New year, new thoughts, link to essay below: 1/ Venture has developed a remarkable talent for discussing everything except the work. 2/ As the industry scaled, “portfolio construction” became a stand-in for seriousness: spray-and-pray vs concentration, reserves, fund size.

Thanks to @TauschFabian and Unicorn Bakery for hosting me and for the longer conversation around companies in the age of AI, investing, resilient funds or critical industries. Link: https://t.co/DMwbEjhLb9 The key takeaways: (1) Everything is changing so that nothing changes

I wrote down some under-discussed thoughts on Europe's need for software, scale, assertiveness and ambition. Culture remains the primary obstacle, not capital. The longer I'm in this game, the more this becomes obvious to me. https://t.co/5NYT5aEpRB

That is the biggest issue with all public attempts to bring Germany or Europe up to speed. You will not bring Europe into the future by creating incremental tech for old sectors. You will only succeed when defining entire new industries, when deliberately breaking with tradition.

The issues are cultural, rooted in a dominant thinking around and economic-cultural reliance on 19th/20th century industrial patterns. Most "innovation" debates circle around refreshing old / existing sectors, not around creating entirely new ones.

"The problem is that there is not much advocacy for diversification within the German government, or indeed anywhere in the German public debate. The debate is focused mostly on existing companies and sectors, not new ones." ⁦@EuroBriefing⁩ on point https://t.co/rsFUxEE3uN.

Given the downstream causalities of deep capital markets, it seems so obvious to go for reforms and pan-European consolidation. We need to understand: those are superstar markets, not "national treasures". Only size and depth and dynamism will help. https://t.co/MLMJXgmK0X

I wrote down a few thoughts on complex transformations in software, often in critical markets. They are outsized opportunities and go against conventional risk in software. 💾 Low complexity risk —> low moat 🤖 High complexity risk —> enduring moat https://t.co/F4zYJ7Sk8O

On G2 to see @SimScale as the top simulation software. This is the most complex software market in the world, and one that is critical for the real world around us. It takes an enormous amount of dedication, time and product obsession to get here. Congratulations! cc: @dhcae

Lasting value is in whole systems, not isolated technologies! European tech policy still hasn't grasped this: pushing supply side capital or deep tech for its own sake, and forgetting how you build up companies for scale. A massive cultural shift needed. https://t.co/ovFSvGQRrn

I had a chat with @Forbes and @davidprosserind on our work. We fund vastly ambitious companies addressing our largest challenges. We back theme-setters before the theme is there, with dedication. Occasionally, we help to design and architecture them. 🧲 https://t.co/GJYyI0Iru6

Magnetic's founder @drosskamp has been named as one of Germany's Top 40 under 40 by @capitalMagazin . Annually, the publication names the country's leading young generation across society, sciences and business. We see this as a testament to his and our work - thank you!

Congratulations to ⁦@aware_app⁩ who are launching today: the app and Aware labs in Berlin, Hamburg and Frankfurt. Aware's offering is a step change for primary care and preventive health. We are high-conviction investors in the accessibility to healthcare, through tech.

👉🏼 I will be discussing the world of crypto and decentralized networks with @dapperlabs founder (and long-term collaborator) @Mik_Naayem and @cburniske of @placeholdervc this week. Hear "The Crypto Chronicles" with two legends. ⏱️ July 6, 3.50pm, on TOA Berlin's main stage.

Looking forward to covering the 🇪🇺🇩🇪 perspective at Hinterland next week!

New @elliptic research is tracking the fentanyl supply chain and its money flows

In 🇩🇪: @getgrover's founder Michael Cassau interviewed on the OMR podcast.