Hermann Hauser ​on Europe's Scale-Up Gap and Keeping Its Unicorns at Home

Why does Europe keep producing breakthrough science and then lose the companies built on it? In this episode of Oxford+, host Susannah de Jager speaks with Dr Hermann Hauser, co-founder of Amadeus Capital Partners and co-founder of Arm, about the gap that has defined European innovation for four decades. Europe creates more startups than the United States and produces university research of comparable quality, yet its scale-ups still cross the Atlantic for the later, larger rounds. Hermann sets out what he believes would change that: a working Scaleup Europe Fund, pension capital permitted to take risk, faster movement of management talent, competitive pay and share options, and a European exchange deep enough to take companies public at home. The fund was formally established in August 2026 with a €5 billion target, and Dutch pension fund ABP has since committed €250 million as the first step of a €1 billion programme. He is candid about Arm itself, naming three costly mistakes, and explains why his forthcoming book argues that sovereignty means the retention of choice. His conclusion is blunt: it's technology, stupid. (00:00) - Welcome to Oxford+ (02:29) - The Hauser Report and the Catapult Network (04:22) - Europe's Biggest Gap: Scale-Ups (05:44) - €15 Trillion in Pension Capital (08:28) - The Mansion House Accord and Trustee Culture (11:12) - Returns, Risk Appetite and Management Talent (13:36) - Ambition and Catching Up with Silicon Valley (15:10) - Technology Sovereignty and the New Book (17:13) - Sovereignty as the Retention of Choice (21:32) - Remuneration, Share Options and Pay (24:06) - The Arm Story: Three Costly Mistakes (28:21) - A European Exchange and Stablecoins Hermann Hauser: Dr Hermann Hauser KBE FRS is a technology entrepreneur and venture capitalist. Born in Austria, he holds an MA in Physics from the University of Vienna and a PhD in Physics from the University of Cambridge. He co-founded Acorn Computers, the company behind the BBC Micro, and in 1990 helped spin out Arm, whose chip designs now power most of the world's smartphones. He co-founded Amadeus Capital Partners in 1997 with Anne Glover and is now a Venture Partner there, having founded or invested in companies including Solexa, CSR, Graphcore and Photonic. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, holds an honorary KBE, and has served on the board of the European Innovation Council and its fund. He is writing a book on technology sovereignty with Hazem Nakib. Susannah de Jager: Susannah is a seasoned professional with over 15 years of experience in UK asset management. She has worked closely with industry experts, entrepreneurs, and government officials to shape the conversation around domestic scale-up capital. Connect with Susannah on LinkedIn and Subscribe to the Oxford+ Newsletter for Exclusive Content Oxford+ is hosted by Susannah de Jager and supported by Mishcon de Reya and HSBC Innovation Banking. Produced and Edited by Story Ninety-Four in Oxford.