João Barros: Fundraising in Silicon Valley, building Veniam and selling it to Nexar

I recorded an interview with João Barros, a Portuguese scientist, entrepreneur, and Chief Platform Officer at Nexar Inc. In this interview, João shares his journey from founding Veniam Inc. to its acquisition by Nexar. Learn about João’s experience raising $45.5 million for Veniam and his time in Silicon Valley, where he attracted investments and expanded his network. We covered topics such as the power of data in urban planning, the future of digital mobility, and AI. You can also check out a short article based on this interview: 01:59 The story of founding Veniam in 2012 07:52 First money raised for Veniam 09:10 How companies usually find potential new technologies in universities 10:41 The products of Veniam and StreamBolico at the early stage, first customers 18:10 What happened to Streambollico 19:22 What is Nexar’s product. The integration of Veniam’s and Nexar’s software 22:00 Smart city applications. Customers of Nexar’s services 25:23 Nexar’s business model 29:00 Competition and collaboration 31:52 Investment rounds in Veniam 34:50 Moving from hardware to software 37:31 How are technologies developed? 42:33 The price for registering a patent 42:47 Managing an international team 50:14 Approaches to hiring people 54:18 Product market fit in Veniam 56:59 Feelings when getting an investment 59:32 Challenges and opportunities for the transportation sector 01:01:42 The world with people using public transport and automatic vehicles only 01:04:27 Car sharing services in Portugal 01:05:29 New startup ideas in the field of transportation 01:09:11 Possibility of a fast EV charging 01:10:07 Technologies that might change our lives. Artificial Intelligence 01:14:11 Moving to Silicon Valley in 2014 01:16:23 Developing network in Silicon Valley 01:28:10 Comparing life Portugal and the US 01:32:14 10 years later, is it still worth going to Silicon Valley to do business and raise money? 01:34:00 Is it an advantage that in Portugal you can hire people with less salaries than in Silicon Valley? 01:35:50 Managing a startup remotely without an office 01:37:48 The most valuable lessons João learned in Silicon Valley João Barros on linkedIn Nexar Inc. Subscribe: