E612 | EUVC Live Powered by Woven Capital at The Drop: Nicole LeBlanc, Woven Capital: Why Europe is Toyota’s Testbed for Climate and Deep Tech

Welcome back to EUVC Live powered by Woven Capital at The Drop, where we bring you the candid conversations with the investors shaping Europe’s venture ecosystem.

In this episode, Nicole LeBlanc, Partner at Woven Capital, joins us on stage in Malmö to share why Toyota’s $800M global fund is doubling down on Europe. From talent pools and global mindsets to climate tech leadership, Nicole explains why Europe is the testbed for scaling climate, mobility, and automation solutions worldwide.

🎧 Here’s what’s covered:

• 00:30 Why Europe matters: 15% of global VC and growing deal sizes.

• 01:00 Diversification — why global funds can’t rely on just one market.

• 01:30 Talent in Europe: strong engineering pools and founders thinking global from day one.

• 02:30 Climate tech in Europe’s DNA — regulation, partnerships, and net-zero by 2050.

• 03:30 Inside Woven Capital: Toyota’s $800M LPGP fund, financial-first approach, and global mandate.

• 04:30 Toyota Open Labs: Europe-exclusive program giving startups structured access to Toyota.

• 05:30 Portfolio spotlight: Corvus, zero-emission shipping with batteries + hydrogen.

• 06:30 What’s next: circularity, advanced materials, and figuring out AI.