European Union President Ursula von der Leyen, starting her second term, emphasizes scaling startups as crucial for EU competitiveness. She identifies an "innovation gap," highlighting that while Europe matches the US and China in patent applications, only a third are commercially exploited. Von der Leyen aims to address this by increasing startup investment and reducing regulatory burdens.
Key Initiatives:
- Appointing Ekaterina Zaharieva as the first commissioner focused on startups.
- Focusing on "frontier technologies" under commissioner Henna Virkkunen.
- Proposing a European Savings and Investments Union led by Maria Luís Albuquerque to boost private investment in R&D.
- Tasking Valdis Dombrovskis with simplifying regulations to ease business scaling within the single market.
Von der Leyen acknowledges Europe's lag in private R&D spending compared to China and the US. She believes streamlining regulations and simplifying the legal landscape are essential for businesses to scale. This focus on scaling innovative businesses aligns with recent trends, such as Pony.ai's Nasdaq IPO, indicating growing investment in future technologies. However, a cultural shift towards greater risk-taking by regional investors may also be necessary. For more on the challenges facing European tech, see Venture funding in Europe fell to $45B in 2024 and The EU just re-elected its president for another five years.