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This is hilarious. There is no such thing as the "Silicon Valley of Europe".
Munich (or better yet the entire the Bavaria region) can likely be crowned the scientific innovation hub of Europe (truth be told they actually lead the world in certain fields).
There are start up incubators / hubs set up everywhere these days in Europe. No one region is famous for them over the others (one can say a bunch are better than the rest, but not just a single city alone holds the "Silicon Valley" label).
I agree, the European 'tech' sector is too conservative, chronically lacks funding, and initiative to start successful tech companies. Then again, Silicon Valley itself is greatly overrated and has gone to glory in my opinion. I've had a few interviews there and it was nothing special. It's more about 'how to make people look at ads these day' than technology.
that is a fair point. A lot of new start-ups with a lot of real potential base themselves else where like Boston, D.C, Denver, or even Austin in the US. that being said Silicon valley still does a lot of research and world changing work from the companies already established there (Google, intel, Oracle, etc.)
Not really. If you look at venture capital investment broken out by state, California is 10x larger than anyone else. New York and Boston are #2 and #2A but they're tiny compared to the Bay Area. It then drops off another logarithmic step from there. Seattle, Raleigh-Durham, Atlanta along with DC, Denver, and Austin that you named. Sure, there are startups in Denver and Austin but it's low single digit percentage of the venture capital pie. I spent most of my career in the metro Boston tech startup game. If you don't have VC, you don't have a startup unless it's a couple guys in the basement with some angel money. I've done those, too.
Are we still allowed to call London "Europe"? That's by far the most vibrant tech startup place and the easiest place to get capital. Munich is #2 but there is a pretty big gap between London and Munich. I can't think of anything where Berlin is on the bleeding edge of innovation where startups tend to flourish.
It would be difficult for Germany to be the tech startup of the world. German investors like companies that make money. Their banks make loans to companies that make money. Silicon Valley startups are funded by people making those decisions that can invest other people's money who don't care to know how the hot dog is made.
Hence, a lot of innovation in Germany is incremental and comes from the established players. There has to be a ready market. The idea of starting a company that may or may not succeed in developing a product that has no monetization capability beyond being valuable to others to whom you hope to sell the company....but without the upfront protections of said company....starts to sound insane.
Plus, the labor market in Germany is all wrong for tech innovation startup. There are labor protections for citizens there that don't work well with companies that have limited funds and fast changing futures. People are more expendable in the Valley.
I agree with the last poster. Shenzhen is the new innovation hotspot. The supply chain has moved. It's only natural that the engineering follows. Silicon Valley has reduced itself to a designer city, with several countries vying to take the prize once discovered.
Berlin, the capital of Germany, is considered Europe's Silicon Valley with thousands of start-ups, hundreds of super cool night clubs and bars, parks, lakes, perfect public transportation, and high walkability score. German beer is $1USD per bottle. German sausage is the best in the world. Rent for 2-bedroom apartment in Berlin is around $1,200 Euro, equivalent to $1,350 USD. Rent in San Francisco and Silicon Valley for 2-bedroom apartment is $3,500 USD to $5,000 USD.
I believe Germany has a special program similar to "Green Card" for highly-skilled foreign professionals.
For the young American IT professionals who can't afford San Francisco or Silicon Valley, is Berlin a better choice? What's the catch?
The fact that one is silicon valley and the other one identifies itself by the same name should tell you winch one really runs technology even in another continent. I'm sure silicon valley companies have a larger impact on Berlin than those local startups. I personally don't think Berlin is a better choice simply due to its proximity to the ocean, or a sorta kinda nice sea. Now many cities on the Mediterranean I'd take over the Bay, but not Berlin.
There is no Silicon Valley of Europe. Each country has its own humble tech hot spots, but they tend to come and go.
I actually think this distributed tech landscape is preferable to the highly concentrated one in the Bay Area.
People stay down-to-earth, there is much less money involved. The risk is also spread around. A huge quake or an atomic bomb could destroy the entire Bay Area.
The term Silicon Valley wouldn't even make much sense with modern tech, anyway, as microelectronics is just one minor area of high tech now.
It would be difficult for Germany to be the tech startup of the world. German investors like companies that make money. Their banks make loans to companies that make money. Silicon Valley startups are funded by people making those decisions that can invest other people's money who don't care to know how the hot dog is made.
Hence, a lot of innovation in Germany is incremental and comes from the established players. There has to be a ready market. The idea of starting a company that may or may not succeed in developing a product that has no monetization capability beyond being valuable to others to whom you hope to sell the company....but without the upfront protections of said company....starts to sound insane.
Plus, the labor market in Germany is all wrong for tech innovation startup. There are labor protections for citizens there that don't work well with companies that have limited funds and fast changing futures. People are more expendable in the Valley.
I agree with the last poster. Shenzhen is the new innovation hotspot. The supply chain has moved. It's only natural that the engineering follows. Silicon Valley has reduced itself to a designer city, with several countries vying to take the prize once discovered.
Yes, Germans tend to be conservative, not readily taking risks.
Per capita even Portugal has more startups than Germany.
But I don't think startups mean much, frankly. Japan for instance has very few per capita, yet it has a solid economy. Most startups fail within just a few years, anyway.
Yes, Germans tend to be conservative, not readily taking risks.
Per capita even Portugal has more startups than Germany.
But I don't think startups mean much, frankly. Japan for instance has very few per capita, yet it has a solid economy. Most startups fail within just a few years, anyway.
Our best innovative product is being able to sell a money hemorrhaging company as if it were gold. Which would you rather have...half of TYSN or BYND? Half of Volkswagon or Tesla. We can repackage and smoosh together a few failed startups and mint a brand new company, ready for an upround of capital and loans until eventually someone wants to buy it.
First of all, Berlin is not Europe's Silicon Valley, it might be Germany's Silicon Valley. Berlin is better if you compare rental prices but that's all.
From my point of view, it is quite obvious that workplaces and overall life in and around the Silicon Valley are much better. Berlin doesn't even enter in the top 5 German cities by wealth per individual.
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I didn't realise it's such a huge difference.
