Minh Q. Tran

Medirom announces Ethereum holdings — Envisioning future integration with the MOTHER device — Medirom has decided to allocate a portion of its financial assets to Ethereum (ETH). In particular, the Company has established a policy to convert 50% of the Worldcoin (WLD) it receives into Ethereum. Since these assets are derived from reward distributions, this initiative involves no financial risk to the Company. Moreover, this decision goes beyond mere portfolio diversification. It reflects our long-term vision of potential integration with our proprietary healthcare device, MOTHER, aiming to explore new possibilities at the intersection of personal wellness data and blockchain technology. We believe this initiative embodies both innovation and prudent risk management, opening up long-term business opportunities in the evolving digital economy. ⬇️米国リリース https://lnkd.in/gbVXuUw5

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At Delphinus Venture Capital, our entire investment strategy revolves around one simple idea: 👉 Reduce information asymmetry over time and make better decisions because of it.   One of the most underestimated levers in venture? Time   There’s a massive difference between what you learn in a due diligence process and what you learn by working alongside founders for years. Watching how they: • Navigate uncertainty • Handle setbacks • Allocate scarce resources • Evolve as leaders That’s insight you can’t model in a spreadsheet. That’s also why we lean into a long-term re-investment strategy.   We often write our first check as early as possible. Not because we have perfect conviction but because we want to build it.   By the time we allocate meaningful capital in later rounds (85% of our AuM), our decisions are shaped by years of shared context, trust, and pattern recognition.   Our recent investment in REDUCED is a great example. I first met and invested in Emil Munck de Voss and William Anton Lauf Olsen back in 2020. Since then, I’ve followed their journey closely. So when the opportunity to double down came it wasn’t really a decision.   It was the result of years of learning.   Conviction compounds.   Curious how others think about this and how much you reserve of your AuM for follow-on investments?

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Today we activated Kerna-Alpha — the genesis sovereign infrastructure node of the C3 Alliance. All layers run on or through Kerna-Alpha. No C3 cooperative event requires an external server not controlled by the cooperative. That sentence is the whole story. Let me unpack it. — Most projects that call themselves “decentralized” still run their identity layer on Auth0, their data on AWS, and their AI on OpenAI’s shared endpoints. The cooperative rhetoric lives on top of centralized infrastructure. Kerna-Alpha is a different approach entirely. It is a self-hosted, sovereign infrastructure node running the complete C3 Alliance technology stack: • Cardano L1 — canonical cooperative settlement • Hydra L2 — real-time patronage and transaction settlement • Midnight sidechain — zero-knowledge privacy for compliant identity • Identus — verifiable credential issuance and DID registry • C3-Voice.Org — the DIDComm hub we call the C3 Sovereign Nervous System • CoCoA — the ambient AI agent layer built on Claude Every identity event, every cooperative transaction, every AI interaction routes through infrastructure the cooperative controls. Not a vendor. Not a cloud provider. The cooperative itself. — The name Kerna comes from the Esperanto word kerno — core, nucleus. The C3 Alliance has adopted Esperanto as its official language. A language constructed for universal cooperation, owned by no nation or institution, is the only language that belongs in a sovereign cooperative commons. Kerna-Alpha is the genesis node. All future infrastructure nodes in the C3 network will carry names derived from Esperanto — each self-describing in the cooperative tongue. Alpha is permanent. There will never be another. — If you’re building cooperative infrastructure, exploring Exit-to-Cooperative strategies as an alternative to traditional private equity exits, or simply curious what a truly sovereign cooperative economy looks like — the full announcement is live: 🔗 c3-voice.org/kerna-alpha — Plausible Potentials Consulting DAO LLC C3 Alliance — Cosmic Commons Cooperative Alliance Houston, Texas #CooperativeEconomics #Blockchain #Cardano #SovereignInfrastructure #ExitToCooperative #Web3 #ZeroKnowledge #DID #VerifiableCredentials #Esperanto #C3Alliance #CooperativeFinance #DAO

