Best of LinkedIn: Venture Capital CW 14/ 15

Over the past two weeks LinkedIn’s Venture Capital community has mapped a market that is stabilising after last year’s reset yet doubling‐down on AI, climate and deep‐tech plays. New micro‐funds and focused Series A rounds kept capital formation alive, while operators shared hard‐won lessons on disciplined scaling and investor alignment.

Date

April 2, 2025

Venture Capital

Thomas Allgeyer

Methodology: Every two weeks we collect most relevant posts on LinkedIn for selected topics and create an overall summary only based on these posts. If you´re interested in the single posts behind, you can find them here: https://linktr.ee/thomasallgeyer. Have a great read!

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Actionable Insights

Early‑stage founders counselled to shore up operating foundations before attempting scale
Investor due‑diligence lens shifts from founder‑fit at pre‑seed to technology robustness and scalability by Series B, demanding clear product road‑maps
Reading the VC investment memo in reverse helps founders tailor pitches to thesis fit, risk mitigation and upside
Fluency in term‑sheet mechanics highlighted as critical to protecting dilution, governance rights and exit flexibility

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Strategic Insights

Mark Leonard’s $92 B “buy‑and‑build” playbook at Constellation Software showcases compounding returns outside classic VC models
Climate‑adjacent mining tech, powered by AI‑driven exploration, flagged as the next unicorn corridor
AI startups now dominate global VC mind‑share, redefining sector priorities
Female founders and women’s health remain materially under‑capitalised, underscoring systemic bias and missed growth
Europe urged to convert research depth into late‑stage capital and talent retention; seasoned partners increasingly exit mega‑funds to launch specialist, human‑scale vehicles

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Updates

Project Europe, a €10 M founder‑led micro‑fund, opened to back emerging European entrepreneurs
Bloom Biorenewables secured CHF 13 M to commercialise plant‑based drop‑in chemicals for materials markets
Brisk Teaching closed a US $15 M Series A to embed generative‑AI into classroom workflows
AgTech 2025 trend‑scan signals precision farming and sustainability solutions moving mainstream

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Reports

Global VC investment held at US $126 B in Q1 2025 despite softer deal volumes, buoyed by megadeals
Median net IRR for emerging funds turned negative, prompting LP flight to established franchises
Deep‑tech offers superior return potential but Europe risks losing talent without scale capital and permissive policy
Incumbent‑led climate‑tech commitments point to a US $9‑12 T addressable market by 2030
PE/VC‑backed companies dominate the AI‑focused IPO pipeline, reinforcing private‑market priming of public exits

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Events

Nordic VC summits rallied capital toward creating the region’s next wave of unicorns
Silicon Valley immersion tours exposed European corporates to CVC best practices and pace
AlphaGraph forum paired angels and operators to accelerate AI seed‑stage investing
Climate‑tech founder roundtables highlighted capital gaps and go‑to‑market hurdles
BioVaria (biotech) and EDF Info Days (defence tech) showcased Europe’s emerging thematic clusters

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