Daria Live, episode I: Daria and Herbert in New York

Daria Live is a new series from World Fund. In each episode, Managing Partner Daria Saharova walks and talks with the people building and backing Europe's deep tech companies.

Episode one takes place in Manhattan, on the day IQM Quantum Computers rang the closing bell at Nasdaq MarketSite. Daria is joined by Herbert Mangesius, founding partner at Vsquared Ventures and one of IQM's earliest backers, seven years before the company went public. World Fund led IQM's €128m Series A2 in 2022.

The two share more than one cap table. Both funds back cylib in battery recycling and VÆRIDION in electric regional aviation, which makes the walk through Manhattan as much about what comes next as about what just happened.

In this episode:

- IQM's road to the public markets, from Herbert's first cheque in 2019 to the bell in New York

- cylib, VÆRIDION, and what listing-ready looks like for a European deep tech company

- Why Munich keeps producing global deep tech leaders

Watch episode one below: