AI safety is usually framed as an engineering problem. It is fast becoming an ownership problem. Seed-stage startups now run with a median team of four. Data-centre spending is projected to reach the trillions. And in September, calls from top AI leaders to slow down helped rattle chip stocks. This piece connects three debates that are usually kept apart: alignment research, venture capital, and who actually gets rich. The core question is simple: as AI grows more powerful, who controls the systems, and who captures the upside?

We are organizing a “Defence and Dual Use Breakfast for Women & Male Allies in VC”- an official side event of Bpifrance and EuroQuity, European Defence Week 2026.

Europe's pension and insurance pools hold €13 trillion, yet only a fraction reaches venture. The Pension Fund Report, a flagship initiative of Venture Connections and European Women in VC, will be launched in Brussels on 25th November 2026, in front of pension funds, insurers, policymakers and Europe's leading investors. We are inviting a limited number of partners to feature their fund and portfolio company as a case study in the report. It is your chance to reach the right audience, shape the debate on long-term capital and be positioned as a reference point in European venture..

Atlantic Bridge Managing Partner Elaine Coughlan has been appointed to Ireland's newly established Semiconductor Advisory Council, alongside members from Atlantic Bridge portfolio companies Equal1 and Ubotica Technologies. Elaine will bring her experience of backing deep tech to the Council as it shapes national policy and strengthens Ireland's position in the global semiconductor value chain.

Read more here.

OneRagtime has again been ranked among the "Excellent" venture capital firms in France in the 2026 Décideurs | Leaders League ranking. This repeat recognition rewards a consistent model: a digital platform, powered by AI and a community, that backs ambitious European entrepreneurs through funds and co-investment vehicles.

The firm's community of more than 500 investors and founders is central to that model. It shows how open, community-driven investing can strengthen the European ecosystem.

Martina Pace, Partner and COO at PeakBridge, argues that food and nutrition startups don't have a marketing problem. They have an evidence problem. In this piece, she breaks down why clinical data, regulatory strategy, and defensible IP now decide which companies get acquired, and which get left behind. With real examples from recent food and health M&A, this is a sharp read for anyone building a company they hope to sell one day.

Read the full article here.

Terhi Vapola has launched a new podcast with Allison Myers of Buoyant Ventures. The two met as roommates on day one of the Kauffman Fellows program. Both invest in energy tech, Teri in Europe and Allison in the US.

They noticed that media rarely covers climate tech successes. "What Went Right" sets out to change that. It is their joint Kauffman Fellows Thought Leadership Project.

Episode one features Michelle You, serial entrepreneur and founder and CEO of Supercritical, on her founder journey and lessons learned.

Listen here.

Thema has made a strategic LP commitment to the first close of NFG Ventures Fund I. The solo-GP fund is led by Eileen Burbidge, a three-time Forbes Midas List Europe investor.

She has deployed over £100 million, with a track record of 7.9x. Burbidge was a first-ticket investor in Monzo, Tide, PolyAI, Marshmallow and Butternut Box. She has also worked inside the businesses she backs, serving as interim CEO at Tide, supporting Monzo through key transitions, and most recently leading Fertifa as CEO. NFG will build a concentrated portfolio across fintech and healthcare, pairing Burbidge's founder judgment with high-conviction, hands-on investing. Thema is proud to support Eileen and NFG as the fund builds.

Niamh Donnelly, Co-Founder and CTO of Atlantic Bridge’s portfolio company Akara Robotics, received a 2025 DCU Alumni Award from the Faculty of Engineering and Computing. Akara develops autonomous systems for infection control and hospital efficiency, with technology deployed across Europe and the US.

Read more here.

Congratulations to DIG Ventures on launching its $120M Fund III, bringing its total AUM to over 200M. The fund backs technical founders at the earliest stages, investing in AI-native enterprise and cloud infrastructure across data, identity, compliance and orchestration. It is led by an operator partnership: Ross Mason, founder of MuleSoft, Melissa Klinger, former MuleSoft UK sales lead, and Rytis Vitkauskas, founder of YPlan and former Lightspeed partner.

