Recent research by venture capital firm, Accel, reveals that most successful generative AI startups in Europe credit their success to founders with experience in major U.S. tech companies. This connection seems to highlight the effect of protégés carrying their lessons from the U.S. tech market back to startup ventures in Europe.
Among the U.S. companies that appear to be significant springboards for these startups, Google stands out, fostering the early stages of 11.3% of all generative AI firms in Europe and Israel. Facebook is shown to be instrumental in the rise of 7.8% of these startups, with Microsoft and Apple trailing behind, contributing to 6.3% and 4.1% respectively.
Generative AI, a steadily emerging sector, focuses on developing models that utilize massive content databases. Accel’s survey, canvassing 221 generative AI firms in Europe and Israel, found that 25% were spearheaded by individuals who once walked the halls of leading AI research lab, DeepMind.
U.S. influence on European AI success
Despite being relatively new, these companies have managed to secure over $2.3 billion in funding.
When considering venture funding, 38% of the top 40 generative AI companies in Europe and Israel have founders connected to DeepMind. This figure jumps dramatically to 60% when considering only the top 10 organizations, based on their funding amounts.
Harry Nelis of Accel posits that these AI startups benefit from their founder’s experience in major tech businesses, by gaining an innovative mindset, financial stability, computational capacity, and access to abundant data reserves. They are not only revolutionizing various industries by introducing advanced AI technologies but are also shedding light on new paradigms of innovation.
It’s an exciting time for AI enthusiasts, Nelis asserts, with the field offering significant growth opportunities, consistent advancements and discoveries. He also anticipates that generative AI will eventually become an integral part of society, transforming it in profound ways.
