The three things that changed the face of European tech

Technology
New Decade Europe Tech sifted | James Alexander Michie

It is clear that European technology is entering the 2020s in a much better way than the one that began in the 2010s. And, in 2010, European technology had a different face.

Certainly, there were some European technology companies that were successful on a large scale, such as the French engineer or the Italian Olivetti, but never really passed the baton.

You could say that this is because they stopped working altogether or because their success had been linked to a corporate world that was far removed from local startup communities.

Likewise, an ecosystem that works is about passing the witness to the next generation. The lack of precedents explains why European technology entrepreneurs struggled to succeed 10 years ago.

But the 2010s brought change. Three trends contributed to European technology coming out of the stalemate.

European tech

It is important to indicate that there were three really important factors that undoubtedly gave a change to the face of European technology. First, there was a crisis, after that, there was technology from China and finally the “techlash” arrived.

Certainly, these aspects have been protagonists of this change in European technology. And it is that on the one hand, the financial crisis at the macroeconomic level provoked a vigorous response from the central banks that later translated into a massive influx of capital into the economy. The crisis also transformed entrepreneurship as a state. Before, founding a startup was a call to maladaptive on the sidelines. After the crisis, it became a relatively attractive option for any ambitious person.

On the other hand, the second contribution to the growth of European technology has been the emergence of China as a technological power. Since at the beginning of the decade, only a handful of people knew that interesting things were happening in places like Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Hangzhou. It was only with Alibaba’s initial public offering in 2014 that the power of the Chinese tech giants appeared for everyone to see. Seen from Europe, the perspective changed. The recovery of China revealed that there was more than one playbook for the growth of successful technology companies on a continental scale.

Finally, the third factor is the so-called “techlash” might not seem obvious, since it gives ammunition to all those, in government, the corporate world, the academy, who would prefer that European technology companies fail. But like the rise of China, techlash has also created a context in which European entrepreneurs can reposition themselves to maximize their chances of success. Techlash forces technology companies to finally deal with local specificities, which gives European players an advantage in maneuvering in a fragmented market.

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Source: Nicolas Colin | sifted

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