Europe’s innovation gap with US and China in focus at Panathēnea 2026
How can Europe maintain its competitiveness vis-à-vis the United States and China at a time when technology and artificial intelligence are becoming key drivers of economic growth and geopolitical power? This...
How can Europe maintain its competitiveness vis-à-vis the United States and China at a time when technology and artificial intelligence are becoming key drivers of economic growth and geopolitical power?
This was the central question at the heart of the Panathenaea (Panathēnea 2026), the international innovation and entrepreneurship event held in Athens, which brought together tech founders, investors and executives from across the globe.
According to the organisers, this year’s event attracted more than 11,500 registrations from 60 countries, with 30%-35% of participants coming from abroad. More than 3,000 members of the start-up ecosystem were in Athens, while 440 volunteers and more than 90 side events across the city supported the programme.
From the stage of the Zappeion, entrepreneurs who have built companies with a presence in dozens of countries shared what it now takes for Europe to create its next global technology champions.
Europe needs a stronger risk-taking culture
One of the clearest messages came from Markus Villig, founder and chief executive of Bolt, the Estonian ride-hailing and delivery company that now operates in dozens of countries.
Villig described how his company started out in Estonia, a small country in Eastern Europe, and managed to turn what initially looked like a handicap into a competitive advantage. As he explained, Bolt did not have the capital to compete with the major technology hubs of Western Europe or the United States, but it did find people with a high level of dedication and a strong motivation to help build a company with international ambitions.
In his view, the biggest obstacle to the development of European innovation is not a lack of money but the way that money is invested.
‘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 argued.
According to Villig, everyday retail investments in the American markets are many times higher than in Europe, reflecting a different culture towards risk and entrepreneurship.
The Bolt founder estimated that the European economy loses value of between 2 and 3 trillion euros every year because of this mindset, arguing that increasing investment in businesses, universities and venture capital funds could significantly accelerate the continent’s growth.
Companies that are global from day one
The need for an international outlook from the very first steps of a start-up was another theme that dominated the discussions.
Suo Wang, co-founder of Deel, one of the fastest-growing companies in the world in the field of payroll and human resources management, shared her own experience. Deel now operates in 160 countries, handles payments worth 3 billion dollars and serves around 40,000 businesses every month.
Wang, who moved from China to the United States at the age of 16 without speaking English, argued that a company’s success does not depend only on technology or sales but primarily on whether it solves a real problem.
As she noted, businesses of the new era no longer follow the traditional growth model in which a company starts out in a local market and gradually expands abroad.
‘Twenty or thirty years ago you started in one region and then expanded. Today companies are global from day one,’ she said, explaining that new technologies now allow start-ups to target international markets from the outset.
‘If you can make it in Greece, you can make it anywhere’
One of the most striking examples of a European company that managed to build an international footprint starting from a small market was presented by George Daskalakis, co-founder and chief executive of Kaizen Gaming.
The company, which started out in Greece, now operates in 20 markets in Europe, Africa and Latin America, having grown into one of the most important players in its sector worldwide.
Daskalakis described this trajectory not as a linear success story but as a process full of failures, adjustments and constant learning.
As he recalled, the company’s first attempt at international expansion, in Poland, failed. The next attempt, in Romania, proved successful and, he said, provided the first proof that the company could grow beyond Greece.
‘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 a company’s growth, comparing the evolution of businesses to that of people: as they grow, they face new challenges, make mistakes and are forced to adapt.
Europe’s big bet
Despite their different paths, the speakers converged on a common conclusion: Europe has talent, universities and capital, but struggles to turn them into global tech champions.
The challenge for Europe is no longer just to produce research and talent, but to turn those ideas into global businesses. That was one of the main messages sent by the speakers from Athens.
