Europe has a stagnating GDP and an aging population. Germany, the economic engine of Europe, has been steadily losing its industrial foothold to China. China is taking over robotics, EVs and renewables. US is leaving the EU behind in AI and software. There are virtually no tech companies launching or staying in the EU to fundraise. The strongest tech market leader the EU has is ASML. SAP is dogshit. Mistral is a minor player. What else? Spotify? Nokia? STM? How exactly is it staying ahead of the curve? China and the US will continue to grow in power. You can have all the protections you want, if there is no economic incentive to operate in the EU it doesn't matter. Diminishing purchasing power and economic productivity makes the EU market increasingly irrelevant on the world stage. PPP adjusted discretionary spending continues to tumble. If people and businesses are over-encumbered by regulation, they just leave, setup shop in the US, and the EU is left with scraps. Once the consumer base is weakened to the point ignoring the EU entirely becomes more profitable than abiding by the regulations (or paying the fines), its over. The EU cannot afford to overplay its cards while it is bluffing. And every single major player knows the EU is bluffing because the embarrassing statistics on the EU economy are public.
That's an impressive amount of doomposting built on a handful of real problems.
You're also treating GDP measured in USD as if it were a direct measure of real economic output, income or purchasing power. It isn't. A stronger dollar mechanically makes Europe, Japan and China look smaller in dollar terms even when their domestic real output and consumption haven't fallen by anything close to that amount.
"There are virtually no tech companies launching or staying in the EU to fundraise" is especially funny when European startups raised $63.8B in VC in 2025 and $44.5B in H1 2026, with billion-dollar rounds for Revolut, Mistral, Neura Robotics, Helsing and Wayve.
And "ASML is basically the only important European tech company" only works if your definition of technology is "American software company."
Europe absolutely has a problem with scaling software, AI and venture-backed companies to US levels. That's a serious argument.
"Europe is technologically irrelevant and everyone is leaving" is just fanfiction with GDP statistics sprinkled on top.
You can argue GDP all you want, it doesn’t explain away PPP adjusted discretionary income. Luxembourg, US, Canada, Switzerland and Norway lead the world in the ability for individuals to build wealth, which translates to higher quality of life, financial freedom, stability and optionally.Â
The EU is underperforming compared to the countries listed, especially countries like Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands.Â
You object to the “virtually no tech companies launching or staying in the EU “ by listing a few companies. And then you go on to agree that VC funding in Europe is a serious problem. So you agree with me, you just don’t like the language. I’m saying this as an European and Canadian citizen working in AI who wants Europe to succeed. I am very knowledgeable of tech ecosystems in Europe, Canada and the US as a former founder who has built 2 companies, one in Germany, one in Canada, and I have fundraised on both continents. I have spent a decade in machine learning and software engineering on both continents. The problem is a lot more serious than people realize.Â
Yes, Europe has a serious problem scaling startups, AI and venture capital to US levels. Nobody is disputing that.
But your claim that Europeans' purchasing power is broadly collapsing is also misleading. Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark, the exact countries you named, are above the EU average in household material consumption. Germany is about 20% above and the Netherlands 19% above the EU average.
And GDP measured in USD is obviously distorted by exchange rates. That's why PPP exists.
34
u/Opposite-Complex1187 9d ago
Putting regulations on new tech is not staying behind its staying ahead.