Early Game Ventures

02/09/2026

📢 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗨𝗽 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵, 𝗦𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝟮 – 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗸: 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼

A pitch deck is not a justification of your startup. It is an argument for why someone should want to invest.

In the first short of 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗨𝗽 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵, 𝗦𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝟮, Cristian Munteanu, Managing Partner at Early Game Ventures, talks about a fundamental difference in how founders approach their decks.

When you write to justify, you tend to remove the extremes, avoid risk, and make everything sound safe and correct.

But a strong pitch needs something else:
• 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
• 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
• arguments strong enough to support them
• a story that makes the investor want to know more

A polished pitch cannot compensate for a weak startup. But a strong startup still needs a deck that communicates its substance convincingly.

Season 2 of 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗨𝗽 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 is dedicated entirely to the pitch deck, slide by slide.

01/09/2026

🎮 𝗪𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗽 𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗮𝘁 gamescom 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗼.

Both Tryll and PlaySafe ID were in Cologne this year, meeting studios, publishers, partners and industry leaders, with a strong focus on turning conversations into business.

🤖 For Tryll, the week brought 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝗮, alongside a presence at the Belgium Country Booth. CEO Sasha Glotov presented the Tryll Engine and company vision to Belgian government officials, demoed the product at The Agent AI Summit, and the team hosted a private 𝗔𝗜 𝗶𝗻 𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 gathering for industry leaders, VCs and game veterans.

🛡️ PlaySafe ID had an equally 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀-𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸, meeting with studios, signing new clients and advancing discussions for larger contracts. Together with Raptor PR, Breeze, Midwest Games and Make-A-Wish International, the team hosted 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁, gathering 200+ guests from across the gaming industry.

A productive for both teams, and plenty to build on from Cologne.

31/08/2026

🚀 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗺, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗘𝗘 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻.

European space startups raised $𝟮𝗕 𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝟭 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲, already surpassing the $1.3B raised throughout 2025.

As Vestbee highlights, the opportunity is expanding beyond satellites into onboard computing, orbital monitoring, servicing and in-space infrastructure.

Great to see Orbital Matter, part of our portfolio, highlighted among the CEE companies building for the 𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻-𝗼𝗿𝗯𝗶𝘁 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆. The team is developing technology to 3D print large structures such as antennas and solar arrays directly in space.

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗩𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗯𝗲𝗲'𝘀 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄.👇
https://www.vestbee.com/insights/articles/spacetech-funding-boom-cee

Meet the CEE companies building satellites, onboard AI, and in-orbit infrastructure as Europe’s spacetech funding reaches record levels.

28/08/2026

📍 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗼: Orbital Matter is showing what space-manufactured infrastructure could look like at scale.

This 1kW solar array demonstrates a modular design developed around the team's patented space 3D-printing technology, with the potential to achieve significantly better weight-to-power ratios and reduce stowed volume.

With 3D printing already successfully demonstrated, in orbit, outside of the space station, the team is now preparing for its next milestone: 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝟯𝗗-𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗺𝘀.

We've developed a scalable solar array that uses our now patented space 3D printers for deployment. The main advantage is the stowed volume and size as we can reach never before seen weight to power ratios. The picture below is for a 1kW array but the design is completely modular and can be scaled u...

27/08/2026

🎮 Happy to see 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗼 at gamescom in Cologne these days.

🤖 Tryll is bringing on-device AI for games, enabling developers to run AI directly on the player's GPU with zero cloud inference costs.

🛡️ PlaySafe ID is building safer gaming infrastructure through cheater-protected matchmaking, privacy-first identity verification and account security.

Two different layers of the gaming stack, two big problems being solved.

If you're there, connect with the teams 👇

* Tryll - Aleksandr Glotov 🔜 Gamescom | Bohdan Kuzmenko | Alex Riabov

* PlaySafe ID - Andrew Wailes | Ben Dixon

9 days ahead of gamescom in Cologne, the industry is buzzing over the latest survey: 83% of studios expect AI to completely reshape team workflows and productivity over the next 3 years. Here is what our portfolio at Early Game Ventures is bringing to the table: 🤖 Tryll Engine - The Tech: Present...

26/08/2026

📢 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗨𝗽 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 – 𝗡𝗼 𝗧𝘄𝗼-𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘀

In this short episode, Cristian Munteanu, Managing Partner at Early Game Ventures Ventures, talks about why splitting the same leadership role between two founders usually creates more problems than it solves.

Co-CEO, co-CTO, co-anything can sound balanced. In practice, it often signals that an important conversation about responsibility and decision-making has been postponed.

Startups need clear ownership:
• one role
• one person accountable
• one clear decision-maker

Defining responsibilities early may be uncomfortable, but avoiding that discussion only makes it harder later.

📺 Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/L8T3DS5V-ac

📢 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗨𝗽 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 – 𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝟮𝟭: 𝗡𝗼 𝗧𝘄𝗼-𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘀🚫 ...

25/08/2026

Controversial or not, AI has already entered in schools, in a smart way. Our portfolio company Kinderpedia is making AI practical for everyday operations.

By embedding AI directly into the workflows educators already use, the platform helps reduce administrative work, simplify communication and save valuable time, while keeping educators in control of what is reviewed, edited and shared.

👉 See how Kinderpedia's AI supports school teams better: https://www.kinderpedia.co/en/features/kinderpedia-ai

24/08/2026

📍 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗼: Behind every ambitious biotech company is deep scientific expertise.

Meet Alexandru-Ioan Voda, Co-founder & CEO of The Cat Health Company, bringing a background in molecular and cellular medicine to the challenge of tackling age-related diseases in cats.

A glimpse at the people and science behind the innovation.

21/08/2026

🎙️ 𝗜𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁:
Călugăreanu, Founding Partner at Early Game Ventures, joined Business Room Podcast for a conversation about what we look for in founders, how we evaluate investment opportunities, when and how startups should pivot, and what we're seeing across the EGV portfolio.
𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄.👇
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cofwdW70pwA

Dan Călugăreanu, Partener Early Game Ventures, a văzut mare parte d...

20/08/2026

📊 investment has reached a new level of concentration, 𝟳𝟳% 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗩𝗖 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 going to AI, according to DealRoom's latest briefing.

• The 𝗨𝗦 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝟴𝟲%, compared with 𝟱𝟰.𝟰% 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲 and 𝟲𝟯.𝟴% 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗮
• From the $𝟯𝟵𝟴𝗕 invested in 𝗛𝟭 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲, almost 430B took the AI train;
• Next in investors preferences: 𝗗𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵, 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 and 𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 counted also for almost 810B.

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄: 👇
https://dealroom.co/reports/global-vc-h1-2026