KKR's Global Institute Report for November of 2013 has been released. The report covers digitization in Europe, Europe's key advantages and disadvantages, opportunities, how to unlock Europe's digital potential, and the overall outlook.
Original: http://www.kkr.com/company/kkr-global-institute/digitization-in-europe
Delphi, a leading automotive supplier, drove an autonomous vehicle from San Francisco to New York over 3,400 miles to demonstrate the technology. It was the culmination of 15 years of development and aimed to show the technology works and gather real-world data. The PR campaign was very successful, generating significant media coverage and engagement. It helped establish Delphi as a thought leader in autonomous vehicles and provided benefits like employee engagement and recruitment.
Café Numérique Plugg 17032010 Zoltán JánosiZoltán Jánosi
Le Café Numérique a accueilli Plugg.eu, pour la présentation post-conférence des résultats et de l'apport réels que ce type d'événement représente pour les start-ups en Europe.
2014 Tech M&A Monthly - Mid-Year ReportCorum Group
This month, join us as we mark the halfway-point of this remarkable year for tech M&A, and look both back and ahead. We’ll look back at the notable deals, high valuations and key trends in all six market sand 26 subsectors that have made 2014 such a wild ride. Then, we’ll look ahead at the factors that could bring the ride to a sudden halt—either for the market as a whole, or for your company’s value in particular. Nothing lasts forever, so we’ll be examining the six events that could kill the market, as well as six events that, regardless of the overall environment, could kill your company’s value before you have a chance to realize that value.
Plus, special announcements of deals out of the UK, the US heartland and beyond, plus a look at the way Enmeshed Systems and the blurring lines between hardware and software are driving key deals and high valuations. Don’t miss this extended 45-minute presentation
The document provides a summary of the history of Silicon Valley and the factors that contributed to its emergence as a major hub of innovation. It discusses several key events and individuals:
1) Frederick Terman's role as Stanford professor and provost in encouraging collaboration between academia and industry, including supporting HP's founding.
2) Stanford's focus on electronics during WWII and the Cold War, bringing defense funding and spinouts like Varian Associates.
3) William Shockley founding Shockley Semiconductor which led to the "Traitorous 8" founding Fairchild Semiconductor and initiating the chip industry.
4) The rise of venture capital firms like Draper Gaither & Anderson and later Kleiner Per
2013 09-30 defining the postal market of the future - the postal market spide...Dirk Palder
The future of posts: Postal Services 3.0
It is time to summarise the high level results of our second global postal innovation study (for more refer to www.capgemini-postalservices.com/insights-resources/studies/. So let us draw some conclusions on the future of posts after Facebook, Google+ or Twitter – Postal Services 3.0. Let us redefine the future of postal services by combining the past, the brand value and the future digital capabilities of the postal service providers, or even better, the 5-E transformation model to design the digitally enabled postal service platform. The vision of the future can be defined by understanding the present day operators in the postal markets. To arrive at this vision, we have to demystify the elusive image that a postal brand has today where its customers give varied answers when asked as to where does the business of the postal service seems to be at present. We, at Capgemini Consulting, have developed our “Postal Market Spider Net”, which presents five key market segments defining the postal industry. These are the key elements for creating a future vision because the actual brand recognition is quite close in several countries. Another reason being that if we asked the consumers and customers and gave them an example of postal services existing in the market, the consumers and the customers would easily agree upon, respect and accept the logic behind postal operators’ efforts on the expansion of their value chain.
Tech M&A continued to reach new highs as 2016 began, with disruptive technology, plus trillions of dollars of ready cash, driving both strategic and financial acquirers to buy software and related technology companies at a pace not seen in over a decade. What’s next for tech M&A? Join Corum Group and hundreds of technology CEOs globally for the largest tech M&A event of the year – Forecast 2016, the Global Tech M&A Report. Hear from Corum dealmakers globally, plus our panel of industry luminaries:
Peter Coffee, Salesforce, VP for Strategic Research
Mukund Mohan, Microsoft, Director, Strategy for Sales & Enterprise
Dr. Karl-Michael Popp, SAP, Senior Director of Corporate Development
Reese Jones, Silicon Valley Futurist & Singularity University Founder
Plus, a look at the 10 Disruptive Technology Trends for 2016, the annual Corum Index of Tech M&A and valuation metrics across the six technology sectors and 30 subsectors. You don’t want to miss the premier event each year for software company owners and CEOs.
Delphi, a leading automotive supplier, drove an autonomous vehicle from San Francisco to New York over 3,400 miles to demonstrate the technology. It was the culmination of 15 years of development and aimed to show the technology works and gather real-world data. The PR campaign was very successful, generating significant media coverage and engagement. It helped establish Delphi as a thought leader in autonomous vehicles and provided benefits like employee engagement and recruitment.
Café Numérique Plugg 17032010 Zoltán JánosiZoltán Jánosi
Le Café Numérique a accueilli Plugg.eu, pour la présentation post-conférence des résultats et de l'apport réels que ce type d'événement représente pour les start-ups en Europe.
2014 Tech M&A Monthly - Mid-Year ReportCorum Group
This month, join us as we mark the halfway-point of this remarkable year for tech M&A, and look both back and ahead. We’ll look back at the notable deals, high valuations and key trends in all six market sand 26 subsectors that have made 2014 such a wild ride. Then, we’ll look ahead at the factors that could bring the ride to a sudden halt—either for the market as a whole, or for your company’s value in particular. Nothing lasts forever, so we’ll be examining the six events that could kill the market, as well as six events that, regardless of the overall environment, could kill your company’s value before you have a chance to realize that value.
