EU-Startups

October 4th, this weekend, marks 16 years since I launched EU-Startups.com. 😅 After 16 years of reporting about the European startup ecosystem and seeing it evolve, one thing has become increasingly clear to me: Europe doesn't have an innovation or a talent problem. It has an ambition and scaling problem! Europe knows how to create startups. We have exceptional founders. World-class universities. Deep technical talent. Strong startup hubs from Helsinki to Lisbon, Paris to Warsaw. But something changes when a European startup starts becoming really successful. Suddenly, the question becomes: Do we still build a global category leader from Europe, or do we move the headquarters to the US, closer to the capital, customers and risk appetite? Why? Because of speed, easier market-access, less fragmentation, and access to growth-capital. A founder trying to scale across Europe still has to navigate different markets, regulations, hiring environments, tax systems and business cultures. That's why I can't wait to see EU Inc coming into force in the future. The US doesn't win purely because its founders are sometimes more ambitious. It wins because ambitious companies can move faster once they find product-market fit. That is the part Europe needs to get much better at. The goal shouldn't be to convince founders to stay in Europe out of patriotism. The goal should be to make staying in Europe the most rational business decision for an ambitious founder! More capital will surely help. But capital follows opportunity. Europe also needs an even more streamlined single market, faster decisions, more ambitious innovators, more experienced growth talent, and a culture that is considerably more comfortable with people trying to build something enormous. Over the past 16 years of EU-Startups observing the scene, Europe has built a genuinely impressive startup ecosystem. In the next decades we will hopefully see even more great startups being created and staying in Europe, and some truly global category leaders from Europe. Let's do it! 🚀 What is the most important aspect or law YOU would change to make that happen? #Startups #Europe #Entrepreneurship #EUINC

AI has moved from experimentation to becoming a defining force in how companies operate, research is conducted and industries evolve. 🤖 🇪🇺 Europe is playing an important role, with researchers, founders and technology leaders building everything from frontier models and AI agents to healthcare applications, cybersecurity tools and autonomous systems. In this article, we highlight 50 of Europe’s leading AI figures, spanning the people shaping what gets researched, built, funded and deployed across the continent. Want to know the people shaping Europe’s AI future? https://lnkd.in/eK-Kna44

The Hong Kong Electronics Fair (Autumn Edition) returns this October, bringing the latest innovations and global opportunities to Hong Kong. 🚀 🇭🇰 Key highlighted themes: • AI & Robotics – dedicated RoboPark with live demonstrations • Smart Wellness – digital health, wearables and elderly-care technologies • NEXTEntertainment – XR, smart gaming and immersive experiences Discover tomorrow’s brands at: • Startup Zone – where emerging tech innovators take centre stage • RISE Avenue – showcasing the next wave of rising electronic brands Also don’t miss: • Future Industries Zone (NEW) • GoGlobal Connect Zone (NEW) • Hall of Fame Register for your free e-badge now: https://lnkd.in/e49_c_Pv 📅 13–16 October 2026 📍 Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre Event details: https://lnkd.in/gaMaG4kj Concurrent event – electronicAsia: https://lnkd.in/gSGnHem3 #HKElectronicsfair #HKTDC #EFAE #TechFair

On September 22-23, AI SUMMIT BARCELONA will bring together 10,000+ founders, builders, investors and AI leaders at the World Trade Center Barcelona. 🚀 🇪🇸 Expect 200+ speakers, seven content tracks, keynotes, expert panels, live demonstrations and hands-on workshops, with leaders from Anthropic, NVIDIA, Google Cloud, AWS, Microsoft, OpenAI, Cloudflare, SAP, Databricks, J.P. Morgan and Hugging Face. 🎟️ Get your ticket: https://lnkd.in/erRHJbS3

BOOKR Kids, a Budapest-based EdTech company behind BOOKR Class, has completed a €6.1 million Series A raise to develop their learning platform focused on literacy, language development and AI readiness 🇭🇺 📚 The raise was led by TCEE Fund IV, advised by 3TS Capital Partners, with participation from Leib Lurie of US literacy nonprofit Kids Read Now; Robert Iskander, Chairman and CEO of SchoolDay; Infinit Capital Oy, the Koponen family’s Finnish investment vehicle; and Hungarian angel investor and Billingo CEO Albert Sárospataki through the FusionWise angel syndicate. “The next generation will not compete with AI on speed. They will need to compete on depth: comprehension, curiosity, judgement and the ability to ask better questions. This investment allows BOOKR to build the learning infrastructure behind those capabilities – and to take it to millions more children around the world,” says Dr. Dorka Horváth, PhD, CEO and co-founder of BOOKR Kids. https://lnkd.in/eAiM4umd

🗓️ Mark your calendars for November 25–26, 2026, as Budapest hosts the first edition of the MeOut Summit, powered by EU-Startups 🚀 This flagship gathering will bring together 1,000+ founders, investors, corporates, and ecosystem builders from across Europe for two days of high-impact networking, inspiring keynotes, and hands-on collaboration. 👉 Stay tuned — tickets are now available: https://lnkd.in/edb7FbAv