The European startup scene is bursting with innovation, especially in areas of science, AI, deep tech, and health. However, a persistent challenge remains: European startups are typically valued between 29% and 52% lower than their US counterparts, according to the State of European Tech report.
Odyssey Ventures has launched from stealth with a mission to close this valuation and funding divide by supporting Europe’s most ambitious founders with US-style venture capital, hands-on operational support, and seamless access to US markets.
Odyssey Ventures was founded by Ali Mitchell and Michelle Robson, former leaders at EQT Ventures and AP Ventures, respectively. Ali Mitchell, a serial founder turned venture capitalist, boasts an extensive track record of investing early in multiple start-ups that have grown into unicorns, including Pleo, Beamery, and Anydesk. Michelle Robson brings complementary industrial experience with a chemical engineering background and has been instrumental in pioneering investments in clean power and deeptech companies like Amogy, recently valued at $700 million.
Operating from offices in London and San Francisco, Odyssey targets startups transforming physical industries such as manufacturing, chemicals, and neurotechnology. Their investment approach is designed for speed and scale, offering rapid first checks often within hours, and continuing funding support as companies progress from pre-seed through Series A and further.
“We’re at the start of a 20-year venture supercycle. The world does not need another CRM, even one with a nice bit of AI on top. What we do need are breakthroughs in science, deep tech, compute, energy, human and planetary health – which is where AI and automation can truly make enormous gains. We are now seeing more and more of the most ambitious founders taking this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
As a result, markets that have so far been relatively untouched by digitisation can now grow at software speed, faster and more efficiently than ever before, enabling start-ups to do in 10 months what previously took 10 years – creating unheard of value for the long-term. Odyssey is the VC for those founders,” says Mitchell.
Among Odyssey’s standout portfolio companies is Flow Engineering, a London-based startup reinventing machine design. Another investment, Viridi, spun out of university research, aims to disrupt the $5.7 trillion chemical industry with eco-friendly surfactants made using upcycled CO2, embodying cost efficiency and sustainability.
Robson adds, “Europe is brimming with ambitious start-ups that can become global leaders, but they need investors who provide the right hands-on support, scaling expertise and a bigger risk appetite. Founders aiming for multi-billion-dollar outcomes need US capital and market access. We built Odyssey because we’re passionate about getting them there, offering early-stage European founders the backing, experience, and network to grow fast and win globally.”
