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Where Is Europe's Silicon Valley?

Posted by Soulskill on from the self-congratulatory-opinion-pieces dept.

An anonymous reader writes: A New York Times story delves into the conundrum faced by Europeans: Why are there few, if any, technology companies from Europe with the size and reach of American tech giants like Google, Amazon, and Apple? The article hypothesizes that, though employment regulations and other business and legal factors play a role, it's actually deeply embedded cultural differences that are the primary cause, citing less aversion to risk-taking, less stigma from business failures such as bankruptcies, little or no stigma from leaving and rejoining a company (seen as disloyal in European cultures), more acceptance of disruptive innovation, and a less rigid educational system that allows individuals to find their own form of success.

4 of 266 comments (clear)

  1. US Reputation by prefec2 · · Score: 4, Informative

    If you want to start an IT business here in the EU, it is hart to get venture capital. It is easier to go to Silicon Valley and get money from European lenders than to do so on European soil. While the US has such a good reputation for being innovative they have an advantage in getting money. The labor regulations are not a problem, because they are mostly ruined in the last decade and they only come into effect when your company is larger and your people work for longer time.

  2. Few European technology companies? by dskoll · · Score: 3, Informative

    Oh, you mean like Siemens, Philips, Ericsson, BAE Systems, STMicroelectronics, and Logitech? Or possibly much smaller ones like Raspberry Pi, Nginx, AVG Technologies and F-Secure?

    Mostly, the big European technology companies actually make stuff.

  3. Stockholm is for sure on the list. by tidsoptimist · · Score: 5, Informative

    "Stockholm is the home of billion dollar startups in Europe, and by one measure the Swedish capital is second only to Silicon Valley as the birthplace for the world's most successful internet companies." http://www.zdnet.com/article/s... On the other hand there is a lot of other cities that also makes the list. Like London and Helsinki among others.

  4. Re:It's not innovation, it's the market by msobkow · · Score: 4, Informative

    Just wait until someone from Quebec wants to use whatever you're producing and you'll be hearing from the lawyers.

    --
    I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.