Why Europe Failed in Tech

Get ready for an enlightening deep-dive into one of the most intriguing questions of the tech industry: 'Why has Europe struggled to produce its own tech giants like Apple or Google?' This thought-provoking analysis will unravel the complexities of Europe's tech sector, shedding light on the factors contributing to Silicon Valley's dominance.

From regulatory challenges and startup culture to investment ecosystems and education, we will cover a wide range of factors that have stymied Europe's rise as a tech powerhouse. Featuring expert opinions, comprehensive research, and compelling data, this video dissects the root causes of this technological disparity.

If you're interested in technology, entrepreneurship, or global economic dynamics, you won't want to miss this. Join us as we delve into the untold story of Europe's tech industry, presenting insights that have yet to be widely discussed.

Don't forget to like, share, and comment on your views about this issue. Let's spark a conversation that might just change the future of the tech world!

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[CuriousReason]

"The USA innovates, China replicates and Europe regulates".

[jbi]

They don’t fail in Tech; they fail in Tech market.

[innovu]

I founded a patent attorney and engineering consulting firm in Israel.
I then tried to expand to London, UK. I found there, to my surprise, an anti-innovation atmosphere.
Some tend to reject, sneer at, or hinder innovation.
After incurring heavy losses, I closed that London office.

[pavstp]

It is easier to enter the EU by boat than through the government.

[Antros]

Mentioning airbus failing vs Boeing didn't age well😂😂

[dimitarmargaritov]

We are constantly shooting ourselves in the foot with mostly meaningless regulations, heavy taxes on prospering businesses and so on.

[zzip]

It is very annoying when misusing "tech" instead of "software".
Most of the US companies mentioned are actually software.

[dave]

if a small market with english as not a native language is so detrimental to tech development how come Israel, estonia or singapore achieved success? its all about regulations...

[ingemar_von_zweigbergk]

eu needs to have to have the same business laws in every eu country
to enable a company to more easily do business throughout the eu

[SingularityZro]

From personal experience, I can say that people who have always been politicians, and EU administrative workers, are always really excited about the fact, that the EU regulates preemptively, and the hardest. From a tech-entrepreneur perspective, that meant for me that I e.G. worked quite some time in the Blockchain Industry, and was eager to fund my own useful idea in the space. Until I had a close look at MICA, and my LTD what you have to do to just be allowed to start your business (maybe), or what could come, I gave it a pass. Now I am working on AI stuff, and the exact discussions start all over again, even to ban products like chat GTP, Bard did not even make it to Europe because of this. The EU is very good at killing its new tech industries before they start. E.g. in the very beginning, Berlin was considered the Blockchain Tech hub. To put it harshly, the people in charge of the EU and most counties in the EU are often old, and run it more like a "Ludditocracy" ;-) That does naturally not go well with wanting to be a hotspot for applied tech innovation & business.

[yanglee]

I have to say it's a logical and reasonable report.

The overall environment in Europe cannot compete with USA, Canada and Asia, especially the East Asian countries.

[laulaja-]

"How can it be that the most developed part of the world..." There's the problem right there: Living in the increasingly distant past. Europe has a lot of good things going for it, but ignorance about the outside world can breed complacency. Northeast Asia, North America, and Down Under are all highly competitive. And there are bright spots elsewhere too, like Singapore, Bangalore, and Israel.

[HobbesRochester]

The Airbus comment did not age well. Risk version in an airplane company seems the right way to go.

[Nicky_TM]

The story of Dutch tech giant Philips declining from a massive company that owned entire towns to what it is now is very sad

[DC]

1) On the flipside U.S. has currently major problems with having so large companies that they can sway politics, avoid taxation and local regulation. They pay 0-3% tax compared to normal 10-35%. In this aspect, EU has better diversity of small and medium sized companies.
2) There is clear trend of reshoring electronic manufacturing from Asia closer to the western markets due to geopolitical reasons. This has become possible from highly automated factories, so I wouldn't personally bet on Asia having tech manufacturing in this large percentage in 10 years time
3) EU is the most advanced market in material recycling. This will support domestic manufacturing efforts when materials can be sourced through recycling
4) Places like Silicon Valley used to attract the best and brightest from Europe, but it's attractiveness is on significant decline. I would not bet Silicon valley to be the only technological success story in 10 years time.

Despite these points, I fully agree with some others in the comments, that EU has severe problems with overburdening bureaucracy, and we would need to cull 25-30% of the rules and especially people watching over others to truly become successful in industries like tech (too many people's job is basically stamping digital papers and passing it to the next person). That and also bold investments into larger companies to scale inside the EU.

[ThePipton]

Europe does not fail in tech (as your academic examples show), it just has a very different way of capatlising on it. There is more of an atmosphere that things should be done for everyone, hence a large opensource community. European businesses are traditionally also smaller, so focussing on the largest companies also skews the statistics

[allo-other]

I agree that complex regulatory environments would comprise a barrier to the expansion of ANY business into broader markets. However, "tech" is a very broad category --- from commercialized software (advertising and personal-data collection-cum-marketing) platforms to design and technically-challenging manufacturing in FABs. Even within semiconductor manufacture, the disparities in quality are huge --- Taiwan vs China, for example.

[RobOfTheNorth]

There is a simple explanation - military spending. While the biggest tech companies are not directly related to the military, the vast majority of the US tech companies innovations originated from military spending.

[frankjohnon]

yoo u making so intresting and valuable content. dont stop please, humanity needs people like u!

[Naruedyoh]

Do you understand that the EU is not a single country? It has a common economic market, but still they're 20+ countries.