital (the investment arm of GP Bullhound), for an unfiltered look at Europe’s venture reality: fundraising pain, secondaries-as-a-service, AI’s power hunger, China’s “dark factories,” and how Europe unlocks the capital to compete.Ben focuses on deep tech, AI, quantum, and space, and he brings a clear-eyed view on how liquidity, secondaries, and structural headwinds are reshaping the market.🎧 Here’s what’s covered02:35 Fundraising reality: fewer funds, flight to brandsWhy ~25% of new VC money goes to the top 10 brands; what that means for emerging managers; and why DPI is king again.05:26 Sovereign LPs & strings attachedWhen government money shapes mandates: the upside (more capital) and the risk (policy over performance).06:45 Chinks of light: Klarna & liquidityHow high-profile exits (and lock-ups ending) can recycle cash back into European VC.09:37 Goldman buys Industry VenturesWhy a Wall Street giant wants secondary data + wealth distribution — and how that can unclog LP portfolios.13:08 Nobel Prize & growth mechanicsCreative destruction (Aghion–Howitt) meets realpolitik: state de-risking, catch-up industrialization, and China’s “build both infra and innovation” model.21:24 AI’s “everything app” momentOpenAI’s ~30 GW compute plan (> $1T decade CapEx), Google’s ad-cash advantage, and the looming pricing showdown.25:09 Circularity vs. realityVendor-financing analogies in AI, but remember: revenue expectations — not loops — pop bubbles.28:03 Unit economics: AI ≠ SaaSNegative gross margins down the stack; LLMs climbing into apps; why vertical data + UX decide winners.32:02 China’s dark factoriesExecs return “shaken”: robotized plants, BYD’s surge, and how physical AI (motors, batteries, autonomy) changes competitiveness.39:29 Unleashing Europe’s capitalJP Morgan’s $1.5T initiative vs. European pensions stuck in gov bonds; rewiring incentives to fund productive risk.45:00 Deal of the Week: ecoRobotix€90M Series D (Highland Europe, McWin). Precision AI spraying that cuts herbicides/pesticides by up to 95% across 20+ countries.

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 covered00:00 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.