Dear all,

In recent weeks, I met several older people aging like jazz musicians—still improvising, open to learning and playing the new. We all know the other archetype: those turning into metronome minds—steady, predictable, and stuck.

Neuroscience backs both. Although dendritic spine plasticity falls by 20–40% in older brains, they can learn at rates similar to the young. Older brains can rewire, but need repetition and focus. Even if costlier, it remains possible if you choose to learn.

Now transfer this to companies: they age as people do. The top 10 US corporates by market cap are, on average, about 34 years old, fresh young professionals. In Europe? The top 10 are closer to 87 years old on average. More pensioners than pioneers. Alphabet (Google) is 28 years old (founded in 1998), Tesla is 23 (founded in 2003), and Meta (Facebook) will celebrate its 25th birthday in 2029 (founded in 2004). The youngest corporates in Europe’s Top 10? ASML at 42 years, SAP at 54 years — and then, brace for impact, Novo Nordisk at 103 years. These are Europe’s three “youngsters” in the Top 10 by market cap.

And this age comes with a price. Not because these companies lose intelligence, but because they accumulate certainty. Certainty about revenue streams, about their culture, about their processes. Every compliance scandal adds a new gate. Every failure adds a new form. Every crisis adds a new committee.

So what is the antidote? Not “acting young.” Not hoodies. Not hackathons. Not posting AI buzzwords on LinkedIn. One antidote for large corporations is collaborating with or acquiring startups.

When I look for innovation, I typically use three sources: the young, the new, and the fringe. Startups bring all three.

Many US companies have understood this – likely because they are relatively young. Over the last five years, American firms acquired roughly ~3–4 startups per Fortune 500 company vs ~1–2 in Europe. Silicon Valley firms are, again, in a different league (~12–15 acquisitions per company). To top this, US corporate acquirers capture more than 70% of Europe’s Deep Tech and life science M&A outcomes (~$24B since 2019). And it’s not only about acquisitions: a 2021 meta-study found that working with startups, external partners, and new technologies (“open innovation”) is linked to stronger financial results and innovation performance.

Startups are a revitalizer for corporate innovation. At a time when the European business model is under threat like never before in the last 30 years, it’s time to better leverage the fountain of youth of European (Deep Tech) startups. Why don’t we build a new European anti-aging playbook for startup-corporate innovation: collaborate earlier, adopt faster, scale harder. Let’s turn startups from a “nice-to-have” into core innovation infrastructure.

To a week of finding (and funding) your fountain of youth,

Martin

➔ The Swiss startup will develop a new synthetic sustainable aviation fuel production plant in the Port of Rotterdam

➔ Founded in 2017, Liquid Wind is to build one of Europe’s largest eMethanol plants, based in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden

➔ INERATEC was successfully founded in 2016 as a spin-off from Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)

➔ OXCCU was founded in 2021 and is located right at Oxford airport.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), delivered a clear message: energy security is no longer a technical background issue. It’s a core strategic and national security concern. 

With the World Uncertainty Index hitting record peaks, Birol’s recent IEA commentary (7 Certainties about Energy for this Age of Uncertainty) lays out what policymakers and investors can rely on in an increasingly volatile global energy system.

Here are our favourite five takeaways:

Deep Tech Momentum (DTM) is entering a pivotal phase: launching the MVP of our platform, scaling the flagship summit, and preparing DTM.Capital. We are looking for three key operators to join the team in Berlin.

CPTO / Founding Engineer | Your mission is to build and scale a proprietary deep-tech product discovery platform that redefines B2B matchmaking quality. You will lead the data architecture to scale the database into a business-intelligence engine, integrating modern AI approaches (LLMs, RAG, knowledge graphs). This requires a full-stack builder to shape and execute the technology strategy.

Chief of Staff | We seek a high-calibre operator with two to three years of experience in strategy consulting, venture capital or a high-growth startup. Acting as the right hand to the founders, you will drive mission-critical initiatives across fundraising, partnerships, hiring, and operations. You will own and lead customer success, ensuring partners and investors consistently realise value.

Visiting Associate (Internship) | You will take ownership of strategic project streams and handle analytical tasks such as market research, competitor analysis, lead generation, and database building.

➔ Do you know the person who belongs in one of these seats? Read full job descriptions here.

While we wait for Isar Aerospace’s cinematic rocket to push upwards—following yesterday's pressurisation valve-related delay—use the time to apply for this week’s Ecosystem Gift: an office hour with Andreas Riegler, Founder and General Partner at APEX Ventures.

Bringing extensive global experience as a senior executive in digital and tech services, along with advanced degrees from Harvard and TU Graz, Andreas specialises in Space Tech at APEX Ventures. He recently highlighted the sector's shift from government-led launch to a private economy driven by information architecture, autonomy, and bandwidth.

APEX Ventures is a European early-stage fund investing in startups grounded in unique, protectable technology. By actively providing support and resources, they aim to develop their portfolio companies into global leaders.

Whether you are launching space tech, scaling complex hardware, or validating a global roadmap, this office hour is your chance to test your strategy with a hands-on company builder.

➔ Check out APEX Ventures' latest newsletter update: Powering The AI Revolution: Why We’re Backing Skycore. Be sure to subscribe—Andreas is a frequent contributor.

➔ Register your interest for the office hours here.

Last Week’s Winner: Congratulations to Jannis Duckek, who won a copy of the book “The Thinking Machine” by Stephen Witt.