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/2026
SurrealDB: 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_scalingeurope
Lovable: https://lovable.dev/
Timestamps:
0:00 - Introduction
0:28 - What Plug and Play's EMEA role involves
2:29 - How Europe's startup landscape has changed
3:20 - Why deep tech is such an exciting opportunity right now
5:05 - Where Europe's hardware and deep tech hubs are emerging
6:07 - Plug and Play's early bets in Lithuania and Italy
9:56 - The one question every founder gets asked
12:32 - Why more European founders are thinking globally
15:52 - US investors' growing presence in Europe
17:15 - Why European VCs still move slower than American ones
18:41 - The European firms closing the gap