Plus, special announcements of deals out of the UK, the US heartland and beyond, plus a look at the way Enmeshed Systems and the blurring lines between hardware and software are driving key deals and high valuations. Don’t miss this extended 45-minute presentation
The document provides a summary of the history of Silicon Valley and the factors that contributed to its emergence as a major hub of innovation. It discusses several key events and individuals:
1) Frederick Terman's role as Stanford professor and provost in encouraging collaboration between academia and industry, including supporting HP's founding.
2) Stanford's focus on electronics during WWII and the Cold War, bringing defense funding and spinouts like Varian Associates.
3) William Shockley founding Shockley Semiconductor which led to the "Traitorous 8" founding Fairchild Semiconductor and initiating the chip industry.
4) The rise of venture capital firms like Draper Gaither & Anderson and later Kleiner Per
2013 09-30 defining the postal market of the future - the postal market spide...Dirk Palder
The future of posts: Postal Services 3.0
It is time to summarise the high level results of our second global postal innovation study (for more refer to www.capgemini-postalservices.com/insights-resources/studies/. So let us draw some conclusions on the future of posts after Facebook, Google+ or Twitter – Postal Services 3.0. Let us redefine the future of postal services by combining the past, the brand value and the future digital capabilities of the postal service providers, or even better, the 5-E transformation model to design the digitally enabled postal service platform. The vision of the future can be defined by understanding the present day operators in the postal markets. To arrive at this vision, we have to demystify the elusive image that a postal brand has today where its customers give varied answers when asked as to where does the business of the postal service seems to be at present. We, at Capgemini Consulting, have developed our “Postal Market Spider Net”, which presents five key market segments defining the postal industry. These are the key elements for creating a future vision because the actual brand recognition is quite close in several countries. Another reason being that if we asked the consumers and customers and gave them an example of postal services existing in the market, the consumers and the customers would easily agree upon, respect and accept the logic behind postal operators’ efforts on the expansion of their value chain.
Tech M&A continued to reach new highs as 2016 began, with disruptive technology, plus trillions of dollars of ready cash, driving both strategic and financial acquirers to buy software and related technology companies at a pace not seen in over a decade. What’s next for tech M&A? Join Corum Group and hundreds of technology CEOs globally for the largest tech M&A event of the year – Forecast 2016, the Global Tech M&A Report. Hear from Corum dealmakers globally, plus our panel of industry luminaries:
Peter Coffee, Salesforce, VP for Strategic Research
Mukund Mohan, Microsoft, Director, Strategy for Sales & Enterprise
Dr. Karl-Michael Popp, SAP, Senior Director of Corporate Development
Reese Jones, Silicon Valley Futurist & Singularity University Founder
Plus, a look at the 10 Disruptive Technology Trends for 2016, the annual Corum Index of Tech M&A and valuation metrics across the six technology sectors and 30 subsectors. You don’t want to miss the premier event each year for software company owners and CEOs.
Tech M&A Monthly: 6 Merger Myth and MisconceptionsCorum Group
Strong public markets and high demand for disruptive tech are continuing to drive high valuations for technology companies. Corum Group’s research team looked at the key deals, trends and valuations across all six tech sectors and 30 subsectors. What sectors are getting the highest valuations? What are acquirers after? How long will these good times continue? Corum’s senior dealmakers will also address six merger myths & misconceptions that might be keeping your company from taking advantage of today’s hot M&A market.
With market uncertainty and volatility dominating finance headlines, but tech M&A still breaking records amidst strong buyer demand and high valuations, what does 2019 hold for your company? As you build out your strategic plans for the New Year, join the largest tech M&A event of the year, as Corum Group looks back at last year, and ahead to the year to come.
Join us for predictions about the M&A market for 2019, plus a scorecard from 2018; the new Top 10 Disruptive Technology Trends driving deals in 2019; deals, trends and valuations across all six technology sectors and 30 subsectors; and our annual Luminary Panel featuring SAP, Salesforce, IBM and more. Don’t miss the premier event each year for software company owners and CEOs.
The document discusses the results of an fDi study ranking global cities of the future. Singapore was named the top global city of the future for the third year in a row, while London and Dublin retained the second and third positions, respectively. The study analyzed cities across various categories and broke them into groupings of megacities, major cities, and mid-sized/small cities. Bangalore ranked first among emerging market megacities, while Dublin was the top-scoring city in terms of foreign direct investment on a per capita basis.
Tech M&A Monthly: Valuations for an Optimal OutcomeCorum Group
“How much is my company worth?” No magic formula can answer this question, but a valuation report is still a key component of the disciplined tech M&A process that will ultimately bring an optimal outcome. Thursday, November 8, as the world’s leading expert on tech company valuations, Corum Group will share best practices for developing, presenting and making the best use of a valuation to create the auction environment that will result in the best price and deal structure for your software or related technology company.
What happened in Tech M&A during the first quarter of 2019? How has the rapid market recovery impacted valuations? Are private equity deals still soaring? Who are the new buyers making waves? Listen in as Corum Group gives the most in-depth look available at Q1 of 2019 for mergers and across all six technology sectors and 30 subsectors. Plus, we’ll get a special report on succession planning for tech company owners and executives, and a report from a special series of M&A conferences across Europe.
