Andre Retterath, General Partner at Earlybird Venture Capital: Earlybird’s €360m fund and the future of European deep tech

Earlybird raised a €360 million early-stage fund, its largest yet, after extending the hard cap during the raise to bring in an additional institutional LP.Andre Retterath, General Partner at Earlybird Venture Capital, talks about how that number is decided before the fund is even raised, with ownership targets and follow-on reserves shaping the size more than anything else in a market where liquidity has been tight.The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel - check them out here:https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjkSponsors:Mishcon: https://www.mishcon.com/pop-ups/scaling-europeChargebee: https://www.chargebee.com/events/beelieve/london/2026SurrealDB: https://surrealdb.com/Airwallex: https://www.airwallex.com/uk?utm_source=other&utm_medium=partner_referral&utm_campaign=v01_emea_multi_ib_dg_prtmk_mofu_scalingeuropeTimestamps:0:00 - Introduction0:19 - €360m fund announcement0:55 - Fund size and portfolio strategy2:29 - Fundraising in today’s LP market3:54 - IPOs and liquidity returning5:39 - Deep tech focus8:13 - What founders look for in investors10:03 - Aleph Alpha and Cohere12:24 - Sovereignty in Europe15:39 - Ownership structure and long-term setup20:14 - Advice for getting into VC