France And Germany To Fund EU Startups To Compete Against Global Tech Heavyweights

Fears that the EU is lagging behind China and USA in developing its own technology companies has raised calls for Europe to invest in its own potential.

Both France and Germany have begun pushing for an EU-wide initiative to help fund innovation and research in technology start-ups across the entirety of its borders so that Europe can one day start to compete more effectively against the likes of China and the United States, instead of just housing the European Headquarters of US and Chinese Firms.

At the Balkan Summit attended by Europe’s leaders earlier in May, Berlin and Paris led the charge for domestic investment and called for the European Innovation Council to fund “ambitious” technology start-ups.

The EU wants to create its own Google, though probably it will have a different name, and probably wont do the same thing.

Working together

“A joint effort is also needed to further improve the venture capital environment and regulations to allow successful market transfer of breakthrough innovations, as well as the foundation and growth of disruptive deep technology companies in Europe,” said the policy initiative paper, according to Reuters.

The aim of the new fund, according to the paper is to create a network capable of kick-starting innovations in science and bring them to the marketplace faster than is currently happening.

Creating a better future

Both Berlin and Paris want to see their project succeed by creating a framework that will focus and include both tech leaders in academia as well as entrepreneurs, and help provide funding for high-risk tech projects that might otherwise be avoided by investors.

France has already promised to put its money where its mouth is by stating they will spend 1.5 billion euros ($1.75 billion) on artificial intelligence by 2022, in an attempt to halt the current brain drain of software and hardware experts to the US and China, with the long term goal of competing dominant US. and Chinese tech giants on an equal footing.

Both France and Germany have cited the more risk-averse like culture that has traditionally existed across Europe, saying that this may be the reason that Europe has no Google like company of its own.