As a pioneer of European seed capital for deep tech, Stephan Raucher at Earlybird-X regularly encounters 8 IP hurdles

Four years into investing €75 million into spin-offs from European deep tech, Stephan Rauscher and his colleagues at Early Bird-X were making a multiple of 2.7. Of their 20 investments, one was worth €100 million, following three funding rounds in quick succession; one had risen in value by ten; another by three; one went bust almost immediately; and one stalled following the unexpected death of one of the founders. Such highs and lows are an inevitable part of being such an early investor in deep tech.

Although it took persistence to reach this point, Rauscher remains convinced of the potential for Europe’s deep tech: it produces the same number of graduates as the United States from its top 100 universities, but 30 percent fewer spin-offs and 75 percent fewer unicorns. There is little point in having a thousand horsepower engine, he says, if you only travel at 50 kilometres per hour.