The document summarizes an event hosted by World Financial Symposiums (WFS) on growth and exit strategies for software and IT companies. WFS is an international organization that educates technology leaders through webcasts and conferences. The event featured presentations from industry experts on topics such as mobile advertising trends, mergers and acquisitions in the ad tech sector, and experiences from companies involved in M&A. Contact information is provided for those seeking more information on WFS and the presented materials.
We’ll approach WebRTC from a business application perspective.
In this session we will explore what it is about the emergent technology called WebRTC - an application programming interface (API) enables browser based, real-time, peer- to- peer voice and video communications with data sharing without plug-ins - has the Information and Communications technology industry in a bit of a quandary.
Why Apple, Cisco, Google, Microsoft, Oracle and others have yet to come to agreement on a common approach as to how they’ll harness its power.
We’ll get to the bottom line - on how the technology is being utilized in applications today, what the pitfalls are and how this API integrated with JavaScript & HTML5 – will likely usher in a host of next generation communication solutions for enterprises and consumers.
Digital Mission NYC 2016 - Company LookbookChinwag
Digital Mission to New York 2016, organised by international tech trade experts Chinwag, ran 22-26 Feb 2016 to coincide with Social Media Week New York.
It was organised in conjunction with UK Trade & Investment New York and featured 15 of the UK's top tech startups and agencies taking part in a week-long programme of meetings, briefings, networking and pitch events.
Digital Mission trips are designed specifically for tech startups to understand the opportunities and challenges of entering or expanding into a new market and builds on over eight years of trips.
For more information see: http://digital-mission.org
Want some help planning a trade mission, drop a line to: help@chinwag.com
The 2009 Open World Forum will be held in Paris on October 1-2 and will bring together key decision-makers and experts in free/libre and open source software (FLOSS) from around the world. The event aims to foster innovation and economic growth through open technologies. Following the success of the 2008 forum, the 2009 forum will feature presentations on FLOSS and economic recovery, updates on community initiatives, and the unveiling of the 2020 FLOSS Roadmap. It will also include associated events like an Open Innovation Summit. The forum is organized by groups representing major open source communities and players and benefits from institutional support.
This document provides a summary of recent news and developments in technology and venture capital. It discusses the following topics:
- A US court ruling that LinkedIn cannot block a startup from scraping publicly available profile data on its platform.
- Strong performance of technology IPOs in Europe so far in 2017, with many smaller companies going public.
- Increasing applications of robotics technologies and the geographic distribution of industrial robots.
- Growth of virtual and augmented reality technologies, with many large companies investing heavily but consumer adoption remaining slow.
- The European Union planning to increase scrutiny of foreign takeovers, especially from China, over national security and policy concerns.
The document seeks to highlight recent updates
European scaleups had another great year with a significant jump in funding in 2018 compared to 2017.
Wondering what countries and cities are performing well? What verticals are booming? What technology and business models have traction? How many female founders raised funding?
So there you go, 133 (!) pages packed with detailed information on the state of the European scaleup ecosystem:
If you prefer a higher resolution PDF version or need more details on a specific country or vertical , just contact me
Enjoy the reading and kindly share the report in your (social) network!
Mirando hacia el futuro cómo se remodelará silicon valley a raíz de la pandemiaagenwong
The document discusses how Silicon Valley may change in the aftermath of the pandemic. It predicts that Silicon Valley will see a more balanced focus across industry verticals, a more distributed workforce that is no longer concentrated in the Bay Area, and a regional tone of greater humility and awareness of national challenges rather than insularity. The unique attributes that drove Silicon Valley's success may become less defining as the region and its companies adapt to lessons from the pandemic.
Marian Gazdik - StartupGrind Europe - Stanford Engineering - Feb 22 2016Burton Lee
'Snapshot' Talk by Marian Gazdik, StartupGrind Europe (London), at Stanford on Feb 22 2016, in our session on 'Startup Marketplaces & AI FinTech Founders :: Vienna & Portugal'.
Website: http://www.StanfordEuropreneurs.org
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/StanfordEuropreneurs
Twitter: @Europreneurs
Final report of France Digitale - startups financing - web investors forumFrenchWeb.fr
Rapport (en anglais) rédigé par France Digitale sur demande de la Commission européenne au sujet du financement des start-ups en Europe et sur les pistes pour l'améliorer. Document publié en novembre 2014.
My WebSummit Lisbon experience and its tech business boost to Portugal. Hubert Grealish
Web Summit is like an MBA in e-business in but a few short days; exhausting but fulfilling. Yet, for the 53,000 at the Web Summit, showing up is the greater part of success, with serendipity playing its ever-present role at an event like this.
Online version for shares - http://www.communicatemagazine.com/features/2016-november/summit-of-success/
Schibsted: Shaping the media of tomorrow todayNetthoder
Schibsted has a history of innovating to transition to new technologies and business models. Two examples are:
1) Breaking up the newspaper model along dimensions of content, operations, and business models in response to new technologies.
2) Strategically developing online properties to maximize traffic and profit growth, growing local concepts into international successes.
Today's challenge is innovating for mobile, as mobile ARPU is lower than desktop. Schibsted aims to innovate consumer and advertiser relationships to sustain growth. Innovation is a core value, and mistakes and cannibalization are accepted to disrupt and conquer new opportunities.
Rush transcript, directly off the feed. (see the disclaimer) However, the only fee, full accounting you'll find of the Google antitrust Senate hearing without sitting to watch the whole thing.
