Viola Ventures’ Post

June has been full on for the European tech sector, with a flurry of deals and events. 🙌 Some of these events are an opportunity to take stock of where we are in longer technology maturity cycles. At SuperReturn - SuperVenture on 6th June, Andre was invited to speak on the panel discussing “Frontier tech: is it starting to deliver?” Andre’s fellow panellists were David DANA🎗️ European Investment Fund (EIF)), Seth Bannon (Fifty Years) and Alastair Cooper (Cibus Capital LLP) moderated by Sandro Stark (Vanagon.vc). The panellists debated the capital efficiency of frontier tech companies, regulatory changes required to unlock market changes, impact of university technology transfer offices and evolutions in IP rights. One of the most interesting topics discussed was the founding team profiles that prove successful, with Andre arguing that frontier tech teams benefit from having a hyper commercial sales or partnership-focused founder, rather than purely scientifically-driven founding teams. He laid out founder profiles that have tended to work in specific sub industries of varying maturity. At BACKED we’re focussed on 4 frontier technology sectors where Europe has real depth and where we have expertise thanks to dedicated investment team members: computational #bio, #manufacturing software, #blockchain and #fintech infrastructure. We now have double digit numbers of portfolio companies in each of these sectors. The crux of the panel was whether frontier tech companies are actually delivering material revenues today. A few years ago they were not. Now they are: we have companies in each of these four verticals that went from pre-revenue to >€25m ARR. Discover more about our investments and our ethos: https://lnkd.in/djBeeETv #deeptech #SuperVenture #VentureInvesting #TechInvestment #FrontierTech

Start the week with some exciting updates and events from Yellow Rocks!🤟 We're sharing the achievements of our portfolio companies and highlighting events worth attending for founders and investors alike. Let's dive in! ▪️ The Megamod team has partnered with the Xsolla Curine Academy, allowing Xsolla students to create diverse games using no-code tools, share their creations with fellow gamers, and monetize them. ▪️ Aline Oliveira Pezente from the Traive team will participate in four panels on artificial intelligence, financial services, and agriculture at Web Summit Rio 2024. ▪️ On April 16th in Lisbon, we'll host PitchDay.pt in collaboration with our colleagues from the Lisbon Founders Club as part of the Pre-Seed to Succeed investment program. With sold-out tickets, we eagerly anticipate this networking opportunity with investors and founders. ▪️ Additionally, on April 22nd, we're organizing Pitch&Drink with P2S.vc, where startups will pitch to investors in a speed-dating format. There are still spots available for this event, but hurry - they're filling up fast: https://lnkd.in/dRfKyweU ▪️ The Social Links team invites you to an open webinar on April 25th on Enhancing AML Investigations with OSINT for law enforcement agencies and comprehensive verification teams. Register here: https://lnkd.in/dNcYmK-a Get ready for some action-packed work, and we'll keep you updated on our latest developments. #investmentprogram #preseed #p2s #preseedtosucseed #yellowrocks #yr_portfolionews #startupopportunities #venturecapital #techevents #techinvestments

🌍 Join the Conversation on Trust & Safety in African Tech! 🌍 On January 29th, 2025, at 5 PM WAT, we’re hosting a thought-provoking X Space to explore the importance of Trust & Safety for African startups with Pearlé Nwaezeigwe as our guest. With growing debates around content moderation, it’s crucial for our ecosystem to develop frameworks that prioritize security and trust—shaped by our unique experiences. Let’s discuss how African platforms can navigate these challenges and build safer, more trustworthy online spaces. 💬 Don’t miss this opportunity to learn and contribute! 🔗 https://lnkd.in/dsVrpXuP Please note that you do not require an X account to listen to the Space. See you there! #TechInnovation #ContentModeration #AfricanStartups #TrustAndSafety #TechForGood

Stateless founders face unique challenges—relocations, broken systems, and no clear path to success. But at f27.club, we’re not here to survive; we’re here to thrive. November 9 in Lisbon, 82 founders, investors, and innovators came together at our event to tackle one key question: "How do stateless founders create ecosystems as powerful as Silicon Valley?" We explored real solutions, led by incredible minds:   - Lena Pishchuk (ULTRA.VC): Building trust and culture in stateless teams   - Lesia Kholodylo: Turning personal and company values into credibility   - Aliaksandr Budnik: Leveraging AI to make location irrelevant   - Mike Ananyin Fonseca: Redefining governance and funding without HQs   - USAID/Pyxera Global: Using decentralized tools to compete with tech hubs This wasn’t just talk. It was about taking steps toward action. Read the article to see what we came up with and how f27.club empowers founders like you to thrive: https://lnkd.in/d7qESu4F

