FEATURE11 December 2017

Hermann Hauser in Seven

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Austrian-born Hermann Hauser is a computer pioneer, tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist. Among the companies he’s founded are Acorn Computers (and its spin-off ARM), Active Book Company, Virata and Net Products. In 1997, he co-founded Amadeus Capital Partners. He is also a fellow of the Royal Society.

HH Amadeus crop

1: What area of tech do you currently find most exciting?

Probably the single largest new tool that we have is this machine-learning tool and AI – which cuts across all tech businesses. We’ve made many investments in that space. Probably the most talent-laden AI company in Britain is Prowler.io here in Cambridge with AI superstar, Carl Rasmussen, its chairman. 

2: What are the three most important things you look for in a business when you decide whether or not to invest in them?

One: size and growth rate of the market. Unless there’s a big market or potential market, it’s not worth doing. Two: the quality of the team. I’m looking for at least one star because once you’ve got one star, especially a global star, you can build the team around them. Three: defensible technology – patents or know-how – if the thing finally works, then people can’t just copy.

3: What is the ...