Europe: Digital Superpower? Or Second-Rate Periphery Player?Cognizant
Against the U.S. and China, Europe appears lagging in digital prowess. Look closer, however, and the makings are there for a radical fix, both in Europe's historical strengths and in its hotbeds of digital activity.
The document provides an overview of the European startup ecosystem and its progress in recent years. It notes that Europe has closed the gap with Silicon Valley in terms of startup formation and venture capital-backed exits. However, it will be critical to maintain this momentum to remain relevant globally. A new public data platform called EuropeanStartups.co will be launched in 2020 to provide data and intelligence to help stakeholders and inform policymaking. The initiative aims to showcase strengths and address weaknesses to help the ecosystem weather the current COVID-19 crisis and emerge stronger.
Tech M&A Monthly: 6 Merger Myth and MisconceptionsCorum Group
Strong public markets and high demand for disruptive tech are continuing to drive high valuations for technology companies. Corum Group’s research team looked at the key deals, trends and valuations across all six tech sectors and 30 subsectors. What sectors are getting the highest valuations? What are acquirers after? How long will these good times continue? Corum’s senior dealmakers will also address six merger myths & misconceptions that might be keeping your company from taking advantage of today’s hot M&A market.
With market uncertainty and volatility dominating finance headlines, but tech M&A still breaking records amidst strong buyer demand and high valuations, what does 2019 hold for your company? As you build out your strategic plans for the New Year, join the largest tech M&A event of the year, as Corum Group looks back at last year, and ahead to the year to come.
Join us for predictions about the M&A market for 2019, plus a scorecard from 2018; the new Top 10 Disruptive Technology Trends driving deals in 2019; deals, trends and valuations across all six technology sectors and 30 subsectors; and our annual Luminary Panel featuring SAP, Salesforce, IBM and more. Don’t miss the premier event each year for software company owners and CEOs.
The document discusses the results of an fDi study ranking global cities of the future. Singapore was named the top global city of the future for the third year in a row, while London and Dublin retained the second and third positions, respectively. The study analyzed cities across various categories and broke them into groupings of megacities, major cities, and mid-sized/small cities. Bangalore ranked first among emerging market megacities, while Dublin was the top-scoring city in terms of foreign direct investment on a per capita basis.
Tech M&A Monthly: Valuations for an Optimal OutcomeCorum Group
“How much is my company worth?” No magic formula can answer this question, but a valuation report is still a key component of the disciplined tech M&A process that will ultimately bring an optimal outcome. Thursday, November 8, as the world’s leading expert on tech company valuations, Corum Group will share best practices for developing, presenting and making the best use of a valuation to create the auction environment that will result in the best price and deal structure for your software or related technology company.
What happened in Tech M&A during the first quarter of 2019? How has the rapid market recovery impacted valuations? Are private equity deals still soaring? Who are the new buyers making waves? Listen in as Corum Group gives the most in-depth look available at Q1 of 2019 for mergers and across all six technology sectors and 30 subsectors. Plus, we’ll get a special report on succession planning for tech company owners and executives, and a report from a special series of M&A conferences across Europe.
The document summarizes an event hosted by World Financial Symposiums (WFS) on growth and exit strategies for software and IT companies. WFS is an international organization that educates technology leaders through webcasts and conferences. The event featured presentations from industry experts on topics such as mobile advertising trends, mergers and acquisitions in the ad tech sector, and experiences from companies involved in M&A. Contact information is provided for those seeking more information on WFS and the presented materials.
We’ll approach WebRTC from a business application perspective.
In this session we will explore what it is about the emergent technology called WebRTC - an application programming interface (API) enables browser based, real-time, peer- to- peer voice and video communications with data sharing without plug-ins - has the Information and Communications technology industry in a bit of a quandary.
Why Apple, Cisco, Google, Microsoft, Oracle and others have yet to come to agreement on a common approach as to how they’ll harness its power.
We’ll get to the bottom line - on how the technology is being utilized in applications today, what the pitfalls are and how this API integrated with JavaScript & HTML5 – will likely usher in a host of next generation communication solutions for enterprises and consumers.
Digital Mission NYC 2016 - Company LookbookChinwag
Digital Mission to New York 2016, organised by international tech trade experts Chinwag, ran 22-26 Feb 2016 to coincide with Social Media Week New York.
It was organised in conjunction with UK Trade & Investment New York and featured 15 of the UK's top tech startups and agencies taking part in a week-long programme of meetings, briefings, networking and pitch events.
Digital Mission trips are designed specifically for tech startups to understand the opportunities and challenges of entering or expanding into a new market and builds on over eight years of trips.
For more information see: http://digital-mission.org
Want some help planning a trade mission, drop a line to: help@chinwag.com
The 2009 Open World Forum will be held in Paris on October 1-2 and will bring together key decision-makers and experts in free/libre and open source software (FLOSS) from around the world. The event aims to foster innovation and economic growth through open technologies. Following the success of the 2008 forum, the 2009 forum will feature presentations on FLOSS and economic recovery, updates on community initiatives, and the unveiling of the 2020 FLOSS Roadmap. It will also include associated events like an Open Innovation Summit. The forum is organized by groups representing major open source communities and players and benefits from institutional support.
This document provides a summary of recent news and developments in technology and venture capital. It discusses the following topics:
- A US court ruling that LinkedIn cannot block a startup from scraping publicly available profile data on its platform.
- Strong performance of technology IPOs in Europe so far in 2017, with many smaller companies going public.
