Filip Dames, founding partner at Cherry Ventures, recently appeared on Bloomberg to discuss the exciting momentum building around deep tech innovation in Europe. With Cherry Ventures' recent $500 million fund raise and investments in cutting-edge companies like Proxima Fusion, Robeauté, and The Exploration Company, Filip offered insights into why Europe is uniquely positioned for a deep tech breakthrough.

The Perfect Storm for European Deep Tech

"Deep tech is the hard stuff," Filip explained. "It requires talent, capital, and huge ambition. In Europe today, we have all three ingredients."

The numbers back up his optimism: Europe has more researchers than any other continent globally, creating an unparalleled talent foundation for deep tech innovation. Combined with increased capital availability and ambitious founders tackling the world's hardest problems, Europe is primed for breakthrough companies.

Addressing the Challenges

While bullish on Europe's potential, Filip acknowledged significant headwinds. "Meta is spending more on R&D than all European public companies combined," highlighting the massive catch-up required. Key challenges include:

• Late-stage funding gaps: Europe still lacks the very large funds needed to support companies through their growth phases
• Regulatory complexity: Bureaucratic hurdles continue to slow progress
• Patient capital needs: Deep tech companies require sustained investment over 7-8 years before profitability

The Role of Public-Private Collaboration

Filip emphasised the critical importance of public sector support, pointing to successful examples like Bavaria's backing of Proxima Fusion's first fusion power plant development. "There needs to be collaboration between public and private sector," he noted, highlighting how strategic government support can accelerate deep tech breakthroughs.

AI and Europe's Strategic Position

On artificial intelligence, Filip sees massive opportunity across the entire stack. "Europe needs innovation on both the infrastructure layer and the application layer," citing companies like Black Forest Labs (image/video models) and Mistral (European LLM) as proof points.

With AI representing "one of the most important technological shifts since the beginning of the internet," Filip believes Europe can capture significant value as companies implement AI into their processes and consumer behavior shifts toward LLM-based search models.

The Trillion-Dollar Question

At Cherry, we are here to back that first European trillion-dollar company.

Filip spoke about particular promise in AI, European resilience, defence, energy, and space sectors, with portfolio companies like Proxima Fusion, and The Exploration Company leading the charge.

Looking Ahead

Despite current market challenges around exits and liquidity, Filip remains optimistic about the deep tech ecosystem's trajectory. With M&A activity increasing and strong companies demonstrating solid revenue growth, he expects successful exits will fuel continued innovation and investment in European deep tech.

As Europe builds toward its deep tech renaissance, Cherry Ventures continues backing the ambitious founders tackling humanity's biggest challenges - from fusion energy to space exploration to next-gen AI systems.

Watch the full Bloomberg interview to hear more insights on Europe's deep tech future and Cherry Ventures' investment strategy.