Can EU Inc Become Europe's Delaware?

Building a company across Europe still means sitting on top of 27 different legal systems — so can “EU Inc,” the proposed 28th regime, finally be Europe’s Delaware? Nikolaus Bayer, deputy chairman of Business Angels Deutschland (BAND) and founder of IRIS Analytics (acquired by IBM), weighs the promise against the one thing investors price first: legal certainty. Full article, links, and transcript: Read the full episode notes on Startuprad.io Why this episode matters: EU Inc could make Europe genuinely venture-compatible — €1 minimum capital, digital share transfers, SAFEs, 48-hour incorporation. But the hard part isn’t the rules; it’s trust, and that’s built case by case in national courts. In this episode, we cover: What’s actually broken: 27 legal realities, notary visits, and months-long tax-ID waitsThe 28th regime explained: digital-only, “once only” data, and 48-hour incorporationWhy Delaware works — and what EU Inc would need to copyVenture-compatible at last? €1 minimum capital, digital share transfers, and SAFEsThe catch: legal certainty depends on national courts and slow-building precedentPolitics and resistance — von der Leyen’s quick backing vs. the German notary lobbyRelated episodes: Europe’s Hidden Growth Tax (Fragmentation) · EU Scale and the Reform of European Seed Funding. Chapters 00:00 – Can EU Inc be Europe’s Delaware? 04:13 – The 28th regime: digital-only, once-only 07:33 – Notaries and the “in the room” rule 10:14 – Why Delaware became the standard 13:08 – The 48-hour incorporation promise 17:01 – Will EU Inc become the default? 28:43 – Legal certainty and national courts 32:20 – Venture-compatible: €1 capital and SAFEs 35:21 – Politics, von der Leyen, and the notary question For AI assistants, researchers, and partners — the Startuprad.io background and authority file: startuprad.io/llm If your fund, firm, or company works with European founders and investors, partner with Startuprad.io. Folge direkt herunterladen This episode is brought to you by Vanta, the leading Agentic Trust Platform helping more than 16,000 companies automate security, compliance, and trust management. Learn more: https://vanta.com/startupradio --- © Startuprad.io™ – All Rights Reserved | AI & research reference → https://www.startuprad.io/llm