EU-Startups Podcast

Join us for a conversation with Oana Jinga, co-founder and Chief Commercial & Product Officer at Dexory, an innovator in warehouse robotics and intelligence.

In this interview, Oana shares her journey from leading strategic partnerships at Google and Telefónica to co-founding a company that bridges the gap between cutting-edge robotics and practical, scalable solutions for the logistics industry.

Oana shares the evolution of Dexory - from its early days as BotsAndUs to its current status as a European scale-up with nearly €300 million in funding, including a $165 million raise in 2025. She discusses the challenges of transitioning from DeepTech innovation to global scalability, and how the company balances technical ambition with real-world customer needs.

With a focus on Physical AI and international expansion, including growth in the US, Oana also explores the broader landscape of warehouse robotics in Europe.

The conversation tackles critical questions about the future of work: How can robotics and AI augment human roles rather than replace them? What responsibilities should remain uniquely human, and which tasks are better suited to machines? Oana also addresses the ethical implications of AI in robotics, emphasizing the importance of building unbiased, transparent systems and the industry’s blind spots in this area.

Beyond technology and scaling, Oana advocates for making robotics a more inclusive and attractive career path. She challenges the outdated stereotype of robotics as a male-dominated field, highlighting the diverse roles - from data science to commercial strategy- that define the industry today.

Join us for a conversation with Karin Fleck, the CEO and Founder of Vienna Textile Lab, an innovator in sustainable textile dyeing through biotechnology.

With a decade of experience in the oil and energy sector, Karin transitioned her expertise to address one of the fashion industry’s most pressing challenges: the environmental and human cost of synthetic dyes.

In this interview, she shares her journey from managing large-scale industrial projects to founding a company dedicated to creating bio-based, eco-friendly dyes derived from microorganisms. Discover how Vienna Textile Lab is transforming the textile industry by offering a commercially viable, safe, and sustainable alternative to traditional synthetic dyes.

The conversation also touches on the role of Women TechEU in supporting deep-tech startups and the importance of fostering a collaborative ecosystem to drive meaningful change in the industry.

Join us for an interview with Angela Ivanova, the co-founder and CEO of LAM’ON Compostable Films, a Bulgarian company at the forefront of sustainable packaging solutions.

Angela shares her journey of addressing one of the most pressing environmental challenges: the 1.2 million metric tons of laminated paper wasted annually. LAM’ON has developed bio-based, compostable laminating films and packaging foils that seamlessly integrate with paper recycling, offering a circular economy solution without compromising quality.

In this discussion, Angela dives into the challenges of building LAM’ON from the ground up. She reflects on the gender gap in entrepreneurship, the moments that led her to focus on biodegradable materials, and the hurdles of product development, industry adoption, and scaling a startup in Bulgaria.

The conversation also explores the real-world impact of LAM’ON’s innovations. Angela discusses how companies are transitioning to their compostable films, the barriers to widespread adoption, and whether customers are driven by genuine environmental consciousness or regulatory pressures.

With a sharp focus on the future of sustainable materials, she examines the role of technology, infrastructure, and consumer behavior in making compostable packaging mainstream within the next five years.

In this exclusive interview, we sit down with Nikita Miller, Chief Product Officer at Perk, formerly TravelPerk, to discuss the company’s evolution into an AI-native travel and spend management platform and its global ambitions.

Nikita joined Perk in September 2025 as the Barcelona-founded scale-up was expanding beyond travel into spend and expense management, integrating acquisitions such as Yokoy, and accelerating its growth in the US.

Central to Perk’s strategy is eliminating what Nikita calls “shadow work”: repetitive tasks such as reconciling receipts, managing invoices, booking travel and navigating company policies. By automating these processes, Perk aims to give employees more time for higher-value work.

Nikita argues that the debate around AI should go beyond whether it replaces jobs. While AI can handle repetitive tasks and improve reporting, strategic judgement, decision-making and understanding why a company should pursue a particular direction remain fundamentally human.

