Welcome Andre !

This is your Bits & Pretzels Journey

Andre Retterath

General Partner, Earlybird VC

About:

Andre joined Earlybird's Munich office in 2017 to launch and head the firm’s AI and infrastructure investment practice, with a particular focus on frontier models, databases, developer, design, and automation tools. Moreover, he has a deep passion for the intersection of AI, media, and content creation. He has led investments and/or serves on the boards of Aleph Alpha, Black Forest Labs, EthonAI, Recursive, Sintra AI, and spAItial, among others. Additionally, Andre leads the Earlybird Flywheel that includes teams across engineering, marketing & comms, community & events, and portfolio acceleration. Before joining Earlybird, Andre gained over five years of experience as a process automation engineer with ThyssenKrupp and worked as a management consultant with GE North America. He conducted his PhD at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), focusing on “Machine Learning and the Value of Data in Venture Capital.” Andre holds an MSc in Management and a BEng in Mechatronics Engineering, and was previously educated at Harvard University, University of Cambridge, and Georgia Institute of Technology, among others.

Ticket Category: VIP

Monday, September 29th - Conference Day 1

2:00 PM - 2:30 PM I Term Sheet Stage

2:45 PM - 2:55 PM I Term Sheet Stage

2:55 PM - 3:15 PM I Term Sheet Stage

Tuesday, September 30th - Conference Day 2

Briefings

In the briefing, you’ll receive all essential information about the event and its surroundings — everything you need to feel well-prepared and confident throughout the experience.

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Your Agenda

Monday, September 28th, Conference Day 1

Time

9:00 am - 6:00 pm

Conference Day I

Immerse yourself in a day filled with visionary keynotes, hands-on masterclasses, and exclusive networking opportunities.

10:05 am - 10:50 am

Mega seed or starve: The Bifurcation

Seed investing is splitting between mega-rounds that buy speed and capital-efficient models that preserve ownership. Denis Barrier (Cathay Innovation), Filip Dames (Cherry Ventures), and Rob Lacher (Visionaries Club) debate when VC funding creates scale rather than dependency, and how investors assess ambition, dilution, and fund-return potential. From logo-shopping to ownership discipline, this panel examines whether founders should raise less to protect ownership, or accept more dilution for a shot at a much larger outcome.

10:35 am - 10:45 am

State of AI for VC

11:00 am - 11:35 am

AI for VCs: Building the Data-Driven Firm

AI and data-driven VC are moving from theory into the daily operating system of venture firms. Join us in a discussion to compare the investment-discipline view with the internal-transformation view: what gets automated, where does decision quality improve, and how much productivity does AI truly create. Together, we examine where AI can sharpen sourcing, diligence, and workflows, and where human judgment remains irreplaceable.

12:10 pm - 12:20 pm

The EU Scaleup Fund

11:45 pm - 12:20 pm

Let's Make Europe Great Again

How can Europe become the world’s most successful location for founders and investors? Join our debate on what it takes to turn European ambition into global success. From capital and regulation to talent, exits, and the EQT-managed Scaleup Europe Fund as a first step, this panel explores how Europe can become more like the US or if it should play its own differentiated game.

12:20 pm - 1:05 pm

How to create Liquidity in Today's Market? The Truth About Europe's Exit Market

IPO windows stay shut and strategic buyers have gone quiet. Portfolios keep aging while LPs wait for cash that never arrives. This panel gets into where liquidity actually comes from now: whether the curretn fixes solve the problem or just defer it, what discounts sellers really accept, and why European exits keep landing in the US.

2:15 pm - 2:25 pm

Buying, Not Being Bought. The European Founder's Buy-Side M&A Playbook

European founders learn to pitch, to raise, and to sell. Nobody learns to buy, yet VC-backed European companies made 965 acquisitions in 2025. In this keynote, Valerie Bures (XAnge) explains how to build a deal thesis, source and evaluate targets, run diligence and valuation, navigate Europe's deal-making landscape, and execute post-merger integration.

2:25 pm - 3:10 pm

Everyone Is Chasing AI. Where Is the Overlooked Opportunity?

Is there anything hot beyond AI??? Debate with us whether taste, brand, community, and human authenticity are becoming the new moats in an AI-enabled market and in figuring out where these markets actually are. From health, longevity, and wellness to investing in Africa or Latin America, this panel explores whether beyond-AI theses can still deliver venture-scale returns, or whether AI simply becomes the invisible infrastructure behind all companies.

3:10 pm - 3:35 pm

Brain-Computer Interfaces: Our Only Defense Against AI Extinction?

3:35 pm - 3:45 pm

Antler Report: Path to Series A

3:45 pm - 4:30 pm

Beyond the Check: What VCs Actually Add

The deal is done and the money is in, so what happens next? Capital is no longer enough. With this panel we move past positioning and pitch to the real work after the wire: hiring, go-to-market, product, follow-on fundraising, and the hard strategic calls. Through concrete stories from the portfolio frontlines, the panel examines when investor support genuinely changes a company's trajectory, and where the promise of value-add quietly meets reality.

4:30 pm - 4:35 pm

Closing Day 1

7:00 pm - 11:00 pm

VIP Dinner @ Schottenhamel Oktoberfest

Enjoy our unique VIP Dinner Experience. At the heart of Oktoberfest, where tradition and innovation collide in the oldest of all tents.

Tuesday, September 29th, Conference Day 2

Time

9:00 am - 6:00 pm

Conference Day II

Experience deep-dive discussions, interactive panel talks, and curated matchmaking sessions that bring together the brightest minds in business and innovation.

