Venture Lead, New Markets (m/f/d)

Description **This position is based in Germany, Bulgaria or the UK with hybrid or remote working options. Applicants must hold a valid work/residence permit for the respective location.** Chaos is a leading global software company that provides world-class visualization and design solutions, empowering creative minds to bring ideas to life. For over twenty years, Chaos has developed innovative technologies serving multiple industries, including architecture and design, media and entertainment, and product e-commerce. Chaos’ solutions help architects, designers, VFX artists/animators, and other creative professionals share ideas, optimize workflows, and create immersive experiences. Headquartered in Karlsruhe, Germany, Chaos is a global company with offices in 11 cities worldwide. In 2022, Chaos and Enscape merged, bringing together two industry-leading companies into one. Since then, Chaos has continued to grow with the additions of Cylindo, AXYZ Design, and Evolve Lab, further expanding our expertise and solutions across architecture, design, e-commerce, and AI. For more information, please visit chaos.com. Role Overview The Venture Lead, New Markets at Chaos Software identifies and develops new business opportunities for the rendering, real-time and AI technology behind V-Ray, Corona, Vantage and Anima. The role focuses on markets beyond architectural visualisation and media and entertainment, including new verticals, use cases and business models such as synthetic data and AI training pipelines. As a hands-on individual contributor in an early-stage environment, the role tests product-market-fit hypotheses, engages the first customers, builds proofs of concept with technical teams, and brings evidence-based recommendations to senior leadership, the Executive Leadership Team and the Board. This role requires a commercially sharp professional with a track record of building new businesses from scratch and the ability to work independently under ambiguity. Main Responsibilities Lead the commercial validation of selected new use cases, such as positioning Chaos technology as a synthetic data and AI training pipeline solution, from first hypothesis to validated opportunity. Identify and prioritise new verticals and use cases beyond visualisation, architecture and media and entertainment where Chaos technology creates a clear advantage. Formulate product-market-fit hypotheses and design fast, low-cost tests to validate or discard them. Size markets and opportunities, map the competitive landscape, and define target customer profiles and value propositions. Identify, approach and pitch potential customers and partners directly, and convert early conversations into pilots and paying engagements. Build proofs of concept with engineering and product teams, translating customer needs into clear scope and success criteria. Develop pricing and business-model hypotheses for each new opportunity. Report progress, learnings and recommendations to senior stakeholders, including the ELT and the Board, with clear go/no-go business cases. Requirements Required Experience At least 5 years of professional experience, including startup, venture-building or strategy consulting experience. A track record of taking something from zero to one: a company, product, new business line or market entry. Hands-on experience in customer discovery, market sizing, business case development and selling to B2B customers. Experience working with technical teams and engaging credibly on technology, ideally in software, AI or data products. Exposure to 3D, rendering, computer vision, simulation, synthetic data or AI/ML training workflows is an advantage. Required Skills Structures ambiguous problems into hypotheses, options and clear decisions, and tests them quickly and cheaply. Identifies where Chaos technology creates value and who will pay for it, and builds the case with evidence. Pitches to customers and presents to the ELT and Board with clarity, and recommends stopping an initiative when the evidence does not support it. Works independently and does the hands-on work personally, from customer outreach to proof-of-concept scoping. Learns quickly what the rendering and AI stack can and cannot do, and engages credibly with engineers. Fluent English required