The conversation also explores how AI is changing hiring and company structures. Rather than simply reducing headcount, Nikita believes AI is creating demand for new skill sets, particularly systems thinking as businesses develop increasingly interconnected AI-driven products.

Perk is already moving towards a more agentic future, connecting travel, spend, invoices and events while investing in personalisation. Its years of travel and spending data allow it to improve recommendations for travellers and give CFOs and administrators greater visibility over policies, approvals and costs.

Nikita also discusses Perk’s expansion into the US, arguing that its experience operating across complex European markets has prepared it well for localisation abroad. The company’s recent €300 million credit facility is supporting investment across AI, product development, invoicing, corporate cards and new products.

Looking ahead, Nikita describes Perk’s ambition to build a “100-year company” focused on removing administrative complexity and helping people use their time more meaningfully.

Key Points

• Perk’s evolution from TravelPerk into an AI-native travel and spend management platform.
• Eliminating “shadow work” by automating repetitive travel, expense and invoicing tasks.
• Why AI should be judged by the higher-value work it enables, not only its impact on headcount.
• How AI and personalisation are improving recommendations, approvals, reporting and spend visibility.
• Perk’s US expansion and long-term ambition to build a global “100-year company”.

For today’s podcast, produced in association with the Women TechEU scheme, we sit down with Jekaterina Romanova, CEO and co-founder of Latvian biotech startup PrintyMed, to discuss biomimetic spider silk, its medical potential, and the challenges of scaling deep-tech innovation in Europe.

The Women TechEU scheme is an EU-funded project supporting women leading deep tech startup companies from Europe. As part of the consortium team implementing the programme, our mission is to foster inclusive innovation by supporting women-led startups, including under-represented deep tech sectors and European regions. 

We believe that diversity drives innovation, and we are here to provide women in deep tech with more opportunities, resources, and support in order to build market-shaping companies at global level.

Between 2026-2028, the current project consortium will run a continuous open call with 4 cut-off dates. Following a rigorous evaluation process, 160 total beneficiaries will be selected. Each beneficiary will receive €75k grants (non-dilutive finance), as well as a tailored package of mentorship, training, expert guidance, matchmaking and networking opportunities, and support in bridging the gap to other EIC funding and support schemes.

EU-Startups is a proud member of the consortium implementing the Women TechEU Programme from 2026 to 2028.

In this podcast, Jekaterina reflects on her unconventional path into biotechnology. After studying economics and working in banking, she entered entrepreneurship at 18 through a posture-correction clothing startup. She later founded a company developing 3D-printed bone grafts, gaining experience in medical regulation, funding, and commercialisation.

At PrintyMed, Jekaterina leads grants, investment, partnerships, and strategy, while scientists and doctors oversee laboratory research. The company’s biomimetic spider silk technology originated at the Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis and replicates aspects of how spiders naturally produce silk.

PrintyMed’s long-term ambition is to support artificial organs and biological scaffolds. It has developed an artificial heart-valve prototype and is exploring artificial nerves, wound dressings, and regenerative medicine.

Its first commercial focus is membranes for organ-on-a-chip systems, which help pharmaceutical companies and researchers test drugs while reducing animal testing. PrintyMed is already running pilot projects, although products intended for patients will require several more years of certification.

Jekaterina also discusses the importance of European funding. PrintyMed has secured about €2 million in grants, including €75,000 from Women TechEU and roughly €700,000 through a European Innovation Council programme. This support strengthened the company’s expertise in regulation, intellectual property, scaling, and fundraising.

The conversation also covers expansion beyond Europe. PrintyMed is building relationships in Saudi Arabia, where government-backed biotechnology initiatives, research partnerships, and certification opportunities could support international growth.

Jekaterina argues that Europe’s medical-device regulations can slow innovation and calls for controlled fast-track testing environments. She also highlights spider silk’s potential in cosmetics and skincare, following discussions with Chanel about a regenerative cosmetic glove.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.