Read more here.

Female founders set a record last year. Companies with at least one female founder captured 27.7% of all US venture dollars, or $73.6B. The year before, that share was 19.9%. The headline hides a harder truth. All-women founding teams received just 1.1% of the money. Progress is real, but it is concentrated in mixed teams.

Beyond the giants, Daniela Amodei at Anthropic, Mira Murati at Thinking Machines Lab and Melanie Perkins at Canva, a new generation is scaling fast across AI, fintech, robotics, health and deep tech.

Six of the 20 companies highlighted are European. Each is building in a sector where Europe has a real claim to leadership.

These founders are building infrastructure in AI, space, quantum and finance and the capital is starting to follow. The challenge now is to ensure it reaches all-women teams too, and to grow Europe's share of the story.

✔️ has turned scientific innovation into business before
✔️ knows how to open markets, build partnerships, accelerate commercial traction and navigate the international investor landscape
✔️ is ready to get hands-on and operate globally

🔵 Interview with Jacqueline van den Ende, Co-Founder and CEO of Carbon Equity. To read the full interview, click on the image.

For the fourth year in a row, we are organizing a European Women in VC Annual Investor Breakfast, an official SLUSH side event, 18th of November.

Before the pace of SLUSH takes over, join a carefully selected group of Limited Partners and Fund Managers and Ecosystem Leaders for a morning of meaningful conversations and high-quality connections. An intimate setting. A curated room. The right people to meet. Thank you to Goodwin, Acurio Ventures and Erika Aquino!

✨ Super Return Asia, 28th September-1st October, Singapore- 10% discount code: FKR3643EWVC or click here

✨ Impact/Return 2026, 14th October, Barcelona, (EWVC has two free tickets to giveaway, message us privately)

✨ VERBUND x Venture Day, 19th-20th October, Vienna, register here

✨ 4YFN27 Award- Application deadline: 26th October

✨Female Founder Award by UBS, Application deadline: 25th October

✨EUROPE’S MOMENT FOR COURAGE, 21st–23rd October, Strasbourg: Kinga Stanislawska and Sophie Javary will co-chair the Europa Power Investors Network bringing together senior investors and financial leaders around a central challenge.

✨0100 Conferences on 0100 International 2026, 27th-29th October, Milan (If you like to be a speaker: send us your name, role and proposed topic. To attend: let us know, and we will share the details. Message [email protected])

✨European Defence Week 2026, We are partnering for a project with Bpifrance, EuroQuity, 2nd–6th November, Paris, Pre-registration is now open: here

✨Global Wealth Management Summit, 4th-5th November, In-Person & Digital, The Landmark, London- 50% discount code: SPEAKER50 (up to two in-person passes)

✨SuperReturn Europe, 3rd-6th November, Amsterdam - 10% discount code: FKR3673EWVC or click here

✨ SuperReturn Secondaries North America, 17th-18th November, New York City - 10% discount code: FKR3675EWVC or click here

✨SuperReturn Japan, 2nd-3rd December. Tokyo - 10% discount code: FKR3694EUW or click here

✨Techarena 2027, 3rd-4th February 2027, Stockholm

✨Meet the LP and AMA Sessions with: AQVC, Molten Ventures, Cambridge Associate, RSJ (Family Office), Skaala (Family Office) and Adams Street Partners. You can apply for an invitation here

Exciting news from our community! EWVC member Melissa Morano Aurigemma is launching Mondo, a fractional investor relations practice for emerging fund managers and solo GPs. Mondo helps lean firms reach institutional readiness. It manages LP reporting and builds fundraising materials so GPs can present with precision and credibility. Engagements run on retainer or by project. That frees GPs to spend more time with their portfolios and LPs. Institutional polish, without the institutional overhead.

For more information you can email Melissa.

EWVC Members get 10% on all Mondo Services!

We are a community-founded organization, built from the ground up by people who believed in our cause and came together to make it happen.