HOST A 2026 ROUNDTABLE

WHAT'S A RIPPLE?

The Drop aims to get action-oriented minds in climate tech to meet and open our minds together. The Ripples is a format to get attendees to organize round table discussions (well, around pallets actually).

Like all other things happening at The Drop, the Ripples are not marketing or a place where a few people blast and brag. So, we want a discussion and something that everyone learns and grows from.

WHEN & WHERE ARE THE RIPPLES?

All Ripple take place at the main venue, Lokstallarna,on Wednesday, September 16th, 2026.

STRUCTURE & SETUP

  • One subject that fits into one of the tracks (infra, labour, nature, geopolitics)

  • 2 hosts (investors from different organizations)

  • 45 minutes

  • Seating for 20, plus standing space around the table

  • Silent-disco headphones so any number of people at the venue can listen in

  • 2 cabled handheld mics at the table

  • No additional equipment beyond microphones and headphones provided (no whiteboards, flipcharts, post-its, screens, etc.)

Ripple 2026 Tracks

When planning your Ripple topic, it should fall within one of our four tracks: Infrastructure, Labour, Nature, or Geopolitics. Read more on each below.

CORE THEME

The Drop 2026: Borrowing from the Future

Capital is being deployed now for futures the must arrive on schedule - but grids, demographics, and ecosystems don't move at software speed. That gap is where the decade's biggest risks and opportunities live.

Track 1: Infrastructure & Industry

We're pouring capital into data centres, energy systems, and factories that only pencil out if AI delivers massive returns, grids expand fast, and hardware scales smoothly. The question isn't if these systems work - it's whether they arrive fast enough to justify what we're spending now.

Infrastructure topic requests:

  • Software is eating the physical world — just slower than expected:

    Digitising energy systems, logistics, construction, food, and industry is inevitable. But adoption curves are long, messy, and capital-intensive.

  • Markets that exist because the old ones broke:

    Manufacturing, logistics, and finance are trillion-dollar markets, but legacy solutions often cannot keep up with new technology or market pressure.

  • Energy in Europe: can we double it:

    What would it take to 2× European energy production while staying while staying within climate constraints? What are the real bottlenecks: grids, permitting, capital, or politics?

  • Preparing for disruption:

    How should companies, investors, and communities prepare for disasters, systemic shocks, or conflict?

  • Cybersecurity for physical assets:

    As infrastructure becomes connected and autonomous, what does protecting energy systems, factories, and supply chains actually require?

Track 2: Labour, Demographics & Automation

Falling birth rates, tighter immigration, and accelerating automation are converging. Fewer people will enter the workforce just as fewer jobs require them. This isn't a productivity story - it's a question of who funds societies, delivers care, and captures value when wage labour stops being the default.

Labour topic requests:

  • Who builds the transition:

    The energy transition requires electricians, installers, engineers, and construction workers. Where will they come from?

  • Birthrates, ageing populations, and the future of labour:

    How do shrinking workforces affect growth, innovation, and industrial policy?

  • Robotics vs labour shortages:

    Will automation arrive fast enough to offset demographic decline?

  • Migration vs automation:

    How will political resistance to migration shape labour markets and technology adoption?

  • Productivity tools for scarce workers:

    Will the biggest companies amplify human labour rather than replace it?

  • AI and the end of SaaS moats:

    If AI commoditizes software, what kinds of companies still build durable advantages?

  • The AI infrastructure boom:

    Data centres, compute supply chains, and energy demand are exploding. Are we in a durable build-out or a bubble?

  • AI investing in capital-heavy industries:

    What happens when AI meets steel, logistics, agriculture, and energy — sectors where software historically struggled to penetrate?

Track 3: Climate, Nature & Risk

Agriculture has maintained by quietly depleting soil and biodiversity. Technology makes extraction more efficient, not more regenerative. The risk isn't sudden collapse - it's slow degradation that compounds silently until it's expensive and irreversible. By then, it's too late to price in.

Nature topic requests:

  • How bad is it really?

    What does the latest climate science say about risk, timelines, and planetary boundaries in terms investors can understand?

  • Defense, climate, and security:

    Where do these sectors overlap — and are there investable opportunities that strengthen both?

  • Peace tech:

    Can technology meaningfully reduce the risk or impact of conflict?

Track 4: Geopolitics & Fragmentation

Energy, chips, food, and minerals are no longer markets - they're security infrastructure. Governments are choosing resilience over efficiency, local redundancy over global optimization. That means distorted pricing, policy-driven winners, and regulatory whiplash - but also guaranteed demand for assets in the right places.

Geopolitics topic requests:

  • Europe as a feature, not a bug:

    Global fragmentation, regulation, and slower markets could create more resilient companies rather than weaker ones.

  • Regulation as a design constraint:

    Regulation increasingly defines what companies can exist — not just how risky they are.

  • Geopolitical fragmentation and startups:

    What happens to venture when the world becomes less globalized?

  • China and the climate transition:

    Is China the largest climate actor in the world — intentionally or not?

  • Should Europe unify its startup market?

    Would deeper integration help startups scale — or erase useful regional advantages?

GOOD THINKGS TO THINK ABOUT BEFORE APPLYING TO HOST

1. Choosing your Ripple topic

Strong Ripples are focused and specific, concrete and discussion-driven.

When shaping your topic, try to avoid:

  • Very broad or generic ideas (e.g. “We need to invest in climate”).

  • General startup advice (e.g. “How to help founders with X”), unless it’s highly climate-specific (like FOAK, CAPEX financing, etc.).

  • Topics centered on a single portfolio company or designed to directly promote your fund.

2. Choosing hosts

Ripples should have two hosts, ideally investors from different funds.

You’ll be responsible for choosing and inviting co-hosts. To keep the format consistent, startup founders won’t be considered for host roles.

3. Preparing your application answers

The answers you submit should be as close to final as possible. If your Ripple is approved, they may be used as is on The Drop website and in communications, though there may be an opportunity for light edits to improve clarity or consistency.

To make this easy we recommend preparing your answers in advance. Here’s what you’ll be asked to submit:

  • A Ripple title (45 characters or fewer)

  • A 1–2 sentence description of what your Ripple is about

  • Why this topic is timely or urgent in 2026

  • Up to three key questions or challenges your Ripple will explore

  • Who will get the most value from attending your Ripple

Want to host a ripple?

Apply now

We will go through the submissions we will give you feedback and work towards approving the Ripple.