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Vanagon Ventures has launched a €20 million fund aimed at addressing the pre-seed funding gap in Europe's deep tech sector, which includes fields like quantum computing, synthetic biology, and advanced materials. Despite €120 billion spent on R&D in Europe, funding remains fragmented as VCs prefer less risky SaaS investments.

The fund sources opportunities from organizations like CERN, Max Planck, and ETH Zurich and aims to achieve 6-8x net returns by capturing a significant portion of pre-seed deep tech exits. The strategy focuses on hardware-software convergence, particularly in areas where Europe excels but lacks capital. This fund aims to convert research breakthroughs into unicorns, filling a crucial gap in the market.