#323 - Yoram Wijngaarde (Dealroom) - The oracle of European Tech

In this episode of Finscale, I welcome Yoram Wijngaarde, Founder and CEO of Dealroom.co, for a sharp, data-backed conversation on what is really happening in the global tech and venture capital ecosystem. 

Beyond headlines and hype, this episode offers a rare, factual look at how innovation, capital and power dynamics are shifting.

We discussed:

• Yoram’s journey from investment banking at Lehman Brothers to founding Dealroom, and how the financial crisis and M&A work with startups shaped his entrepreneurial path.
• How Dealroom evolved from a deal-making idea into a global data platform used by VCs, tech giants and more than 100 governments to understand and benchmark innovation ecosystems.
• The unique methodology behind Dealroom’s data, combining public sources, deep human-led research and contributions from a global community of investors, founders and universities.
• What the last 18–24 months really look like for venture capital, with global investment still far below 2021 peaks despite massive AI rounds, and Europe stabilising around €60bn per year.
• The growing gap between the US and Europe, driven by AI mega-deals, rising valuation multiples in the US, and Europe’s relative absence from the largest funding rounds.
• Sector-level shifts beyond AI, including the return of fintech through incumbents and infrastructure plays, and the explosive rise of deep tech and defense, security and resilience.
• How Dealroom is preparing for the next wave of AI, from transforming its internal development processes to building a shared global data layer for cities and startup ecosystems.

A clear, insightful episode that replaces speculation with data — and offers essential perspective for anyone navigating tech, venture capital or innovation today.

Yoram’s recommendation :

• Odd Lots, the Bloomberg podcast.

Useful links:

Yoram Wijngaarde: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yoramdw/

Dealroom.co: https://dealroom.co/ 

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