Insights

Reflections from my conversation with Danijel Visevic, Managing Partner at World Fund

If you're in the European cleantech ecosystem, you've probably heard of World Fund—the €300 million climate tech VC that’s made headlines for its size, ambition, and science-driven approach. But hearing Danijel Visevic, one of its founding partners, talk about the journey, the vision, and the challenges they’re tackling, adds a whole other layer of perspective.

I recently sat down with Danijel for the Leaders in Cleantech podcast, and it was one of the most open, wide-ranging, and—at times—passionate conversations I’ve had on the show.

From Journalism to Venture Capital – With a Mission

Danijel’s journey isn’t your typical VC origin story. He started out as a journalist, driven by a deep concern for the climate crisis. That led to a stint in politics, including five years working in Angela Merkel’s government. Ironically, he watched first-hand as Germany dismantled much of its early leadership in solar and wind, while incumbents clung to combustion engines, and sold off solar tech and manufacturing leadership.

It was this frustration—and a long-standing friendship with Tim Schumacher—that led him to co-found World Fund. As Danijel puts it:

“I was searching for a way to combine purpose and something financially sustainable. Venture capital was the last place I expected to find it, but it’s where the real leverage is.”

Deep Tech, Deep Decarbonisation

What sets World Fund apart is their rigorous focus on climate impact. They don’t just look at good ideas—they quantify decarbonisation potential. Their investment thesis and threshold? A technology must have the potential to avoid or remove 100 megatons of CO₂e per year. All the climate VCs I work with have some criteria on impact as well as financial return. I like this metric.

That leads them to back a wide range of sectors—from battery recycling (like their portfolio company Cylib) to quantum computing, food systems, space tech, and software tools that optimise consumption.

Most of their capital goes into hard science—hardware, chemistry, manufacturing, energy infrastructure. This requires not only patient capital, but patient conviction.

“Climate is not a vertical—it’s a horizontal. It touches everything,” Danijel said. “And to decarbonise at scale, we need the atoms as much as the bits.”

The Series B Cliff – A European Problem

One theme we returned to throughout the conversation was the Series B funding gap in Europe. This is where things start to get dangerous for startups: they’ve proven the tech, maybe even shown early traction, but need €50–100 million to scale.

Too often, that money just isn’t available in Europe. And so companies:

• Go bankrupt
• Sell their IP to China
• Get acquired or relocated by US investors

Danijel didn’t mince words here:

“We invest billions into research—and then let the IP be bought by other continents. It drives me crazy.”

It’s a structural problem. While the US has 729 funds with over $100 million AUM, Europe has just 44. And only five European funds are over the €500 million mark.

Worse still, regulations like Solvency II discourage pension funds and insurers from investing in VC—penalising them more for backing 500 startups than buying Greek bonds.

So What Needs to Change?

Danijel offered a wish list of reforms:

• Fix Solvency II and make venture a viable asset class for institutional investors
• Grow European funds at a sustainable but more ambitious pace
• Attract more high net worth and family office capital into climate VC
• And crucially—scale exit options so companies don’t always need to list on NASDAQ or look abroad for growth

And Then There's the Talent

Naturally, I asked Danijel about talent—and how much of a role it plays in the investment process. His answer?

“Team is not everything—but it’s the most important part of every company.”

He spoke passionately about the need for honest, mission-driven founders, and about avoiding burnout in a sector where people often give too much of themselves. He also highlighted how World Fund’s LP network—many of them former operators or industry leaders—can open doors to talent and support portfolio companies in very practical ways.

In one case, an LP introduced Cylib’s founder to a former BASF exec—who’s now on the team helping them scale.

As Danijel put it:

“If you burn for something, take care not to burn out. Don’t take yourself too seriously. You’re doing something great—stay healthy.”

Words more founders and investors could live by.

Communications, Complacency, and the Cleantech Bubble

Towards the end of the conversation, we turned to communications—a topic close to both our hearts. Despite all the capital, innovation, and talent in the cleantech ecosystem, we’re still losing the narrative to incumbent industries.

Danijel had some sharp insights here:

“We’re not as good as we should be at communicating the benefits of our technologies. The gas lobby, the meat lobby—they’ve been playing this game for decades. We’re just getting started.”

And he’s right. Whether it’s hydrogen hype, meat subsidies, or public misunderstanding of EVs, we often fail to explain why cleantech isn’t just greener—it’s better. Cheaper. Faster. Cleaner. Tangibly so.

As Danijel said:

“If you’ve driven an EV once, you don’t want to go back. Same with good alt protein. But we need to make that first experience happen.”

Final Thoughts

This episode left me energised and frustrated in equal measure.

Energised—because there are people like Danijel, funds like World Fund, and so many VCs and founders in the cleantech ecosystem, backing bold, science-based innovation with long-term vision.

Frustrated—because Europe is still at risk of squandering its edge in climate innovation through underinvestment, overregulation, and poor storytelling.

Capital matters. So does tech. But if we don’t back the right founders—and help them build the right teams—we’ll never scale the solutions we so desperately need.

🎧 You can listen to the full conversation on all podcast platforms and YouTube, here's the Apple Link- https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/danijel-vi%C5%A1evi%C4%87-world-fund/id1442356042?i=1000709247348

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