Why we invested in European Venture Capital

I am looong on our US investments.

That is not just a patriotic sentiment; it is pragmatism. The U.S. remains the world’s deepest capital market, home to many of its strongest companies, and the center of gravity for a great deal of innovation, entrepreneurship, and liquidity. If you are a U.S. investor, you are participating in an extraordinary system.

But even in a strong market, diversification matters.

Even broad U.S. equity exposure is more concentrated than many realize. By late 2025, the 10 largest companies represented almost 40% of the S&P500 market cap. Big tech alone accounted for roughly 36% of the index. That is a big concentration in a small number of companies, and a meaningful share of that valuation is tied to continued enthusiasm around AI.

I have been considering Venture Capital (VC) as a way to find upside and diversify beyond public markets and real estate. But there is a high barrier to entry, and a similar concentration risk as in public markets. A few massive players are flooding into AI-related startups, making it harder for many investors to access the best opportunities and generate alpha.

That is part of why European venture capital earned a place in our portfolio.

For me, this was not about chasing a fad. Rather, I wanted diversification – and upside – from direct exposure to different innovations, policies, technical strengths, and valuations. Europe, and venture capital specifically, is interesting for several reasons.

One is urgency.  Over the past two years, European governments have become much more focused on sovereignty: technological capability, industrial resilience, energy security, and defense. This is a recent turn… European policy has, in the past, not been particularly favorable for start-ups to scale. Each country has its own policies and rules, and capital (particularly pension funds) have been very risk adverse, with a strong bias to stability (bonds) vs grown (equities). Most successful start-ups from Europe have scaled by “making it in America” with our large markets and ready risk capital.

But it matters when a region starts directing more attention, capital, and institutional energy toward strategically important sectors. EU Inc. seems to be moving beyond talk to action. And the tensions with US policy are driving increased defense and technical budgets. This means more focus and support for European-sourced innovaton.

And of course there is still the US (or global) exit option. For start-ups where we invest, I will personally help them get connected in the US where I can!

Another reason is domain strength.  Europe has real depth in areas that matter to me as an investor: industrial systems, energy, materials, hardware, infrastructure, and other forms of deep tech. These are often not the loudest stories in the market (not nearly as loud as AI), but they are real and have sustainable adantage.

Importantly, I wanted to look beyond AI.  AI is transformational, but everything is trading at a premium, and my U.S. portfolio already has plenty of exposure. Not every compelling opportunity in the next decade will be another software layer, wrapper, or model-adjacent service. Some of the more durable opportunities may come from businesses solving harder technical problems in energy, computing infrastructure, robotics, defense, and industrial efficiency. Europe has genuine talent and research depth in many of those areas.

A third reason is valuation and timing.  In the U.S., especially in the most visible categories, it can be hard to find early opportunities that are both high quality and sensibly priced. Entry price and entry timing matter. So does access to startups, and the ability to distinguish substance from enthusiasm.

That last point is also why I did not just want “Europe exposure” in the abstract. I wanted a network that could source, evaluate, and support strong European startups –  and help them bridge toward larger global markets. That kind of support can create real value beyond simply writing checks.

That is one reason we chose to invest in VC Fund I from Ventures.eu.

For us, there was also a practical, compelling aspect to the decision

We chose Portugal, and Ventures.eu, in part because the Golden Visa and IFICI programs create the possibility of European residency with a significantly reduced tax burden alongside the investment itself. For us, that created a trifecta: the potential for attractive investment returns, a path to European residency, and a favorable tax framework. It is a powerful combination.

None of this means U.S. investors should suddenly rush into Europe, or that every Europe-focused fund deserves attention. It does mean that some investors may be more concentrated than they realize, and that selective European venture exposure can be a sensible complement to a U.S.-heavy portfolio.

And that is why European venture capital earned a place in our portfolio.