Project Europe, a new seed fund, will support young people under 25 in creating the next tech giant.
A recurring theme in the technological realm of Europe is the need for a company equivalent to Google or Microsoft. In response, the creation of a new fund aimed at promoting this goal has been announced.
The need for Europe to produce its own tech giant like Google or Microsoft has often been discussed. Recently, a new fund has been introduced to support this vision. Project Europe, a fund aimed at founders tackling complex problems with technical solutions, has initially raised $10 million from 128 founders and startup tech executives, both from Europe and other regions. Among the contributors are the creators of Klarna, Mistral, and SoundCloud. This fund will award €200,000 (approximately $200,000) to selected companies to develop their proposals. While startups must be established in Europe, there are no restrictions on their subsequent relocation. Furthermore, founders do not need to have fully developed companies to participate; even an idea or a project in the research phase can suffice.
However, there is a limitation regarding the age of applicants, as the fund is exclusively aimed at individuals aged 25 or under, with the goal of "supporting the next generation of founders." This focus on young entrepreneurs is reminiscent of the Thiel Fellowship, which grants $100,000 to those who have dropped out of college in the U.S., although Project Europe does not have that stipulation.
In recent years, there has been extensive debate about why Europe has not managed to build a large-scale tech company comparable to Meta, Apple, or Google. This dilemma is attributed to several factors, including the lack of funding during growth stages, which has motivated many entrepreneurs to move to the U.S. or sell their companies early in their development. In this regard, Ian Hogarth, a former founder who is now a VC and has expressed his views on this topic, has noted that many of the most promising companies are moving or selling too soon.
Project Europe assures that the initial investment will grant a 6.66% stake in the new company if they lead the funding round, and less if they do not. In addition to capital, the selected companies will receive one-on-one mentorship from one of the nine partners of the fund, including Victor Riparbelli from Synthesia, Mati Staniszewski from ElevenLabs, and Rina Onur Sirinoglu from Spyke Games, who is the only woman among the partners. They will also have access to the network of other 119 fund members for guidance. Harry Stebbings, a podcaster turned investor at 20VC, is one of the founders of Project Europe and has offered access to his media platform as part of the proposal.