- Increasing applications of robotics technologies and the geographic distribution of industrial robots.
- Growth of virtual and augmented reality technologies, with many large companies investing heavily but consumer adoption remaining slow.
- The European Union planning to increase scrutiny of foreign takeovers, especially from China, over national security and policy concerns.
The document seeks to highlight recent updates
European scaleups had another great year with a significant jump in funding in 2018 compared to 2017.
Wondering what countries and cities are performing well? What verticals are booming? What technology and business models have traction? How many female founders raised funding?
So there you go, 133 (!) pages packed with detailed information on the state of the European scaleup ecosystem:
If you prefer a higher resolution PDF version or need more details on a specific country or vertical , just contact me
Enjoy the reading and kindly share the report in your (social) network!
Mirando hacia el futuro cómo se remodelará silicon valley a raíz de la pandemiaagenwong
The document discusses how Silicon Valley may change in the aftermath of the pandemic. It predicts that Silicon Valley will see a more balanced focus across industry verticals, a more distributed workforce that is no longer concentrated in the Bay Area, and a regional tone of greater humility and awareness of national challenges rather than insularity. The unique attributes that drove Silicon Valley's success may become less defining as the region and its companies adapt to lessons from the pandemic.
Marian Gazdik - StartupGrind Europe - Stanford Engineering - Feb 22 2016Burton Lee
'Snapshot' Talk by Marian Gazdik, StartupGrind Europe (London), at Stanford on Feb 22 2016, in our session on 'Startup Marketplaces & AI FinTech Founders :: Vienna & Portugal'.
Website: http://www.StanfordEuropreneurs.org
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/StanfordEuropreneurs
Twitter: @Europreneurs
Final report of France Digitale - startups financing - web investors forumFrenchWeb.fr
Rapport (en anglais) rédigé par France Digitale sur demande de la Commission européenne au sujet du financement des start-ups en Europe et sur les pistes pour l'améliorer. Document publié en novembre 2014.
My WebSummit Lisbon experience and its tech business boost to Portugal. Hubert Grealish
Web Summit is like an MBA in e-business in but a few short days; exhausting but fulfilling. Yet, for the 53,000 at the Web Summit, showing up is the greater part of success, with serendipity playing its ever-present role at an event like this.
Online version for shares - http://www.communicatemagazine.com/features/2016-november/summit-of-success/
Schibsted: Shaping the media of tomorrow todayNetthoder
Schibsted has a history of innovating to transition to new technologies and business models. Two examples are:
1) Breaking up the newspaper model along dimensions of content, operations, and business models in response to new technologies.
2) Strategically developing online properties to maximize traffic and profit growth, growing local concepts into international successes.
Today's challenge is innovating for mobile, as mobile ARPU is lower than desktop. Schibsted aims to innovate consumer and advertiser relationships to sustain growth. Innovation is a core value, and mistakes and cannibalization are accepted to disrupt and conquer new opportunities.
Rush transcript, directly off the feed. (see the disclaimer) However, the only fee, full accounting you'll find of the Google antitrust Senate hearing without sitting to watch the whole thing.
Europe: Digital Superpower? Or Second-Rate Periphery Player?Cognizant
Against the U.S. and China, Europe appears lagging in digital prowess. Look closer, however, and the makings are there for a radical fix, both in Europe's historical strengths and in its hotbeds of digital activity.
The document provides an overview of the European startup ecosystem and its progress in recent years. It notes that Europe has closed the gap with Silicon Valley in terms of startup formation and venture capital-backed exits. However, it will be critical to maintain this momentum to remain relevant globally. A new public data platform called EuropeanStartups.co will be launched in 2020 to provide data and intelligence to help stakeholders and inform policymaking. The initiative aims to showcase strengths and address weaknesses to help the ecosystem weather the current COVID-19 crisis and emerge stronger.
This document is a 2010 trend report that identifies and analyzes 20 emerging trends for that year. It discusses trends related to web intelligence, agile development, crowdsourcing, influencer culture, sustainability, and the growing divide between Wall Street and Main Street. The report analyzes these trends through examples from companies like Google, Amazon, Kiva, and others to provide insights into what could be expected in 2010.
The document profiles American tech entrepreneurs, executives, and investors who have moved to the UK to take advantage of opportunities in the growing British tech sector. It describes the US individuals as energetic and making extraordinary contributions to the UK scene. It highlights London as a major global tech hub that combines strengths from other cities like New York, San Francisco, and Washington DC. The thriving ecosystem offers opportunities in areas like fintech due to the combination of finance and tech talent. The UK tech sector is growing rapidly and attracting significant investment and talent from around the world, including many Americans playing a valuable role.
Experts provided their views on the future of social media in 2020:
1) Social media will become more fragmented with niche players taking specific approaches to privacy, data usage, and community building. Advertising will play a smaller role and alternative business models will emerge.
2) Wearable technology will become important and people will interact less through keyboards. Social media will focus more on communication than marketing.
3) Existing social media platforms will need to adapt to mobile and niche audiences or decline. Successful platforms will provide community spaces rather than just commercial messages. Privacy issues remain a concern if data usage and sales are not reformed.
Miura Partners has acquired a 40% stake in Wikiloc, an app for discovering outdoor routes, for an estimated €15-20 million.
Mistral, a 1-month old European company, raised €105 million in seed funding through an impressive 7-page pitch deck focusing on transparency and democratization of generative AI.
