VC & Investment Insights

Grants or equity? See the real EIC and Horizon Europe odds, how blended finance works, and how deep-tech founders can combine grants with VC.

Ventures.eu evaluates every deep-tech startup against four criteria: Team, Traction, Tech, and TAM. What makes the framework repeatable rather than a judgment call is the fourth layer underneath Tech and TAM: our corporate partner network independently validates both whether the technology works and whether anyone wants it, before we commit capital.

Today’s global C-suite doesn’t “relocate.” They rebase strategically. CEOs, CFOs, CTOs and Managing Directors are running international teams, revenue streams, and innovation hubs across multiple markets.

In sectors like maritime logistics, the biggest opportunities often hide in plain sight: critical workflows that keep global trade moving, yet remain surprisingly outdated.

Lisbon-based venture capital fund Ventures.eu has marked its inaugural Fund I investment by leading a £1M round in Spot Ship, a SaaS platform modernising global ship chartering. The round was joined by Improbable’s CEO Herman Narula, industry specialist investors, Tradeworks.vc and Marcel Kind.

During the past twelve months, we have organised more than twenty-five Corporate Days with leading global companies such as Unilever, P&G, Coca-Cola, Merck, Sanofi, and Bayer, and the process we follow has become a proven and repeatable framework.

Portugal’s innovation ecosystem has experienced significant growth in recent years, attracting international founders, investors, and professionals eager to build and scale their businesses. Three of the most compelling opportunities for founders and investors are SIFIDE, IFICI (NHR 2.0), and the Golden Visa.

Discover why the Portuguese passport is the strongest in Europe — a gateway to innovation, venture capital, and EU investment opportunities.

Europe has long debated the gap between its rich intellectual capital and its position in the global venture economy. The Ventures.eu Forum—recently hosted at Château de Beloeil—crystallized a central truth: If Europe wants to be a generational innovation powerhouse, it cannot merely aspire to bigger exits or policy ambitions—it must invest deeply in venture, strategically and swiftly. 

It would be natural to assume that venture capital (VC) firms, when defining the terms and conditions of their investments, would strongly favor their own interests over those of the founders.