EUVC #245: Max Bautin of IQ Capital on Investing in DeepTech, the Cambridge Mafia and the Cambridge ecosystem

Today we have Max Bautin with us. Max is a Founding GP at IQ Capital, a 700m€ Seed & Early Stage venture firm in London to back European Deep Tech Startups.IQ Capital is investing out of a 185 m€ Fund 4 and also has a 150 m€ Growth Opportunities fund and has an established portfolio of over 60 companies and notable investments including Thought Machine, Paragraf and Nyobolt.Chapters:00:00:00 - Introduction00:01:51 - From Startups to Asset Management to IQ Capital00:03:25 - The Cambridge Mafia in Venture Investing00:05:05 - The Success of the Cambridge Ecosystem00:06:49 - Why Avoiding Negative Value Added by VCs Is The Holy Grail00:08:30 - Deep Tech vs Traditional Venture00:10:06 - Defensibility and Scalability in Deep Tech Companies00:11:44 - Deep Tech Investments and Hardware Integration00:13:27 - The Growing Importance of Deep Tech00:19:51 - IQ’s definition of Deep Tech00:21:20 - The Productization Journey00:22:51 - On The Duration of VC Funds00:24:32 - Focusing on Future Opportunities00:26:07 - Shoutout to Max's Bestie00:27:49 - The Success of the Cambridge Ecosystem00:29:25 - The Importance of IP and Academic Support in Innovation00:31:05 - The Rise of Cambridge's Tech Ecosystem and Beyond00:32:47 - Expanding into European Ecosystems00:34:20 - Building Trust and Reputation in the European Tech Industry00:35:54 - Quick Fire with Max