Frontier tech: Is it starting to deliver?

SuperVenture Berlin 2024 is a premier event bringing together top venture capitalists, innovative startups, and industry leaders to discuss the latest trends and opportunities in the investment landscape. Even though we are still the new kids on the block, we where invited to host the panel discussion on Frontier Tech: it was great catching up with so many people from the emerging space and forming new connections, especially with our fellow European and US-based allies.

In our panel on frontier tech and whether it is starting to deliver, we talked about the difference between frontier tech teams and generalist SaaS founders. The panelists were David Dana from European Investment Fund EIF, Andre de Haes from Backed VC, Seth Bannon from Fifty Years, Alastair Cooper from Cibus Capital and Andrew King from Bastille Ventures.

Some key discussion points I also want to share with the broader Vanagon Community:

• A new founder DNA, coming from science or former industry experts turning entrepreneurs, is stepping up.

• This cycle will be about solving really hard problems with frontier software and technologies that are currently at the cusp of maturing.

• The risks in frontier tech are different: you can’t pivot your way over the weekend or have longer development cycles.

• Europe needs to accelerate! We have all it takes from an academic, partnership, and funding ecosystem; however, tech spinouts from academia and IP ownership structures can still be a major barrier for VCs to come in.

Also love the take from our EUVC Community, if it is the Generalist versus Specialized VCs who are going to make it:

Thanks, everyone, for the feedback and the discussions afterward, even though it was the last session of the day! 💪

Looking forward to meet you on one of the next events we will attend!

Best

Susanne, Axel & Sandro