According to Bloomberg reports dated September 13, investors across Europe express growing concerns about insufficient capital and structural obstacles that threaten the region’s competitiveness in artificial intelligence development.
Virginie Morgon, former CEO of Eurazeo SE, noted that “Europe has much more limited capacity than the United States to support its leaders in ultrafast growth,” highlighting deficiencies in the depth of capital markets and the number of participants financing scalable companies.
European entrepreneurs point to a range of challenges, including funding gaps and systemic issues hindering business expansion. Pitchbook analyst Navina Rajan emphasized that “larger pools of European capital” are missing for development—a necessity if the region aims to maintain global competitiveness in AI.
Morgon also cited Europe’s sluggish technology IPO market, which reduces the region’s attractiveness for raising capital. Pasqal CEO Vasik Bokhari described how late-stage funding shortages place high-potential companies in a “structurally disadvantageous position.”
John Borthwick, founder of Betaworks venture fund, stated: “Europe needs AI, and AI needs Europe. If there was a stronger and more clearly defined European vision for the future, it would allow us to retain and attract talented specialists back.”
Eleonora Crespu, CEO of Pigment business planning platform, noted that bureaucratic delays in capital raising, client contracts, and staff hiring significantly slow business processes across Europe.
Oxford Economics data shows Europe has made little progress in closing the investment gap since Mario Draghi, former head of the European Central Bank, published a landmark competitiveness report in September 2024. Bloomberg also reported that German Minister of Digitalization and Modernization Carsten Wildberger noted Germany’s data centers cannot meet the growing demand for AI development.
