Europe is Moving

This week brought two strong signals that Europe is finally accelerating in the right direction for those who build, invest, and scale technology on this continent.

First, the President of the European Commission announced progress on EU‑Inc, the long awaited pan-European corporate structure designed to simplify life for anyone operating across borders. A Europe where a company is born European from day one, without navigating 27 bureaucratic realities is a Europe that becomes more competitive, more coherent, and more aligned with the global stage where our founders already operate.

Second, we witnessed the launch of the Digital Enterprise Wallet, a decisive step toward reducing administrative friction, strengthening information security, and improving how companies interact with the State. And it’s worth highlighting: Portugal was a pioneer. Before it became a European trend, we had already shown that it’s possible to digitalize, simplify, and deliver real value to businesses. At a time when competitiveness, productivity, and scale are at the center of every debate, these two initiatives point toward a future where creating and operating a company in Europe stops being an act of endurance and becomes an act of ambition.

And third, the announcement of the European Scale‑Up Fund marks a long overdue shift in how Europe supports high‑growth companies. For years, founders and investors have argued that Europe doesn’t lack talent or ambition; it lacks scale‑stage capital at European scale. This fund is a concrete step toward closing that gap and giving our most promising companies the financial firepower they need to compete globally.

At a time when competitiveness, productivity, and scale are at the center of every debate, these initiatives point toward a future where creating and operating a company in Europe stops being an act of endurance and becomes an act of ambition.

If Europe wants to remain relevant in the next decade, this is the path: fewer barriers, more trust, more interoperability, and more vision.

And we, as an ecosystem, must keep doing what we’ve always done best: push, challenge, and build.

• 💡 Founder Institute Portugal - Meet the Portugal Startup Ecosystem Demo Day on Jan 29 with Bloqit and Granter on stage for a talk about our ecosystem

• 💡 Calling all MSc, Ph.D., and Postdoc students in STEM areas or fields of study! Are you ready to turn your innovative ideas into the next big thing? Join Faber's exclusive Entrepreneurship Program (deadline Mar 01) and learn from the real-life experiences of successful entrepreneurs who have turned their dreams into thriving businesses

• 📝 JEEFEUC (Junior Enterprise from Coimbra University) are diving deep into market validation for Silveiratech - Re_generation Village (a regeneration-focused project based in Lousã)! They’ve launched a survey to validate Silveira Tech’s model and wait your input!

Keep following Adamastor to stay up to date with our ecosystem.

See you at the next event.

✍ Quote of the week

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”

Leonardo da Vinci

Highlights of the week

• 🔷 EDP’s Energy Starter open innovation program is accepting applications

• 🔷 all Catolica students! Don’t miss the Startup Safari on January 30th, Co-organized between the Career and Talent department and CLEC. Apply here

• 🔷 How can I speak at Productized Conference? Have a story to tell? A project that inspires? A perspective the world needs to hear? Applications to speak are now open

Congrats

• 👏 RAID ranked #2 at the EUDIS Hackathon 2025 Autumn Edition (EUDefence and #EUSpace innovators)

• 👏 Enhaced Fertilty; Granter; Uwasa; Vericasa; and Virtualeap have been selected by Startup Portugal and Plug and Play for the Scale Up program, supported by the U.S. Commercial Service

Something to read, listen and watch

• 📚 Ursula von der Leyen just announced EU-Inc at Davos

• 📚 Open Innovation at Altice Labs – The Road Ahead by João Ramos

• 📚 Using the Needs Stack for competitive strategy

• 📚 This AI tool helped me choose the right market for my startup

• 📚 Gen AI shows a pattern: it excels at some tasks but fails at seemingly similar ones. This “jagged” performance creates a fundamental problem for users trying to decide when to rely on AI

• 📚 American Bar Association: ABA Task Force on Law and Artificial Intelligence

• 📚 Choose the human path for AI (Future of Work)

• 🎧

• 🎥 Pricing Your AI First Product: Why Transactional Models Are on the Rise with Defy.VC's Medha Agarwal

Looking for your next spark of inspiration or connection? Discover what’s happening in the ecosystem—check out the Adamastor Events Calendar and find the perfect event that fits your goals, your vibe, and your stage. From founder meetups to investor talks, there’s something for everyone.