This year’s honorees aren’t inheriting the financial system. They’re building the infrastructure for what comes next.
By Leo Schoenberger, Hannah Hall and Moya Johnson
Let’s face it—compliance is boring. But to Lisa Gradow, it’s an exciting target begging for some AI magic. Sure, billion-dollar AI companies like ChatGPT can handle the paperwork, but the software lacks the safety and privacy that corporations—and government regulators—demand. Gradow founded Fides to build secure software to tackle the often monotonous work of financial regulations. Fides’s tech spares us humans the drudgery of tracking deadlines, sourcing regulatory data, and creating legal documents. “Nobody gets claps for doing it very well,” says Gradow. “So it’s something that can be and should be automated.” She started Fides in 2021 and has raised $7.6 million in funding from investors including Sequoia and General Catalyst. Current clients include Allianz, Haribo, Faber-Castell and Sequoia. Says Gradow: “For us it’s very important to stay a European company, but with a global footprint.”
As the promise—and threat—of generative AI sits on every CEO’s mind, Gradow leads a wave of innovators spotting opportunities to use the new technology to build smart services. To select the 2025 honorees, Forbes collected nominations from Under 30 alumni and the public, conducted our own research and tapped the expertise of independent judges: Yvonne Bajela, Partner at LocalGlobe and Forbes 30 Under 30 2020 lister; Ondrej Bartos, Founder of Credo Ventures and Forbes Midas Europe 2025 lister; Fiona Gallagher, CEO of Wells Fargo Bank International; and Ingo Uytdehaage, Co-CEO of Adyen.
Sebastian Nevols for Forbes
All candidates must have been 29 or younger as of April 9th, 2025, and never before named to a Europe, North America or Asia 30 Under 30 list. Of those named to the final list, 26% identify as people of color, 43% are women or non-binary folks, and 50% are founders.
Hanel Baveja, 29, is emblematic of the new wave of tech-savvy investors rewriting the venture capital playbook. As the youngest investment partner in Creandum’s history, she has rapidly established herself as a powerhouse in European tech investing. By helping launch Creandum’s London presence in 2023, Baveja has not only expanded the firm’s geographical footprint but also led critical investments in AI-driven startups like BoardyAI and Atla AI.
Oliver Kicks, 28, and Yasmin Siraj, 28, further demonstrate how young investors are reshaping early-stage investment landscapes. Kicks has transformed Concept Ventures into an institutional powerhouse with a $65 million Fund I, making a landmark pre-seed investment in ElevenLabs—an AI voice generation company now valued at $3.3 billion. Similarly, Siraj leads biotech investing at Backed VC, utilizing her Harvard and Cambridge academic background to identify and source innovative deals. She cofounded London Bio, a biotech event, and expanded the firm’s bio practice.
This year’s cohort is also leveraging venture capital to tackle impact and energy transition investment. Anil Maguru, 29, is the cofounder of Satgana, an early-stage climate tech VC fund. As a partner at Satgana, Maguru plays a pivotal role in supporting startup founders across Europe and Africa in their mission to create innovative solutions for a more sustainable future. Mareme Dieng, 27, started her journey at 500 Global in 2021 as a venture capital specialist focusing on education, food security and climate change resilience. By 2024, she became the youngest partner at the firm, which manages over $2.7 billion in assets. And finding climate solutions has always been at the forefront of Robert Schmitt’s, 27, entrepreneurial career. At 18, he cofounded his first startup, Vultus, a satellite system providing sustainable fertilizer recommendations using AI (it was acquired by Agdir in November 2024). Today, Schmitt has transitioned to Cork Protocol, which enables traders to price and hedge risks.
For Gradow, it all comes back to strengthening education in the financial community. As she pushes companies to replace entrenched practices in legal tech with automation through Fides, her team continues to prioritize face-to-face boardroom conversations. This year’s honorees aren’t just chasing the latest AI wave—they’re steering where it’s headed next.
This year’s list was edited by Hannah Hall, Moya Johnson and Leonard Schoenberger. For a link to our complete 2025 30 Under 30 Finance list, click here, and for full 2025 30 Under 30 Europe coverage, click here.
