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david helgason

T2 · manager / operator

Co-founded and led Unity as CEO through IPO ($13B valuation, $2B+ revenue). After Unity, became angel investor then co-founded Transition Ventures, a $150M Fund II focusing on hard tech rewriting industrial systems across energy, compute, and manufacturing.

1 call·1 name·100% bull·last heard 4 months ago·Scaling Europe
track record

no scored calls yet — needs a stated position or a categorical verdict, with a matured window vs SPY

top calls

highest conviction · one per company
1sthigh conviction
$OLEXOlexposition

Transition Ventures backs photonics computing startup Olex targeting biggest market category

Olex is building photonics-based computing chips with a relentless, deeply technical founder (Thiel fellow) assembling top talent from SpaceX and ASML to attack the largest market category in compute.

Scaling Europe2026-05episode →

most discussed · click a bar to filter

  • $OLEX

recurring themes

  • AI Hardware & Chip Architecture1
  • Nuclear Energy1
  • Advanced Manufacturing1
  • Venture Capital1
  • Energy & Power Generation1
1 total
$OLEX
Olex
HIGHdavid helgason·Scaling Europe·4 months ago·Transition Ventures raised $150m Fund II: David Helgason, Co-founder at Transition Ventures· position
Transition Ventures backs photonics computing startup Olex targeting biggest market category
Olex is building photonics-based computing chips with a relentless, deeply technical founder (Thiel fellow) assembling top talent from SpaceX and ASML to attack the largest market category in compute.
"Yeah we got to invest in Olex early. I mean early it's a very young company still. And uh you know, it's just a uh it's incredible that that the the talent is assembled around him…"
7:09
9
AI Hardware & Chip Architecturetailwind
Photonics-based compute emerges as fundamental challenger to electronic chips
Photonics computing (exemplified by Olex) represents a foundational shift in the compute stack, attracting elite technical founders and targeting the largest addressable market in technology as electronic scaling hits physical limits.
8
Nuclear Energytailwind
Small modular reactors becoming fundable in Europe as energy constraints intensify
Founders with SpaceX-style aggressive execution are now tackling small modular nuclear reactors in Europe, a category that was unimaginable a decade ago, driven by urgent power constraints from AI data centers.
8
Advanced Manufacturingtailwind
Hardware development velocity now matches software via AI tools and SpaceX playbook
Modern methodologies, AI-assisted design, accessible global supply chains, and a mindset shift from aggressive operators (SpaceX alumni) enable hardware startups to iterate at software-like speeds, overturning the traditional slow-hardware venture assumption.
8
Venture Capitalheadwind
Traditional enterprise SaaS model obsolete as software creation becomes near-zero cost
With AI making software creation extremely cheap, the classic high-margin enterprise SaaS playbook no longer works; venture returns now require backing hard tech that rewrites physical industrial systems — energy, compute, manufacturing — where defensibility is physical not just code.
7
Energy & Power Generationtailwind
Power and mineral constraints redefine planetary boundaries investment framework
Using the Stockholm Resilience Centre's planetary boundaries framework, Transition identifies power availability and critical mineral supply as the binding constraints for AI and industrial transformation, directing capital to energy generation, grid infrastructure, and resource efficiency.
7
Data Center Infrastructuretailwind
Full-stack data center innovation from cooling to power creates venture opportunities
Transition Ventures has mapped opportunities across the entire data center stack — cooling, energy, compute — recognizing that AI-driven demand creates systemic bottlenecks requiring integrated hardware solutions beyond just chips.