The Growth Pod · 2026-03-05 · 59 min
Axel Ahlström sits at the intersection of manufacturing and technology. After working with major industrial companies in private equity, he co-founded Kvanted, a new 70M€ industrial deep tech VC fund. We talk about the future of manufacturing in Europe, what it’s like to start a new VC fund, robotics hype vs reality, deep tech investing, green and red flags in startups, and more. (0:00) Introduction (0:30) Axel’s background: engineering, consulting and private equity (3:25) The idea behind Kvanted (8:17) European innovation and why Zurich became a focus (12:45) Starting a new VC fund (22:15) Robotics hype vs reality (28:05) Industrial manufacturing and the role of startups (38:17) Why Europe needs manufacturing (42:00) What Axel looks for in startups: green flags and red flags (51:37) Contrarian beliefs, lessons learned, and career advice Learn more:
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