A report analyzed the state of investment in European tech startups, reflecting a slowdown in activity after the 2021-2022 boom, returning to pre-pandemic levels due to a tightening of "easy money" flows.
Dubai hosting the 2020 World Expo is expected to have both benefits and challenges for Dubai's economy and residents. The major benefits include a projected $23 billion boost to GDP, over 250,000 new jobs created, and increased tourism and investment. However, major infrastructure projects to prepare for the Expo will cause short-term disruptions through traffic and noise. There are also concerns over potential housing bubbles and environmental impacts if developments are not sustainable long-term. While residents may face difficulties during construction, hosting the Expo is assessed to have a largely positive impact on Dubai's economy and global profile in the long-run.
The past few years have been tumultuous for the European travel marketplace. Yet despite a lingering debt crisis and continued uncertainty in markets such as Spain, Italy and Greece, the region’s travel industry is beginning to show signs of life. Millions of European travelers who passed on vacations during the depth of the recession returned to the traveler pool in 2013. France, Germany, the U.K. and others are paving the way to recovery, and consumer confidence is on the upswing.
The document discusses trends and predictions shaping the global tech sector in 2017. It summarizes 10 key predictions:
1. Artificial intelligence will continue its rapid growth and adoption across industries in 2017 after record levels of investment and deals in 2016. AI is proving its capabilities and is here to stay.
2. Millennials are leading the disruption of the traditional TV industry through increased consumption of over-the-top media services, radically changing how media is consumed. Networks will challenge the rise of these services in 2017.
3. E-sports will become a billion dollar industry in 2017, driven by its huge fan base of over 250 million people. E-sports has grown to become the fastest growing component of
The document discusses key trends that will shape outdoor (OOH) advertising in 2013, including:
- OOH exhibited strong growth in 2012, especially digital OOH, and growth is expected to continue in 2013 despite tough comparisons.
- Consumers are increasingly mobile and connected via smartphones, expanding the audience for OOH advertising, especially as mobile integration increases.
- Major developments in 2013 will include the rise of digital OOH screens as the new industry standard, enabled by technologies like near field communication (NFC) and live content.
- Data and measurement capabilities like Postar2 will provide more accurate audience targeting and evaluation of campaign effectiveness across OOH formats.
The document provides a summary of recent news and developments in technology and venture capital. It discusses topics such as the potential impact of a bear market on private valuations, trends in European founder migration and VC fundraising, Ripple moving its cryptocurrency into real-world use cases, and brief updates on companies like Facebook, Google, Alibaba, and acquisitions. Key questions are raised about how regions can retain founders, the competitive effects of increased European VC funding, and potential M&A activity using cryptocurrency war chests.
The document summarizes a technology forum event hosted by Credit Suisse in London. Some key highlights:
- Credit Suisse welcomed 180 entrepreneurs, investors and experts to discuss supporting technology companies from early stage to exit.
- Panel discussions covered topics like why companies are staying private longer and how entrepreneurs should prepare for exit.
- Speakers said technology disruption is a long-term trend and highlighted opportunities in areas like data analytics, Internet of Things, and cyber security.
- The event concluded with a startup showcase and networking for participants to connect entrepreneurs with potential investors.
This report analyzes search interest trends for various electronic devices using Google Trends data. It is divided into three parts: Part One provides general information on the analysis methodology. Part Two finds differences in search interest for terms between Russian and English/German, showing preferences can vary by country's development. Part Three examines future trends for smart fridges, driverless cars, 3D printers, and smart watches, finding growing interest in these emerging technologies.
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KKR: Digitization in Europe - Unlocking Europe's Entrepreneurial Potential
1. KKR Global Institute Report • November 2013
Digitization in Europe
– Unlocking Europe’s
Entrepreneurial Potential
By Philipp Freise
KKR Member, Private Equity,
Head of KKR’s European Media Industry Team
and Lucian Schoenefelder
KKR Principal, Private Equity
3. Digitization in Europe
The wave of digitization — a series of trends that have transformed
how we shop, consume media and drive efficiencies in all aspects
of doing business — is well advanced in Europe in our view.
The European Union alone boasts approximately 368 million online
users and 193 million Facebook users1 versus 245 million online
users and 166 million Facebook users in the U.S.,2 and a broadband
penetration rate of 72 percent3 (vs. 70 percent in the U.S.).4 In 2012,
European business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce grew by 19
percent to reach €311.6 billion,5 according to Ecommerce Europe.
In fact, the United Kingdom (UK) has the highest e-commerce
penetration globally with 87 percent of the UK’s Internet population
having bought a product or service online versus 43 percent in
the U.S.6 Mobile adoption has also been rapid, with smartphone
penetration in the UK and parts of Northern Europe already being
higher than in the U.S.7
growth capital may be playing. We will also discuss an emerging
“funding chain” that is developing around a complex international
eco-system, which will hopefully help Europe to unlock its full
digital potential, and in which private equity can play an important
role. Finally, we will look at the potential of large exits to energize
the European digital landscape and reinject capital into the next
generation of startups.
So if European consumers and businesses have so fully embraced
the digital economy, why is it essentially dominated by U.S.
companies like Google, Amazon, Facebook and others?8 Why is the
“digital balance of trade” so skewed toward the U.S. with Europe
being a large “net importer” of digital services and technology from
the U.S.? Is this imbalance changing and what could be the potential
drivers behind such a change?