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ANNOUNCEMENT: WE ARE PREPARING A FUND TO INVEST IN AI+SCIENCE / Building on our most recent exits — including the acquisition of Esobiotec by AstraZeneca — we are now preparing our fourth fund, with fundraising now underway, a €100M vertical vehicle dedicated entirely to the intersection of AI and Science. This fund is special: Josep M. (Pep) Martorell Rodon (former director at BSC - Barcelona Supercomputer Center) will join as Partner of Fund IV. Pep is one of the most exceptionally intelligent and driven people I’ve ever worked with. It is one of those rare times when deep friendship and professional vision align — and for me, it feels like a true privilege. Our thesis: AI is no longer a tool. We are entering an era where AI doesn’t just accelerate science — it becomes the driving core of science, reshaping how we design drugs, engineer new materials, and tackle climate and sustainability challenges. In deep tech, the rule is clear: no company in this field will survive without AI. This fund is built to back the teams turning that shift into world-changing companies. Company creation is in our DNA. Few funds in Europe have created as many #succesful ventures from scratch as we have. Over the years, we’ve built and scaled companies at the frontier of science. This experience is the backbone of Fund IV: we know how to turn raw discovery into lasting companies. What’s next: ● We will be recruiting actively in the coming weeks and months to add seniority and further strengthen the team. ● We are already opening the door to new projects and founders — if you are building in this space, we would love to hear from you. ● We will continue to advance our own AI tools to support the fund’s operations — improving how we find, analyze, choose, manage, and eventually exit companies. (I’ve shared some of these approaches in my recent LinkedIn videos.) 👉 Founders, start sending us your projects. 👉 Operators and investors who love the VC ecosystem, stay tuned — this is just the beginning. #AI #Science #DeepTech #Biotech #VentureCapital #AIinScience

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Excited to be doubling down on Rapidata alongside IA Ventures and Canaan, after leading the pre-seed a while back. Looking forward to see them build out their real-time AI x humans RLHF cloud https://lnkd.in/dFJDGkrJ

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So pleased to be supporting you, Mathieu Nohet and Marie Rouquette, PhD! There are many reasons we’re excited to lead baCta's seed round - here's three: ✅ Founder–market fit. As a pair, you bring a rare combination of hard-earned entrepreneurial experience (including selling complex software into local government), deep scientific expertise in CRISPR and microbiome therapeutics, and a clear conviction that AI and synthetic biology will reshape how industrial ingredients are made. ✅ Scale of opportunity. Your vision is to build a global, AI-native industrial biomanufacturing platform. If successful, meaningful parts of the €100bn+ ingredients market can shift away from agriculture and petrochemistry toward a more predictable, low-carbon model. ✅ Early results. Starting with astaxanthin — a high-value red carotenoid with constrained supply — you’ve identified a compelling biomanufacturing wedge. The speed of strain improvement, scale-up evidence and early commercial signals make the progress to date hugely impressive for a company at this stage. Thanks so much to Clement Renault for the introduction.

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Most founders know patents can add value. But how do you actually build a portfolio that strengthens your exit strategy? In this podcast clip, Kurt shares practical strategies for creating a patent portfolio that does more than just protect ideas — it maximises exit value. It sparks a bigger conversation: should IP strategy be part of every growth plan, not just the exit plan? 👉 We’ll share the full podcast in the comments.

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Day 1️⃣ of unlock VC (previously WVC:E) hosted by Sophie Winwood 🥇 🖼️ Kicked off co-hosting a deep dive roundtable on health tech with Margaux Bussière @Serena beautiful offices 🖼️ 🎒 With c30 attendees, from 10+ different healthcare systems; lots of shared learning and insights 📚 1️⃣ ❤️‍🔥 🔥 Renewed investing enthusiasm for 🥼 🩻 🩺 💊 investing in Europe 👉 2024, European health-techs raised $4.8bn up 27% YOY 👉 2025: Q3-25 looks on track to surpass, having achieved 95% of 2024 levels ❤️‍🔥 🔥 2️⃣ Increasing number of successful exits re-igniting founder and investor interest 👉 Hinge Health Market Cap: $3.95B 👉 Hims & Hers Market Cap: $12.3bn 👉 Ottobock Market Cap:  €4.2bn 3️⃣ In Europe - the economic model is evolving 👉 🇩🇪 Digital Health Applications (DiGA) that can be reimbursed has scaled rapidly. A total of 59 health apps are available in the Directory & reimbursable. However, structural reasons why doctors are not incentivized to prescribe digital health applications means uptake is lower than forecast 👉 🇫🇷 Opposite regime to Germany, high evidence bar to be a regulated DiGA means non have yet achieved that status! ❌ Margaux Bussière 👉 🇳🇱 Seeing success with digital health applications through insurance add on's and sold through corporates == ROI 💰 💰 Katharina Maass 👉 🇬🇧 Regulators are front footed on supporting innovation - companies like Flok Health achieving adoption as they tap into treatment budgets rather than technology budgets == ROI 💰 💰 👉 🇨🇦 Insurance companies willing to reimburse holistic/preventative health if primary clinician recommends == 💰 💰 4️⃣ Lessons from 🇰🇷🇰🇷🇰🇷 - National Health System is relatively new, formed in 1989 and many aspects are working well ✅ 👉 Employers pay 80% into insurance pot, patients pay 20% = respect for the system whilst not excluding/preventing people accessing care 👉 One national database of information linked to a patients identity card = data transparency across the system 👉 Fast access to specialists - no primary care gate keeping 5️⃣ Consumer sentiment is changing, increasing willingness to pay across all European markets 🇩🇪 🇫🇷 🇩🇰 🇳🇱 🇬🇧 👉 Supplements 💊 & GLP's leading the way + non-regulated digital health applications (Examples, Flo Health Inc. Evaro hormona) 6️⃣ It takes a village 🫂 - hallmarks of successful European health tech companies are those who: 👉 Have clinician (increasingly founded by a 🥼) buy in. Have partnerships with 🏥 systems and close relationships with the regulators ⛑️ 👉 Combine equity funding + grant funding, e.g Innovate UK in the 🇬🇧 👉 Are able to access growth funding, which in the 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 often comes from Corporate VC's/strategic VC's like NVIDIA OSF HealthCare. In Europe, this is challenging and leads to a capital gap Next up, The State of Impact with Julie Rubenstein