9:45 am - 10:15 am

From Human Intuition to Superintelligence

10:20 am - 10:30 am

When Will Quantum Become Mainstream?

Quantum has spent decades moving from science to engineering. The question is now: when will it become mainstream? In this talk, Olivier Tonneau looks at quantum through two lenses: technology deployment and investment. What is already being deployed, and what breakthroughs are still needed? At the same time, funding is accelerating, companies are scaling, and the first major exits are happening. What do these signals tell us about when quantum will truly become a mainstream industry?

10:30 am - 10:40 am

Where Biotech Actually Stands

The science is ready. The system is not. Julia Hawkins, General Partner at Phoenix Court, home of LocalGlobe, Latitude and Solar, argues that biology's breakthroughs now outrun the health systems, regulators and payers meant to deliver them, and that this gap is where the returns and the risks sit. In ten minutes she gives her read of European health and bio: what the downturn repriced, where AI changes the science, and what still is not funded.

10:40 am- 10:50 am

Energy After the Green Premium

The era of paying extra to be green is over. Fabian Heilemann (Founder & CEO at AENU) argues that climate and energy companies now have to win on price and features alone, that tourist capital has left the sector, and that the returns have moved to energy resilience, industrial efficiency and adaptation. Ten minutes on where he is putting money now, and what he no longer funds.

10:50 am - 11:35 am

Investing in Defense: Where's the Opportunity, and Where's the Line?

Defense technology is moving from strategic niche to core venture category, but where should investors draw the line? Explore with us where the real opportunity lies in defense. As Europe’s defense market opens for startups, this panel examines how founders and VCs should navigate dual-use, lethal autonomy, regulation, and the ethics of backing technologies built for security and conflict.

11:35 am - 11:45 am

Where LPs Actually Put Their Money

How do institutional LPs look at the VC asset class today? Gregory Schmitt, Head of Private Equity & Co-Investments at MEAG, examines how venture funds have actually performed through an institutional lens. From geographies and sector cycles to the shifting cost of risk, this talk discusses how historical and current data shape the view on VC in an uncertain market.

11:45 pm - 12:20 pm

Europe vs US: Where Do Funds Really Generate Alpha?

How do you assess geography, valuation, talent, DPI, and fund-return potential across both sides of the Atlantic? From Europe’s risk-adjusted promise to America’s dominance in category creation and exits, this panel explores what truly drives venture returns in global portfolios. Perspectives from all sides from US GP to EU LP.

1:50 pm - 2:25 pm

Fund I Was Easy. Now Raise Fund II!

Only 37 venture funds closed in Europe in Q1 2026, while the median fund grew 70%. A record share closed smaller than their predecessor. Capital is concentrating, and LPs are rewarding narrower strategies over broader ones. This panel takes the fundraise apart from three sides: the institution deciding whether to commit, a manager who has just been through it, and the structural levers that decide whether a smaller fund still works.

2:25 pm - 2:50 pm

Seed to Scale: Six Years Inside a Founder-Investor Relationship

What does a founder-investor relationship look like when conviction is tested over six years of building? Andrei Brasoveanu (Accel) and Thomas Paul Mann, co-founder and CEO of Raycast, reflect on the journey from Raycast's 2020 seed round to scale, unpacking how the original thesis, terms, and trust evolved along the way. From platform rewrites and boardroom debates to B2B sequencing, pricing a free product, Spotlight competition, and the rise of AI. Get an inside into how investors and founders navigate ambition, friction, and category creation together.

2:50 pm - 3:20 pm

Inside the Venture Secondaries Boom

Secondaries are becoming one of the most essential liquidity and portfolio-construction tools in venture, as well as a core tool for investors to build exposure to leading later stage asset, but not deal creates value. Tom Fitzherbert-Brockholes, Partner at StepStone Group, examines dynamics in the current VC secondary market including how pricing, discounts, adverse selection, and duration shape returns, and whether secondaries truly offer faster liquidity and lower risk.

3:20 pm - 4:05 pm

Cage Fight: PE vs VC. Who wins?

Private equity and venture capital play distinct roles in backing companies throughout their growth journeys. But what does each bring to the table when it comes to scaling businesses, driving innovation and creating long-term value? Join us as we debate the strengths of both models, where they differ and how each can help companies thrive at different stages of growth.

4:05 pm- 4:10 pm

Closing Day 2

6:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Bits & Pretzels Speaker Dinner @ Käfer Feinkostladen

The evening promises high-level networking in an exceptional setting, complemented by exquisite cuisine. We are delighted to host the dinner at the iconic Käfer Feinkostladen, one of Munich’s most renowned culinary institutions, and look forward to welcoming you for a memorable evening.

Wednesday, September 30th, Oktoberfest Day

Time

10:00 am - 1:00 pm

Table Captain Networking

This is your moment to showcase your expertise and receive valuable insights from the attendees, sparking new ideas and connections.

Social Media Graphics

Share it on social media to announce your role at Bits & Pretzels 2026 and tag #Bits26. If you want to get the most out of this, here are our tips to boost reach & engagement:

Add the Hashtag #bits26 and mention @Bits&Pretzels so we can  interact with your content.
Mention any fellow speaker/table captains who are also attending
Mention what companies/people you are excited to meet at Bits

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Social Media Posts - Speaking Slot

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Your Ticket

Your ticket grants access to all three days of the event.
Please use the exclusive VIP/Speaker check-in at Entrance West (badge collection with ticket + valid ID).
Note: short waiting times may occur on Monday morning.

Your Presentation - deadline 23.09.2026

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Deadline: All presentation materials must be submitted no later than September 23, 2026.
This is necessary to allow our technical team to review and test the presentations in advance.

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