1. You have just published your book, “Das neue Kapital. Unsere Chance auf Deutschlands nächstes Wirtschaftswunder”. In it, you argue that increased private capital is the key to innovation and growth. When looking at Austria, do you see parallels with Germany as well?

Austria and Germany share many structural strengths: a strong Mittelstand, industrial depth, technological expertise, and an excellent research base. But in both countries, the key challenge is the same: not a lack of ideas, but too little growth capital to scale innovation.

That is why I see very clear parallels. If we want more innovation, competitiveness, and resilience, we need to mobilise much more private capital — especially long-term capital from national institutional investors. Transformation will not be financed by the state alone. It needs investors who are willing to back innovation, entrepreneurship, and growth over the long term. This is exactly where Europe still has work to do.

2. You are a strong advocate for building bridges between investors, startups, policymakers, and the media. Where is this collaboration already working well, and where do you still see a significant need for improvement, both in Germany and across European borders?

Collaboration works best wherever people understand that innovation does not happen in isolation. Strong ecosystems need capital, sound policy, public visibility, and a shared strategic direction. In Germany, we have made real progress in recent years in bringing together investors, startups, public institutions, and the broader innovation community.

But there is still too much silo thinking — nationally and especially across Europe. We need more speed, more alignment, and much more cross-border cooperation. If Europe wants to remain competitive, we need not only a stronger common narrative around entrepreneurship, innovation, and private capital, but also more practical cooperation between capital markets, policymakers, and founders. In the end, scale-up success depends on whether capital, regulation, and market access work together.

3. Many argue that Europe doesn't have an innovation problem, but rather a capital and scaling problem. Why is it still so difficult for us to turn great ideas into truly large-scale companies? Many startups from Austria and across Europe turn to the US for larger financing rounds. What steps are needed to ensure that more growth capital stays in Europe, creating value and jobs right here?

Europe’s challenge is not a lack of ideas or innovation. It is the difficulty of turning promising companies into global leaders. We are strong in research, technology, and early-stage entrepreneurship. But when companies enter the growth phase, Europe still too often lacks the depth of capital needed to scale globally.

The numbers show both progress and the remaining gap. In Germany, startups raised around EUR 7.6 billion in 2025. But Europe, with investments of EUR 68 billion, still accounted for only about 14% of global venture capital investment, down from 18% in the previous year. This is well below its share of global GDP of just above 20%. That is why many of the best companies continue to look abroad when they need larger financing rounds.

What needs to happen is clear: we need far more institutional capital for venture and growth financing, better conditions for insurers, pension funds, and other long-term investors, and a single, integrated European capital market. We also need greater legal and tax certainty, fewer regulatory barriers, and stronger scale-up financing structures. Europe must become not only a very good place to found a company, but also the best place to grow one. Only then will more value creation, jobs, and technological leadership remain in Europe.

4. Looking to the future: In which sectors do you see the greatest potential for private capital to accelerate innovation in Austria, thereby strengthening growth and prosperity both here and throughout Europe?

I see the greatest potential wherever Europe combines technological excellence with strategic relevance. That clearly includes deep tech, climate and energy solutions, digital infrastructure, life sciences, and increasingly security- and defence-related innovation. These are also exactly the sectors in which capital intensity and long development cycles make strong private financing especially important.

For Austria in particular, I also see major opportunities in industrial tech and highly specialised niche technologies linked to its industrial base and research strength. These are precisely the areas where private capital can help turn scientific and engineering excellence into globally competitive companies. That is how we create growth, resilience, and prosperity in Austria and across Europe.

5. In your book, you speak extensively about trust in growth and the courage to finance the future. What needs to change culturally or politically within the DACH region and across Europe to make more people willing to invest in innovation and entrepreneurship?

Culturally, we need to strengthen trust in growth, innovation, and entrepreneurship. But above all, politically, we need stable and investment-friendly frameworks. That means better conditions for venture and growth capital, stronger participation by institutional investors, greater legal and tax certainty for funds, and regulation that enables rather than discourages long-term investment in innovation. Initiatives such as WIN show that this debate is moving in the right direction. But if Europe wants more innovation, competitiveness, and resilience, it needs a stronger political commitment to growth, scale, and long-term value creation.

About the person: Ulrike Hinrichs is dedicated to championing digitalization as a transformative opportunity for Europe, bridging the gap between investors, startups, policymakers, and the media. Drawing on her extensive background as the former Head of Communications for a German Federal Ministry and as a seasoned TV moderator, she brings a unique cross-sector perspective to the European innovation landscape. In addition to her role as Spokeswoman of the Board of the German Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVK), she also serves on the advisory boards of KfW Capital and the Verband Deutscher Bürgschaftsbanken, where she leverages her expertise in equity capital to drive long-term economic growth.