Paul Midy

🎉 Thrilled to share the first closing of our new fund Omnes Real Tech 2 at €112 million. 💡 We believe Europe’s deeptech moment is now. A new generation of world-class founders with European roots is building with speed, depth, and ambition, and more and more investors are aligning behind the conviction that Europe can lead in deeptech. We're proud to help power this movement and support the scale-up journey of the continent’s most promising technologies. 🔧 Omnes Real Tech 2 is built for the critical inflection point when breakthrough technologies must scale industrially and commercially. It builds on the journey we’ve taken alongside standout deeptech companies like Quantum Systems, The Exploration Company, Quandela, Sekoia.io, Unseenlabs and Proxima Fusion, now all widely recognised in their fields. 🛰️ We’ll continue backing ambitious companies in defense & security, quantum, new space, AI, semiconductors, and advanced materials, across Europe, with a conviction-led strategy and deep reserves to follow on over time. 🇩🇪 We’re kicking things off with a first investment in ARX Robotics, the German startup shaping the future of autonomous ground systems for defense. 📬 If you're building something bold, with pan-European ambition and industrial scale, we’d love to hear from you. Michel de Lempdes Renaud POULARD Fabien Collangettes François-Xavier Dedde Maia Falkå Paul Maurens #Deeptech #ScaleUp #EuropeTech #DefenseTech #Quantum #NewSpace

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Why I Don't Sign NDAs for Early-Stage Founders — And Why Founders Shouldn't Ask Your idea is your baby. I get it. But for VC, asking for an NDA before sharing that idea isn't protecting your future - it's limiting it. In my latest article, I break down why NDAs create more problems than they solve for founders seeking early-stage funding. I explain why VCs structurally cannot sign them (reviewing 1,500+ decks annually makes this impossible), why they signal inexperience rather than caution, and most importantly - why your execution matters infinitely more than your idea. If you're a founder worried about idea theft, this perspective might change how you approach investor conversations forever. I explain why trust is the real compounding currency in venture capital - not legal protection.

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🌱 "Zero to One: The Pre-Seed Report" 📊 Today, Concept Ventures is excited to share “Zero to One: The Pre-Seed Report,” which reveals what we've felt on the ground for years: Europe's pre-seed ecosystem is stronger than ever before, with the UK 🇬🇧 firmly leading this charge. In a time when negativity dominates headlines, our data tells a different story - one of continued European growth and the likely home to many more of tomorrow's unicorns. Many of the UK's most iconic companies had modest and humble beginnings - all raising pre-seed rounds sub $2.5m (Wise, Revolut, Monzo Bank, Synthesia, and ElevenLabs). 🔍 Main findings from the data: • Total European pre-seed funding has nearly doubled in the last 5 years, from $263M in 2018 to $500m+ in 2024. •The UK 🇬🇧 dominates, attracting $0.33 of every $1 invested in European pre-seed funding - more than Germany 🇩🇪 and France 🇫🇷 combined. • Average UK pre-seed rounds have nearly doubled in size since 2018. • Two-thirds of UK pre-seed rounds now use SAFE instruments, giving founders greater flexibility. As the UK's largest dedicated pre-seed fund, we're bringing much-needed transparency to this critical but often overlooked stage -  Special thanks to Lauren Sauerland, who did the bulk of the work, as well as the brilliant investors who contributed to this report: Jamesin Seidel (Chapter One), Jasper Masemann (Cherry Ventures), Pietro Invernizzi (firedrop), Sam Endacott (firstminute capital), and the team at SeedLegals for their valuable data insights. Want to understand what pre-seed looks like in 2025? Curious about why the UK has established itself as Europe's pre-seed powerhouse? Read the full report in the comments below: https://lnkd.in/eZgUKDht

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Raising money for deep tech startups might be easier in 2025 than it was just a few years ago — but it's far from easy.   European VCs are becoming more oriented toward technologies solving humanity’s hardest problems…   Yet interest alone doesn’t make capital accessible.   According to the Royal Academy of Engineering's report, UK deep tech has consistently attracted over £5bn in annual VC funding since 2020 and closed £3.6bn in the first half of 2024. But most of that capital still favors late-stage, AI-heavy, and de-risked opportunities. And while AI has become VC's favorite, savvy investors know that trend-chasing won’t solve systemic challenges. They're increasingly backing startups with real-world impact and defensible technology. Raising early-stage funding in deep tech is challenging due to the nature of technologies. The discoveries made in labs and universities hold the potential to reshape industries, revolutionize how we live and work, and solve pressing global challenges. But, the technologies, in their raw form, do not immediately solve customer problems—they require extensive product development, business model innovation, and a robust delivery value chain to reach the market. Still, the tide is turning. More investors are welcoming long-term value over short-term gains. Take APEX Ventures, for example: We’ve supported 44 startups across Europe, investing in AI, medical tech, robotics, space, energy and many more verticals from Seed (initial) to Series B (follow-on)   Follow us at APEX Ventures and subscribe to our newsletter for exclusive content on groundbreaking Deep Tech startups: 🔗 https://t2m.io/EV2qHQuo

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