Devcon was a powerful reminder of the amazing things we can achieve when we come together. 🙌 So many brilliant minds collaborating and pushing the boundaries of what's possible! 🚀 I came to event for the tech, but I left with so much more. The connections I made with partners, fellow builders, and even complete strangers were truly special. This Devcon was especially impactful for me because: 🤯 30+ side events attended: The energy was non-stop! From workshops to networking events, I was immersed in the Ethereum community day and night. 📈 100+ new contacts: My LinkedIn network is exploding! Made so many valuable connections that I can't wait to nurture. 🤝 20+ partner meetings: Strengthened existing relationships and forged exciting new partnerships. Big things are coming at SubQuery! ✨ 15+ founder stories: Hearing the journeys of these incredible entrepreneurs was truly inspiring. Their passion and vision are contagious! And the most amazing thing? Finally meeting people in person who I've been connecting with online for over a year! Those face-to-face conversations were priceless. Beyond all the professional highlights, Devcon 24 gave me the chance to really bond with my incredible team. Sharing this experience with them created memories we'll cherish for a long time. Huge thanks to them for making this such a memorable experience!

🇵🇱 2024: Poland Powers Up the Global Tech Scene! Poland is Europe’s go-to hub for tech innovation, backed by reports from Mordor Intelligence, StartupBlink, HackerRank, and the World Intellectual Property Organization – WIPO. Considering scaling your tech company in 2025? Poland’s thriving ecosystem is your launchpad! See Alcor's all-in-one solution to do it fast and for good: https://lnkd.in/eecVhwWa

Demo Friday 2.0: Big Tech Ideas or All Hype? Watch the Highlights! Demo Friday 2.0 by Building Bytes at ALX Ghana Hub brought together the brightest minds and boldest voices in Ghana’s tech scene—but was it truly innovative or just a lot of hype? 🤔 From game-changing ideas to fiery debates, we’ve got the highlights that had everyone talking! Dive in and see for yourself—did it deliver, or was it all just talk? 🔥 Don’t miss out on the action! Watch the HIGHLIGHTS: https://lnkd.in/dWDEfMCY

"It “would be foolish” to issue financial AI rules when “no regulator knows today” exactly what AI tools are being used by firms and how (...)." This is a position I totally agree with. Regulating something so early could stifle innovation and make the sector or country lag behind the US and China. We should not restrain innovation but favor it! #AI #Finance #Innovation #Regulation #Fintech #TechPolicy #FutureFinance #Luxembourg #CSSF #Nexus2050

🎉 Huge congratulations to our incredible team for their outstanding success at ETHGlobalSF 2024! 🚀 The ZKM team, together with the talented hackers from the Founders Club, secured two major prizes at ETHGlobal 2024, winning with Ledger and Polygon! 🏆Best App🏆 Best zkAPP Introducing Zend It—a groundbreaking way to verify any smart contract using the ERC-7730 signature standard, powered by ZKM and Claude-3-sonnet. Check it out here : https://lnkd.in/gXpyK_cG Imagine verifying complex, multi-chain smart contracts in a single, clear step. Zend It! makes this possible by allowing users to simulate signatures with AI and ZK Clear Blind Signed Messages for unverified smart contracts. While EIP-712 is helping to standardize how we view messages on Ethereum, it’s still not universally adopted. Zend It bridges this gap by delivering verifiable blind-signed messages, giving users a clear sign of smart contract interactions across any Web3 platform. How does it work? Zend It verifies transaction details, formulates an EIP-712 message, and generates an ERC-7730 signature using ZKM’s off-chain tools, with on-chain Rust API support simulating transactions, similar to Tenderly’s transaction simulation. The system’s AI then interprets the contract’s ABI code, leveraging its understanding of both ERC-7730 and EIP-712 standards, guiding users to “Zend It” before they “Send It!” 😉 We’re thrilled to keep pushing the boundaries of Web3 security and smart contract verification. 💻🔗 Special thanks to the amazing team behind this achievement: • Eswar Saladi • Bart Hofkin • Pavel Sinelnikov • E Z Thank you to ETHGlobal and Ledger for consulting with our team just 12 hours before the hack. Your presentations at Pragma inspired us to focus on auditability and clarity. We wanted to share that same vision with the crypto world using ZK and AI. A huge thanks to the mentors from GOAT Network Founders Club and Polygon Labs dabl.club and for assisting in developing our Zero Knowledge Prover with ZKM! Winning Best zkAPP was an incredible honor. We couldn’t have done it without your feedback and support, fueled by coffee and chips for 36 hours straight. 😅 This was one Hell of a Hack. Zend It! Before You Send It! ZK Clear-Blind-Sign any unverified smart contract with AI

Managing Partner Eze Vidra shared his thoughts on what 2025 has in store for Israeli tech and venture. We've been particularly active in 2024, despite the war and in the article, Eze mentioned 3 of our latest investments who are still in stealth. Learn more on CTech by Calcalist: https://lnkd.in/emZPgcYe