Europe's AI-and-Science Edge: Raffi Kamber on Turning Labs into Companies
Key points
Key takeaways from Scaling Europe interview with Singular co-founder and General Partner Raffi Kamber (October 2026):
The core thesis. Europe has a unique edge at the intersection of AI and science: talent density in scientific disciplines is distributed across the continent, and a new generation of researchers now carries the entrepreneurial DNA to turn that research into companies.
Backing Basecamp Research. Kamber describes the bet on Basecamp Research, first involved at its Series B in late 2024: the company builds a genomics-driven knowledge graph across 30+ countries, and Singular sees data as the foundation for nurturing models that can eventually output medicines.
Data over LLM wrappers. Singular's science-AI portfolio avoids plain LLM applications; in biology, proprietary fundamental data is the scarce asset, and the firm backs companies that own it rather than those applying generic models.
Helping researchers become founders. The investor's role has shifted to guiding academics on company building — sequencing execution, finding partners, framing the narrative for a broader audience — without touching the science itself, which Kamber concedes founders know best.
Betting on London. The UK is the largest venture market and a natural bridge to the US, and the firm is growing its team there, with Laura McGinnis joining as partner in 2026; Paris and London remain the strongest academic spinout hubs, though the edge is European-wide.
Vibe's exit. Singular backed Vibe at a tipping point for video advertising, and the company's acquisition by Walmart during summer for $1.4B lets the fund repay half of its fund in year four — a rare early signal in European venture.
A third fund on the horizon. Still in years five to six of building the firm, Singular views a third fund as a continuation: a concentrated team, low volume, high conviction, and an opportunistic, non-consensus approach across AI and science, dev tools and cyber security.
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