ATHENS — How can Europe close the innovation gap with the United States and China when technology and artificial intelligence increasingly determine economic growth and geopolitical influence? That question dominated Panathēnea 2026, the international innovation and entrepreneurship conference held at the Zappeion in Athens, drawing more than 11,500 registrations from 60 countries. Roughly a third of participants came from outside Greece, and over 440 volunteers helped run more than 90 side events across the city.
The gathering brought together tech founders, venture capitalists, and executives to examine why Europe, despite its wealth of talent and research, struggles to produce globally dominant technology companies. Speakers offered diagnoses and prescriptions, often pointing to cultural and structural barriers that keep European innovation from scaling.
Europe's Risk-Aversion Problem
Markus Villig, founder and CEO of the Estonian ride-hailing and delivery company Bolt, argued that Europe's biggest obstacle is not a shortage of capital but how that capital is deployed. “Europe is one of the wealthiest regions in the world, yet vast amounts of capital remain in bank deposits and low-yield investments instead of being channelled into businesses and new technologies,” he said. Villig estimated that this conservative mindset costs the European economy between €2 trillion and €3 trillion annually in lost growth. He contrasted the continent's cautious retail investment culture with the United States, where everyday investors are far more willing to back startups and venture funds.
Bolt itself started in Estonia, a small Eastern European country with limited access to the deep capital pools of Western Europe or Silicon Valley. Villig said that constraint forced the company to rely on highly motivated teams with a strong sense of mission. “We did not have the capital to compete with the major technology hubs, but we found people with a high level of dedication,” he explained. His message was clear: Europe needs to cultivate a stronger risk-taking culture, both among investors and entrepreneurs.
The theme of global ambition from the outset was echoed by Suo Wang, co-founder of Deel, a payroll and HR platform that now operates in 160 countries, processes $3 billion in payments, and serves roughly 40,000 businesses monthly. Wang, who moved from China to the United States at 16 without speaking English, argued that success depends less on technology or sales prowess than on solving a real problem. She noted that the traditional model of starting locally and expanding gradually is obsolete. “Twenty or thirty years ago you started in one region and then expanded. Today companies are global from day one,” she said, pointing to how digital tools allow startups to target international markets immediately.
George Daskalakis, co-founder and CEO of Kaizen Gaming, offered a European success story that began in Greece. His company now operates in 20 markets across Europe, Africa, and Latin America. But the path was not linear. Daskalakis recalled that Kaizen Gaming’s first international foray, into Poland, failed. The second attempt, in Romania, succeeded and proved the model could travel. “In New York they say that if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. I believe that if you can make it in Greece, you can make it anywhere,” he said. He stressed that failures are an integral part of growth, comparing business evolution to personal development: as companies grow, they face new challenges, make mistakes, and adapt.
The discussions in Athens converged on a common diagnosis: Europe has world-class universities, a deep pool of talent, and substantial capital, but it struggles to convert these assets into global technology champions. The continent’s fragmented capital markets and cautious investment culture were recurring themes. The EU's six largest economies recently agreed on a blueprint for a Capital Markets Union, a step that could help channel more savings into venture capital and growth-stage funding. But speakers at Panathēnea suggested that cultural change is equally important.
As the European Union faces increasing competition from the US and China in critical technologies, the message from Athens was that the continent must move beyond producing research and talent and focus on building companies that can compete globally. The challenge is no longer just innovation—it is the ability to scale.