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Thank you for this Alex, this is exactly why we’re being intentional about how and when tokens are introduced. Tokenization by itself isn’t the value — it’s a tool. If you launch a token before a real system exists, all you’ve done is create speculation. That’s where a lot of Web3 projects fail and where the stigma around tokens comes from. At Complx Culture, validation comes first. We’re actively validating how a token should function inside a real system — one that gamifies fitness and workout data to enable global peer-to-peer competitions, accountability, and community-driven challenges. Before launching our token, we’re testing the behavioral and economic assumptions behind it: Do tokens actually improve consistency, effort, and long-term engagement? Do they create healthier competition rather than short-term farming? Do they add real ownership and coordination, instead of acting as a speculative reward? Once those assumptions are validated, the token becomes a powerful coordination layer. Tokens allow us to: Align incentives at scale by rewarding verified effort and participation - Represent ownership of progress and reputation, not just points - Enable peer-to-peer challenges, staking, and community-driven rewards - Create transferable value, instead of locked, centralized points systems In other words, the token doesn’t create demand on its own, it amplifies behavior that already exists. By validating the token’s role inside the ecosystem before launch, we reduce risk, protect users, and build a sustainable token economy rather than another hype cycle.

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Meet Bpifrance, the most active VC in France. Bpifrance was established in 2012 as part of a broader effort by the French government to consolidate public financial support for businesses. It brought together three major state-backed bodies: OSEO, which focused on loans and guarantees for small and medium-sized enterprises; the Fonds Stratégique d’Investissement (FSI), created in 2008 to support long-term strategic equity holdings; and CDC Entreprises, the venture capital subsidiary of the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations. Bpifrance manages a wide variety of funds and products. Below are the startup and digital economy funds managed by Bpifrance. Innovation Funds Funds investing in innovation-focused vehicles (seed, venture capital at early, mid, late stage, and growth), covering digital sectors among others. Digital Funds of Funds Funds investing in digital venture capital funds in Europe, Asia, and North America, aiming to foster open innovation and financial performance. Biotech and Medtech VC Funds Venture capital funds supporting innovative startups in biotech and medical technologies. F3A Fund Fund backing high-growth French digital technology startups with ambitions to become global market leaders. FAN Fund Early-stage venture capital fund supporting French digital technology startups with high growth potential. French Tech Acceleration Fund €300M fund investing in startup studios, startup accelerators, and venture capital funds, including acceleration programs for startups. Large Venture €1B venture capital fund focused on fast-growing, capital-intensive innovative companies, often scale-ups, financing organic or external growth. PSIM Fund Fund investing in startups and companies recognized by the Concours Mondial d’Innovation in strategic innovation fields.

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Until we have a unified European market, lower taxes and real pension funds, I believe European deeptech firms need to expand to the U.S. as early as possible if they are to become international champions. Doing so will surely put them more at risk in the near-term but it will give them access to more capital, more customers, and more potential acquirers, and ultimately creates more high-paying jobs in Europe than if they stayed solely focused on the local market. This is the recipe to create the European decacorns of the next two decades. There will be exceptions but let's not miss the software revolutions like we did these past 20 years. My perspective in FW.MEDIA: https://lnkd.in/eTqqmpxg

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We are thrilled to have been selected by SDG Impact Finance Initiative ("SIFI") to support their "Fostering Human Development" initiative! SIFI's commitment to addressing the most challenging issues in frontier markets makes them an ideal partner in achieving our firm's mission. Emerging Markets Investment Advisers, together with our partners Emerging Markets Entrepreneurs and Asia Business Builders, is excited to work with SIFI in supporting innovative, early-stage companies in our region that are addressing critical challenges in health care, education and climate resilience.

