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A recurring musical theme in Europe ’s tech world is that the part need its own Google or Microsoft . Now comes the launching of a new fund to patronage this enterprisingness .
Project Europe — a unexampled fund for founders “ figure out backbreaking problems with proficient solutions ” — says it has initially extract together $ 10 million from 128 dissimilar founders and technical school execs from startups both in Europe and further afield . The lean , which you canview here , includes the founders of Klarna , Mistral , and SoundCloud ; successful recipients will each get € 200,000 ( around $ 200,000 ) to build out their ideas .
The companies need to be started in Europe , but there are no restrictions around move them afterwards . laminitis also do not have to have fully form startup to apply . you may go for with an mind or if you “ have been tinkering around a dissertation , ” the fund mark on its site .
There is one other caution . If you are over 25 days old , stop take now . Project Europe is limit its award to people who are only 25 and under .
One of the investor in the rhythm explained the age - specific requirement as a way of “ supporting the next generation of founders . ” This focus on young laminitis is reminiscent of theThiel Fellowship , which give out $ 100,000 to college dropout in the U.S. However , there ’s no dropout article in Project Europe ’s case .
There has been extensive discussion about how Europe has fail to seize the opportunity to build a mega tech business corresponding to Meta , Apple , or Google over the retiring few decades . In many style , it ’s a classic chicken - and - egg way out .
Some have pinpointed thelack of outgrowth - leg fundingas a major bottleneck that drives founders to move to the U.S. , or to sell up when the chance issue forth along .
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Others say the job ties to risk appetite . Ian Hogarth , the founder - turned - VC who has been one of the more frank hoi polloi on the subject , has write about how the most promising companies are moving orselling too betimes . In other word , we ’ll never have it off whether a lack of growth funding would have actually proven to be a bottleneck . ( William Hogarth is not among the listing of mass backing Project Europe . )
It ’s most likely a combination of rationality why Europe has yet to bring out a trillion - dollar technology caller on the order of the hyperscalers that have fall out of the U.S. and Asia . And it ’s debatable that seed funding is a meaning gating factor among those .
Project Europe says the initial investment will give it 6.66 % of equity in the new idea / business if it ’s leading the investment and less if not .
In addition to the money , age group receive 1:1 mentorship from one of the nine cooperator in the fund — which include Victor Riparbelli from Synthesia , Mati Staniszewski from ElevenLabs , and Rina Onur Sirinoglu from Spyke Games ( who is the only female collaborator ) .
Other perquisite include access to the 119 others in the fund for advice . Harry Stebbings , the podcaster - turn - investor at 20VC who has build a business out of growing hacking andmicro - investment , is one of the Godhead of Project Europe . He is offering access to his media empire as part of the tidy sum , too .
