There is no talent in Europe – trust is missing.
This is the judgment of the chief scientist of Meta, Yann Lecun, who says that an “inferiority complex” holds back the continent technology industry under European media and investors.
“The main reason why the European technology industry is small is the wrong assumption of the technological inferiority of European media. ” wrote Lecun in an X -Post.
“Perhaps it is even more important that there was a similar inferiority complex on the part of the investors, which made them less willing to take risks if the mere possibility of an American competitor imposes his head. That has changed in recent years.”
TNW conference -The final flash sale is here!
Book your tickets for your tickets for the TNW conference on June 19th to 20th for a 50% discount for a 50% discount.
This reluctance to make brave bets is illustrated in the financing gap over the Atlantic. Despite more than double population, European technology companies have difficulty gaining investments in their American colleagues. In 2024 Startups US -Startups raised $ 178 billion, more than three times the 51 billion USD figure For European Companies according to Crunchbase
Lecun's comments came in response to an X post By Arnaud Bertrand, the French founder of the Rental Marketplace House Trip, who has built up his own fights in Europe.
Bertrand founded Housetrip 2009, a year before the start of a similar startup: Airbnb. House Trip also planned to make the booking of an apartment as easy as the booking of a hotel, but could not compete with its American rival. Airbnb, which is now estimated at over 80 billion USD, became one of the greatest technical successes in the world.
House trip struggled to fight the money with the unicorn. Two years after Airbnb entered the European market in 2012, Bertrand resigned as CEO. In 2016, Tripadvisor acquired the company for an unauthorized amount before he had included it on the holiday holidays on the trip.
Bertrand has taken up social media today to recently resist one Wall Street Journal Article in which the technical sector of Europe was checked. Published on Monday, the piece accused the region of the region sluggish performance In the event of over -regulation, fragmented markets, limited access to capital and a risk -averting business culture.
Bertrand agreed to some criticisms, but added that they are “all secondary”.
“Because of my experience, the most important problem of European startups can be summarized in one word: patriotism,” he said. “
“There is practical [no patriotism] In Europe and above all, it is what kills EU startups or prevents them from developing, ”he continued.
According to Bertrand, one of the reasons why his startup Airbnb was not defeated was a lack of patriotism among investors and media in Europe – a determination to support their own startups.
However, Lecun has a different view of the causes. “I'm not sure if I would call this a lack of patriotism,” he said. “Rather like a lack of self -confidence.”
The technical competitiveness of Europe will be a hot topic TNW conference, which will take place in Amsterdam on June 19 to 20. Tickets for the event are Now for sale – use the code TNWXMedia2025 at the cash register to get a 30% discount.
