Building Europe’s tech supercluster
Just dropped: new podcast ep on how Europe must stop being a follower and start becoming the master of its own tech destiny.
Featuring powerhouse guests:
🔹 Saul Klein - Legendary investor, founder of LocalGlobe & Phoenix Court, bringing decades of Silicon Valley and European tech insights
🔹 Constantijn Van Oranje-Nassau - Special Envoy for Technology & Innovation at Techleap, driving Europe's digital transformation from the highest levels
With Dealroom’s Orla Browne and unzip.media’s Andrii Degeler
We're sharing exclusive, never-before-seen data that reveals exactly where Europe stands in the global tech race—and the specific moves we need to make to win.
Top Moments & Timestamps:
01:23 – What is tech sovereignty, really?
From national security to economic inclusion, the panel defines why autonomy in infrastructure, platforms, and data is now mission-critical for Europe.07:45 – Introducing ‘New Palo Alto’
A high-speed train ride away: London, Amsterdam, Paris, Brussels, and more are converging into one supercluster—outpacing Silicon Valley in startup capital and university talent.19:00 – Can Europe build its own tech stack?
Spoiler: not yet. But it might not need to recreate AWS or Nvidia—just reinvent the infrastructure of the future.30:20 – New Palo Alto: The world’s #2 ecosystem
Dealroom data reveals New Palo Alto leads globally in early-stage VC capital and founder talent—yet falters at late-stage scaling.43:00 – Where’s the money?
The big capital gap: only 21% of scale-up funding in Europe is domestic, compared to 76% in the Bay Area. Fixing this means activating pension funds, which are starting to wake up.53:00 – Can pension funds really fuel VC?
Yes—but it's taken a decade of trust-building. Now, European funds are committing billions to VC, including generalist, fintech, and deep tech portfolios.
The question isn't whether Europe can compete with Silicon Valley. It's whether we're bold enough to surpass it.
For 70 years, Palo Alto has been the cradle of innovation, built on a critical mass of individual entrepreneurial spirit.
Now it’s time for Europe to compete at the next level—acknowledge the template from across the pond and make it her own.
Some of the most iconic US cities take their names from European counterparts, from New Amsterdam/York to New Orleans.
It’s time for Europe to build New Palo Alto.
Watch now and discover the data-driven roadmap to European tech dominance. Link in comments
What's your take - is Europe ready to lead the next wave of global innovation?