Silicon Valley folks tend to write off the startup market across the pond as too small or not hungry enough, but that sentiment couldn’t be more different from how Europeans see their potential.
annual of Helsinki Mud conference this year showed a business market that feels on the brink of transformation, one that is ready for its first trillion-dollar startup.
Founders, venture capitalists and government officials recognized the barriers that have traditionally prevented Europe from reaching its true scale and potential. For many years, European founders moved to the US to start their companies or left earlier than needed, operating in a market that lacked local customers and cash.
Companies including OMERs Ventures and Coatue made concerted efforts to enter Europe by opening offices in London after the pandemic, but have since closed those stores. OMER, for example, let much of its European team go. Meanwhile, Silicon Valley companies have argued in recent years that to focus on innovation, startups and investors should retreat to San Francisco.
To a large extent, people think the kinks have been worked out: Many venture capitalists told TechCrunch at Slush that the idea of the market being undercapitalized, or that the US’s deepest pockets don’t care, is overblown.
One investor specifically said that there is absolutely more US capital in the European market now than there was five years ago. In addition, some titles are getting more attention than others: When OMERs Ventures announced its exit, IVP and Andreessen Horowitz both said they were opening offices in London. (Andreessen later he closed his officealso, alas.)
Although the lure to head to the US remains strong, European companies are also beginning to find success in resisting pressure from US investors to move to the Valley to build their companies.
Techcrunch event
San Francisco
|
13-15 October 2026
Lovable’s Vibe platform co-founder and CEO Anton Osika said during Slush that he credits the company’s rapid growth — $200 million in annual recurring revenue in just one year since launch — to the fact that the startup stayed in Europe, instead opting to recruit veteran Silicon Valley talent to Stockholm.
Taavet Hinrikus, a partner at Plural who was the first hire at Estonian-founded Skype, told Slush that the European market is about a decade behind the US, but startups have gone fully mainstream now in a way they didn’t 10 years ago.
Another VC added that when he first started investing in startups decades ago, startups and their revenue were not a significant part of the region’s GDP or revenue, but now things have changed radically and the share held by startups will continue to grow.
The growing number of European success stories such as Spotify and Klarna have also boosted the region’s profile, giving founders the confidence not to quit early. They also gave startup employees the skills and financial security to strike out on their own.
Regulators aren’t sitting by either, and lately they’ve been trying to make it easier for startups to succeed. The EU is moving towards regulatory changes that will allow start-ups to register in all EU countries at once, as opposed to just their home country, next year. Such steps present their own challenges, but the move is a step forward.
Obstacles remain of course. European firms remain less likely than their American counterparts to experiment with and implement startup technology. But the vibe at Slush couldn’t be more upbeat. Europe seems ready to come into its own, even if it took a little longer to get there.
As Slush’s welcome banner read: “Still doubting Europe? Go to Hel.”