The following analysis explores these questions, drawing on KKR’s
insights as well as interviews with leading entrepreneurs, investors
and officials from across Europe. We will discuss the key structural
advantages that are underpinning Europe’s digitization. In addition,
we will explore the key reasons why Europe is lagging behind the
U.S. in the creation of successful global digital powerhouses. In
particular, this paper will examine the role that limited access to
1 Internet World Stats, European Union. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
2 Internet World Stats, European Union. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
3 Eurostat News Release. “Internet access and use in 2012.” Eurostat
Commission 2012. Available at: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_STAT12-185_en.htm
4 Pew Internet. “Home Broadband 2013.” Pew Internet, 2013. Available at:
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Broadband/Findings.aspx
5 Ecommerce Europe. “European E-commerce to reach 312 billion in 2012.”
Ecommerce Europe, 2013. Available at: http://www.ecommerce-europe.eu/
press/2013/05/press-release-european-e-commerce-to-reach-312-billion-in2012-19-growth
6 Digital Strategy Consulting. “Global ecommerce penetration by country:
2013.” Digital Strategy Consulting, 2013. Available at: http://www.
digitalstrategyconsulting.com/intelligence/2013/08/global_ecommerce_
penetration_by_country_2013.php
7 Google. “Our Mobile Planet.” Google, 2013. Available at: http://www.
thinkwithgoogle.com/mobileplanet/en/graph/?country=no&country=se&count
ry=uk&country=us&category=DETAILS&topic=Q00&stat=Q00_1&wave=2013
&age=all&gender=all&chart_type=&active=stat
8 See “Most visited website per Country” visualization created by the
Information Geographies department at the Oxford Internet Institute.
Available at: http://geography.oii.ox.ac.uk/
3
KKR
Digitization in Europe – Unlocking Europe’s Entrepreneurial Potential
4. Europe’s Key Advantages:
Multiple Hubs of Innovation,
Great Talent and Experience
with Internationalization
4
KKR
Digitization in Europe – Unlocking Europe’s Entrepreneurial Potential
5. a) Regional “Mini-Silicon Valleys” with
High Quality Talent Drive Innovation
created various tax incentives for investments in startups and
boasts a lower corporate tax rate than the U.S. and most European
countries.
We believe Europe’s digital economy is differentiated by several
structural advantages. This has resulted in the creation of market
leaders such as Skype, Spotify and Fotolia that seem to have had a
disruptive impact on industries ranging from telecoms to music to
stock photography.
Europe’s diversity of cultures and languages has led to the creation
of several regional “mini-Silicon Valleys,” each with its own unique
fabric specific to the local culture, policies and innovation climate.
These tech hubs seem to benefit from access to strong research
institutions and talent at reasonable prices, as well as an improving
ecosystem of local angels, venture capital firms and incubators.
While each hub is a distinct entity, there is significant interplay
among them. A startup with a Swedish founder may be based in
Berlin, find capital in London and employ Spanish developers.
Stockholm has also become a thriving digital hub. Despite a
population of only 9.6 million as of August 2013,11 Sweden boasts
a disproportionate number of high-quality success stories like
the music-streaming site, Spotify, the online payments company,
Klarna, and the online advertising company, Tradedoubler. Although
Swedish start-ups may face the disadvantage of a small home
market and high cost of living, they benefit from a population of
early adopters. Together, with access to high-quality engineering
and design talent, this makes for an excellent “test market,” from
which companies with global aspirations can expand to the rest of
Europe or the U.S.
Berlin has similarly emerged as a serious digital media hub,
although it has not seen yet the quality success stories that London
N E W B U S I N E S S E S L AU NC H E D A N N UA L LY I N B E R L I N ( 1 9 9 7 – 2 0 1 2 )
50
Number in 1,000
45
42.7
4 1.9
4 1.1
3 9.3
40
44.5
44.2
20 1 1
20 1 2
4 0 .1
3 9.4
36.7
3 5 3 2 .9
3 1.1
3 0 .1
30
32.0
2 8 .3
2 5 .9
2 7.5
25
20
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
20 0 3
20 0 4
20 0 5
20 0 6
20 0 7
20 0 8
20 0 9
20 1 0
Source: Office for Statistics Berlin - Brandenburg
In London’s “Silicon Roundabout,” some 1,300-1,400 digital and
media startups are creating new jobs and have transformed East
London into a global entrepreneurial hub.9 The UK attracted $656
million in venture capital in the first half of 2013, which compares to
$1.8 billion for all of Europe.10 London is benefitting from its role as
the financial and media capital of Europe and is able to attract talent
from all over the world. The British government has, moreover,
9 Bloomberg. “Hipsters Flocking to Silicon Roundabout as Bankers Fade.”
Bloomberg, May 13, 2013. Available at: http://www.bloomberg.com/
news/2013-05-14/hipsters-flocking-to-silicon-roundabout-as-bankers-fade.
html
10 DFJ Esprit. “Scarcity of follow-on start-up funding exposed…” DFJ Esprit,
July 22, 2013. Available at: http://www.dfjesprit.com/news/scarcity-offollow-on-start-up-funding-exposed-in-first-half-of-2013-as-uk-surrenderslead-to-france-in-european-venture-deals-over-usd-5million/
5
KKR
and Stockholm can showcase. In the first half of 2013, Germanspeaking countries including Germany, Austria and Switzerland
collectively captured $343 million of the total invested in venture
deals.12 Berlin offers a combination of low rents, a highly creative
and trendy culture, affordable talent and an advanced network
of accelerators and incubators. The city boasts thriving digital
companies such as SoundCloud, founded by two Swedes who
relocated to be near Berlin’s thriving music scene, as well as the
scientific-research network, ResearchGate.