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The economics of the internet are already changing. As the open web collapses into a prompt bar, we have to wonder: Will AI lead to an open internet or a maze of new paywalls? And who will control it — big centralized companies or broad communities of users? #ai #crypto https://lnkd.in/dYByXVEA

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AMI Labs raises more than $1bn AMI Labs, the Al start-up cofounded by Meta's former Al chief Yann LeCun, has raised $1.03bn (€885m; £766m) at a $3.5bn valuation in Europe's largest seed round. The company is pursuing "world models" that move beyond large language models towards physical reasoning, robotics and real-world planning. Some of its biggest investors include Bezos Expeditions, Nvidia and Paris-based venture capital firm Cathay Innovation. AMI Labs has partnered with healthcare group Nabla to test its models. AMI Labs currently has a dozen employees and is headquartered in Paris.

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Last week Wiliot announced its partnership with Walmart, resulting in the first large scale deployment of Wiliot’s ambient IoT technology to optimize supply chain. This deployment of million of tags have already increased business efficiency and customer satisfaction.   I thought it's a good opportunity to share what it takes to build and deploy such a technology to support customers at this magnitude. * The team - not everyone can build such a deep technology! Actually, very few teams can. It must be a unique combination of experience with semiconductor development, wireless communications, and out-of-the-box analog development. Can't find a better team than Tal Tamir, Yaron Elboim, and Alon Yehezkely to build it. And they did! * The technology - when we invested in the seed stage, people did not believe it was possible to build a Bluetooth beacon with no battery! We were not sure then how the energy harvesting would even work but the direction was clear. Add to that: tag price (cents), distance (as many meters as possible), arm processing for computation and encryption, sensing capabilities (accurate temperature, motion, humidity, light), manufacturing costs and yield, cloud services, etc., and you get the idea of the complexity and innovation required to get to the product we have today.   * Finding the right use-case - Wiliot’s #AmbientIoT technology can be used for many use cases. We imagined many ideas early on. At some point, the supply chain use case seemed to be the one where the technology provides the best business value. After years of servicing some of the largest supply chain related companies, the decision to focus on this use case turned out to be a critical milestone for the company.   * Patience - it's not trivial to build a deep tech start-up. Not a good fit to anyone who expect a quick exit in 3-4 years. Norwest invested in the seed stage 9 years ago. And - we have many plans for years to come! It's just the beginning of this new category. https://lnkd.in/gWA5_V-f

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**Paris-Based AI Voice Startup Gradium Secures $70M Seed Round** Gradium, an innovative AI voice startup emerging from the renowned Kyutai lab, has successfully raised $70 million in its seed funding round. This investment, backed by telecom magnate Xavier Niel, highlights the growing interest in AI-driven communication technologies. At ElevenX Capital, we recognize the pivotal role voice technology will play in shaping future user interactions. How do you see AI voice advancements influencing consumer behavior? #investing #innovation #venturecapital #entrepreneurship

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Our first deal in commercial aviation. It directly addresses the problem of CO2 emissions from air transport in a much more immediate way than the electric aircraft, which remains a difficult equation to solve.

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The real question is not "is SaaS dead?" It is which #SaaS companies will #thrive in this environment? A great piece of reflection from our partners Gaetano Zanon and Julien Pache, with a helpful framework to detect the most potential winners. - The debate is misdirected. "SaaS is dead" is a "religious" statement. The real disruption is structural: pricing models, moat sources, and distribution advantages are being repriced simultaneously. - Horizontal point solutions with low switching costs and no proprietary data are the most exposed. They are essentially interfaces, already abstracted away. - Vertical SaaS with deep workflow integration, regulatory complexity, or domain-specific data might be the resilient ones, where switching costs are real. - Outcome-based and consumption pricing is the inevitable consequence of agents doing work that humans used to do per seat. https://lnkd.in/eVMc9_xf

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Startups are securing (literally) the future — the numbers from the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF) report prove it. 🔔 $5.2B was invested in European Deep Tech Defense, Security, and Resilience startups in 2024 — an all-time high. 🔔 $1.8B was invested in AI & computing for defense in 2024 — more than any other tech category, outpacing biotech ($1.2B) and energy ($1.1B). 🔔 $1B was raised by startups building quantum computing and AI chips for critical infrastructure. 🔔 30% growth in DSR funding over the last two years, while the overall VC market dropped by 45%. 🔔 33% of all Deep Tech VC in Europe now goes to this sector — up from just 13% two years ago. 🔔 1 in 3 VC dollars raised in Munich in 2024 went to DSR startups, making the city a magnet for next-gen defense. 🔔 25% of VC funding came from U.S. investors. 🔔 100+ breakout rounds in 2024 signal that this wave of innovation is not just starting — it’s scaling. 🔔 3.3x more investors have entered the DSR space in the past five years, and the number keeps climbing. These aren’t just numbers. They’re a road map for savvy investors. The future is being built — and protected — by startups. 🔐 Join us at our upcoming exclusive event on Defense Tech and Strategic Innovation, where Japanese and Israeli leaders will explore the road ahead. All the details here: https://lnkd.in/gFz6wtwU

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