Thomas Bigagli, EMEA Partner at Plug and Play Ventures: Europe needs bigger and faster capital to keep startups home

Plug and Play Ventures invests in startups across Europe and runs a platform connecting them with large corporate partners. It has grown from a family office into an institutional investor with nine funds, and now runs 65 offices with more than 700 people worldwide.Thomas Bigagli is EMEA Partner at Plug and Play Ventures. He believes Europe already has the talent and ideas, and just needs investors willing to move faster and write bigger checks to keep its best startups from leaving.Sponsors:Chargebee: 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_scalingeuropeLovable: https://lovable.dev/Timestamps:0:00 - Introduction0:28 - What Plug and Play's EMEA role involves2:29 - How Europe's startup landscape has changed3:20 - Why deep tech is such an exciting opportunity right now5:05 - Where Europe's hardware and deep tech hubs are emerging6:07 - Plug and Play's early bets in Lithuania and Italy9:56 - The one question every founder gets asked12:32 - Why more European founders are thinking globally15:52 - US investors' growing presence in Europe17:15 - Why European VCs still move slower than American ones18:41 - The European firms closing the gap