Daniel Ek, the CEO of Spotify, announced last Thursday that he would invest $1.2 billion or 1 billion Euros worth of his wealth in venturing for European startups.
During his speech at a virtual talk held by Slush, a startup events organizer, Ek mentioned that he would utilize the resources to create “moonshot” ventures in the continent to set its interest in deep technology. These are the new tools that would focus on scientific innovation. Ek also seeks to make his investments in biotechnology, education, health, and machine learning sectors.
“I want to do my part; we all know that one of the greatest challenges is access to capital.”
Daniel Ek, CEO of Spotify
He also added that he wanted to obtain a “new European dream” relating to the American Dream for the next decade. Based on Forbes, Ek values at $3.6 billion, specifying that he is designating around a third of his riches for his investments.
Ek mentioned his frustration over the number of tech companies from Europe bought by U.S. competitors and the emigration of highly skilled and intelligent entrepreneurs from the region to opt for Silicon Valley. Stripe is one of the most remarkable examples of European entrepreneurs choosing to locate and build their company in the U.S.; specifically, they headed to California.
“I get really frustrated when I see European entrepreneurs giving up on their amazing visions selling early on to non-European companies, or when some of the most promising tech talents in Europe leaves because they don’t feel valued here. We need more super companies that raise the bar and can act as an inspiration.”
Daniel Ek
Often, Europe receives the perception as falling behind China and the United States regarding technology. Although these two economic giants have built several big tech companies, such as Alibaba, Amazon, Microsoft, and Tencent, Europe is yet to provide the same scale of accomplishment in the industry.
According to the figures from Atomico, a venture capital firm, there was a $34.3 billion record last year that passed into Europe’s emerging startups. Ek stated that he would work with investors, governments, and scientists for his investments. The Spotify CEO would use his $1.2 billion money, competing with known investment funds, such as Atomico, whose founder is the former Skype CEO.
Initial public offerings have been a problem at the location’s tech ecosystem. Based in Stockholm, Sweden is Spotify, which chose to list in New York over the last two years. On the other hand, Farfetch, an online luxury marketplace from London, decided to make its market debut in America. This year, concerning tech IPOs, Europe has fallen back, while software companies are abundant in the United States.
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