Steven Jacobs: Building the Transatlantic Bridge for Deep Tech

Steve Jacobs is the founder of Drumbeat Capital, a seed-stage venture firm focused on Deep Tech companies at the intersection of advanced science, industrial systems, and strategic technologies across Europe and the United States.

Jacobs founded Drumbeat on the premise that Deep Tech leadership is inherently transatlantic — with Europe providing scientific and industrial depth, and the U.S. offering capital and commercialization scale.

By linking these complementary ecosystems, the firm positions itself as a transatlantic bridge for founders.

“The biggest deep tech companies of this era will combine U.S. and European strengths,” Jacobs said.

From Product Builder to Deep Tech Investor

Jacobs began his career in hardware engineering on Apple’s original iPhone product design team. He later founded a smartwatch company acquired by Flex (the global manufacturing firm), before moving into senior product leadership roles at Google and Meta.

His move into venture capital followed a relocation to Berlin, where he started advising and angel investing in European Deep Tech startups.

“I realized there were founders far more qualified than I’d ever be to build companies in their domains,” he said. “But I could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them and help in specific ways. That was incredibly rewarding.”

This work led to a partnership with European venture firm Lakestar, which manages over $2 billion in assets. There, Jacobs developed its Deep Tech investment thesis and co-authored the European Deep Tech Report, helping formalize definitions and market understanding across the ecosystem.

The Deep Tech Era

Jacobs argues that venture capital is entering a structural shift from software-centric innovation toward physical-world technologies — spanning energy, materials, robotics, and industrial systems.

“The last 20 to 30 years were defined by software,” he said. “The next decades will be defined by Deep Tech.”

For Jacobs, Deep Tech refers to the commercialization of a scientific breakthrough into a first-of-kind product and business. 

“A product and a technology are very different things,” he said. “Deep Tech is when someone takes a scientific breakthrough and builds a first-of-a-kind product — and eventually a business — from it.”

He sees the next wave forming across fields such as robotics, energy, advanced materials, photonics, and industrial systems, driven by structural pressures such as labor shortages, energy transition, and exponential compute demand.

Photonics — computing based on light rather than electrons — is a particular focus.

“The last 50-plus years have been about electronics,” Jacobs said. “The next step will increasingly harness photonics.”

Why the Transatlantic Bridge Matters

Drumbeat’s central thesis is that the most competitive Deep Tech companies will require integrated access to both U.S. and European ecosystems.

Jacobs argues that major technology waves have historically depended on cross-regional collaboration. Consumer electronics combined U.S. design with Asian manufacturing. Cybersecurity linked the U.S. and Israel. Software connected Silicon Valley with engineering talent across India and Eastern Europe.

“Nobody was a global success without that kind of bridge,” he said.

Deep Tech, he believes, will require a comparable U.S.–Europe integration: Europe’s industrial depth and scientific talent paired with U.S. capital, early-adopter customers, and commercialization speed.

“We’re building a firm specifically designed to connect those two industrial superpowers,” he said.

Europe’s Founder Shift

For decades, many of Europe’s most ambitious technologists relocated to Silicon Valley, drawn by a culture that celebrated entrepreneurial risk-taking. That migration is beginning to reverse.

“Now everyone can go on Twitter or YouTube and see inspirational comments from anyone that you respect,” Jacobs said. “Whether you’re sitting in Munich or San Francisco, you have the same access.”

At the same time, Europe’s startup ecosystems have matured: more success stories, experienced founders, and recycled capital are now supporting the next generation locally, making it increasingly viable to build globally competitive companies without relocating.

The Specialized Deep Tech Investor

Jacobs argues that Deep Tech investing demands a higher degree of specialization than generalist venture capital. Founders operate at scientific frontiers few outsiders fully grasp, making technical fluency essential for meaningful partnership.

“In Deep Tech, you need enough technical depth to have a meaningful dialogue,” he said. “Without that, you simply can’t be the best partner to early-stage founders.”

That belief shapes Drumbeat’s model: technically fluent investors working closely with founders on commercialization, strategy, and market entry — offering informed judgment and access.

“Our ambition is to be the best seed-stage Deep Tech firm in the world,” Jacobs said. “If we execute well, that title is still open.”