Robert Lacher invests without sticking to a fixed thesis, believing that in fast-moving fields like AI, having a hypothesis already means it's outdated, and he looks for companies most spreadsheets would turn down before they later seem obviously right; he's also known for turning his network into real speed, like connecting a defense startup to Dassault and KNDS within two weeks, and for staying quiet about publicity when a defense technology has real battlefield impact. He's built a rare reputation that spans both software and defense/hard tech, calling defense the most complex and interesting space he's worked in since it now blends software and hardware, and he's publicly argued that Europe's biggest AI opportunity lies in the application layer rather than foundation models, while also backing efforts like the 2025 call to pause the AI Act until it's clearer how it would work in practice.