The Flywheel, founded by Kostas Fetfatsidis and Dimitrios Kourtesis, aims to jump-start Greece’s next generation of industrial AI startups by offering a fully supported, end-to-end venture studio model.
Seeing the need to facilitate and accelerate the process of establishing and developing startups in the field of artificial intelligence and its applications in industry, defense and energy, two experienced businessmen, Kostas Fetfatsidis and Dimitrios Kourtesis, took the initiative and responded with The Flywheel.
A venture studio, it brings the philosophy of comprehensive support for startup companies to Greece, covering everything from their formation and financing to the development of their business plans. It offers professionals with a profound knowledge of the industry or a strong technological background a direct path to becoming the founders of Europe’s next successful industrial AI startups.
“We’re a company that builds companies,” Fetfatsidis tells Kathimerini.
A second-generation Greek American, the deep-tech entrepreneur has a PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of Massachusetts Lowell and an Executive MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management. His significant professional experience includes Boeing’s acquisition of Aurora Flight Sciences, the acquisition of the VC-backed Make Composites (which he founded and led as CEO), and the $2.5 billion IPO (NYSE) of Desktop Metal, where he served as vice president of composite products. He has extensive experience leading high-performance teams and transforming dual-use technologies into successful products for industry, defense and energy.
“There are a lot of studios like this in Europe, but none in Greece, and we believe that with this move, we can give a fresh boost to the process of developing startups with strong prospects in the field of artificial intelligence,” he says.
“We have already identified an opportunity in the field of AI applications in manufacturing and another in defense,” he adds when asked about whether any interesting prospects have come forward yet.
“By acting as a co-founder, providing initial high-risk capital, and offering continuous operational support to our companies, we are building a mechanism that will enable Europe’s best engineers, operators and researchers to create the next generation of champion industrial AI companies,” explains Kourtesis.
A computer scientist, Kourtesis has two decades of experience in software, spanning research (PhD from the University of Sheffield), consulting (European Commission Joint Research Center), founding software startups (Goodvidio, CO2Path, Article Reader AI), creating a venture builder and startup hub (Ideas Forward), making angel investments (Loceye, which was acquired by Neurons, as well as Athletopia, AidPlex, Nudge Care), co-founding the Hellenic Business Angels Network, and supporting more than 400 startups through acceleration programs and community-building initiatives.
The Flywheel will operate in three capacities: as a co-founder, as a member of the operational team, and as an investor, committing up to €300,000 as an initial investment in each company.
It will be headquartered in Thessaloniki, but it will accept and evaluate ideas and proposals not just from Greece, but from across Europe.
In contrast to traditional early stage venture capital funds, which usually invest after a startup has been established, staffed and brought in its first clients, The Flywheel steps in a lot earlier, co-founding a company around the technical or business know-how being brought to the table by selected founders. Working in partnership with market players, The Flywheel identifies urgent needs and confirms the economic potential of a new product by gathering primary data from customers, users and strategic partners.
Once a specific set of criteria are met, the studio jointly establishes the company and staffs it, with the primary founders retaining up to 80% of the shares. The invitation for the first five founder-in-residence (FiR) positions will open in the first quarter of 2026. The bar is high: After the successful completion of the research phase, the studio will co-found the company and invest up to €300,000, aiming for the startup to generate its first revenue within 12 months and to be ready for scale-up funding. The studio’s goal is to build a portfolio of 15 companies over a five-year horizon.
The studio is supported by a team of private investors that includes Greek-American entrepreneurs, scale-up company founders, experienced business angels and industry chiefs.
