🎧 Episode and guest overview
In this episode of Leaders in Cleantech, David Hunt is joined by Danijel Visevic, Managing Partner of World Fund, Europe’s largest climate tech VC. Danijel shares his personal and professional journey — from journalism and politics to launching a €300M venture fund dedicated to decarbonisation. They explore the challenges of scaling deep tech and hardware-centric startups, the urgent funding gaps at Series B, and how Europe risks losing its most promising IP to the US or China. With thoughtful insights on talent, climate urgency, and the real impact of aligned capital, this is a must-listen for founders, investors, and anyone passionate about climate innovation.
About Danijel Višević:
Danijel Višević is a General Partner at World Fund. He is a recognised climate tech thought leader, policy professional and journalist by vocation. Before co-founding World Fund, he was Director of Communications at Project A Ventures, co-founder of Zetra Project and Krautreporter. Danijel was also co-responsible for the audio-visual appearance of Angela Merkel for nearly half a decade.
About World Fund:
World Fund is a leading European venture capital fund investing in climate tech companies with significant decarbonisation potential. Their portfolio spans key sectors, such as energy, industry, built environment, transportation, food, agriculture, and biotech. World Fund has backed prominent companies such as cylib, Vaeridion, Planet A Foods, IQM and Space Forge. The firm manages a €300m fund and focuses on bridging the financing gap in the early growth stage.
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⏱️ Chapter Notes / Markers
00:00 – Introduction & First Meeting
David and Danijel recall their first meeting and set the stage for the conversation.
01:00 – Danijel’s Mission & the Origins of World Fund
How purpose, politics, and journalism led to founding Europe’s largest climate tech VC.
04:00 – Investment Thesis: Deep Tech for Deep Decarbonisation
World Fund's criteria: 100Mt CO₂e/year mitigation potential, across verticals.
06:00 – Hardware vs Software & Deep Tech Talent
Why World Fund leans heavily into hardware and deep scientific talent.
09:00 – The Series B Funding Gap in Europe
Danijel explains why scaling remains Europe’s biggest cleantech bottleneck.
12:00 – Policy, Regulation & Risk Aversion
Why EU regulation and risk frameworks (e.g., Solvency II) hinder growth.
17:00 – US vs Europe: A Tale of Two Capital Ecosystems
A data-driven comparison of funding scale and fund maturity between regions.
20:00 – Scaling Challenges Beyond Capital
Permitting, regulation, offtakers, and IP protection—all barriers to scale.
23:00 – Communications, Lobbying, and Public Awareness
Why cleantech still loses the narrative battle to incumbents.
32:00 – What World Fund Looks for in Founders
Team, mission alignment, honesty, resilience—and healthy boundaries.
35:00 – Investing in People: Talent as a Core Value
Danijel underscores the irreplaceable value of great leadership hires.
37:00 – Final Reflections
The importance of role modelling and supporting the next generation of climate leaders.
💬 Key Quotes
On Founders:
“Even in Series B, the founders are still the essential part of the company. Of course it's the tech, but the founde