The “Silicon Sentier” in Paris is powered by high-quality
11 Statistics Sweden. Population Statistics accessed October 22, 2013.
Available at: http://www.scb.se/Pages/Product____25799.aspx
12 DFJ Esprit Op cit.
Digitization in Europe – Unlocking Europe’s Entrepreneurial Potential
6. engineering talent from France’s “Grande Ecoles.” Talent in Paris
is competitively priced relative to Silicon Valley and other markets.
Equity pools to attract key employees are often lower in France
than in the U.S., where startups typically hand over 10 to 20 percent
of their equity to employees.13 Cyrille Vincey, CEO and founder
of Paris-based data visualization startup Qunb, says such pools
typically represent 3 to 5 percent in France, in his experience.
Investors and entrepreneurs, however, have recently been rattled by
the French government’s intervention in the attempts of Dailymotion
to sell a controlling stake to Yahoo!
Berlin is also the European capital of incubators. Rocket Internet,
which calls itself “the world’s largest Internet incubator” on its
website, is a prominent global player. Incubators like Project A
Ventures (funded by German Otto Group and the media company
Axel Springer) or EPIC (funded by the German media company
ProSiebenSat.1) are more focused on Germany and Europe.
Incubators either develop and execute business models by
themselves or help entrepreneurs to fund and execute their
ideas. In the latter case, incubators not only provide funding to
entrepreneurs, they also give access to an in-house backbone
of operational support services such as online marketing, data
warehousing, web development and sales. While entrepreneurs
usually have to give up a larger share of their ownership in an
incubator-funded model, they can benefit from an operational
machine that potentially de-risks their execution.
market.”15
This inborn “roll-out DNA” is becoming more and more valuable
as the relative share of the U.S. in the digital marketplace is
decreasing and truly global online economies are formed. In 1996,
two-thirds of global Internet users lived in the U.S. Sixteen years
later, U.S. users represented only 13 percent of the global total, an
indication of how much of the world has gone online, according to a
recent digital trends report by comScore.16
We believe European companies are well positioned in the cyber
“land-grab” that is currently unfolding in many online verticals to
penetrate these high-growth markets. Rocket Internet, for example,
has been rapidly rolling out its incubator business to Latin America,
Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia. It now boasts seven offices in
Latin America, five in Asia and four in Africa, which have been set
up to roll out attractive business models globally. The company
intends to invest a significant portion of the more than $500
million-plus it raised in July 2013 into emerging markets such as
Latin America, Asia and Africa.17
Finally, Helsinki, Finland is associated with the successes of the
mobile phone maker Nokia and “Angry Birds” maker Rovio. While
Nokia is struggling with the transition to smartphones, we believe
it has provided Finland with strong experience in developing
mobile apps and platforms. Supercell, the company behind the no.1
mobile game hit Clash of Clans, is just the most recent example of
Finland’s mobile development prowess. The company was founded
in June 2010 and announced the sale of a 51 percent stake to
SoftBank for $1.5 billion in October 2013.14
Other notable hubs in Europe include Barcelona, Amsterdam,
Moscow and Tallinn.
b) Differentiated Experience with
International Roll-outs
Next to the regional diversity of its startup scene and the supply
of great talent at reasonable rates, in our view, European
entrepreneurs also have differentiated experience with rolling out
business models across different countries. Given the relatively
small size of each individual European market, European digital
companies were historically often forced to look beyond their own
borders much earlier than their U.S. peers. As Skype co-founder,
Niklas Zennström, noted in 2011 of entrepreneurs in European
markets, “We didn’t think about one market — the world is our
13 Perkins Cole. “Back to Basics: Consider the Number of Shares to be Issued
When You Form Your Startups.” Startuppercolator.com. May 16, 2012.
Available at: http://www.startuppercolator.com/back-to-basics-consider-thenumber-of-shares-to-be-issued-when-you-form-your-startup-05-16-2012/
14 Reuters. “SoftBank buy $1.5 billion stake in Finnish mobile games
maker Supercell” Oct. 21, 2013. Available at: http://www.reuters.com/
article/2013/10/21/net-us-softbank-acquisition-idUSBRE99E0ID20131021
6
KKR
“
We didn’t think about one market
— the world is our market.
“
Niklas Zennström
Skype co-founder, in The Wall Street Journal
15 The Wall Street Journal. “Skype Founder to Students: Don’t Follow the
Obvious Path.” WSJ.com, March 11, 2011. Available at: http://blogs.wsj.com/
venturecapital/2011/03/11/skype-founder-to-students-don%E2%80%99tfollow-the-obvious-path/
16 comScore. “State of the Internet Q1 2012”. comScore.
17 The Wall Street Journal. “Rocket Internet Raises $1 Billion in a Year.”
WSJ.com. July 16, 2013. Available at: http://blogs.wsj.com/techeurope/2013/07/16/rocket-internet-raises-1-billion-in-a-year/
Digitization in Europe – Unlocking Europe’s Entrepreneurial Potential
7. Berlin
Germany
Soundcloud
Wooga
Madvertise
Eyeem
Activity
Activity
Music streaming and
sharing
Online games
Activity
Activity
Founded
Founded
2009
2007
Funding total
Funding total
$32.2 million
$63.3 million
Founders
Founders
Jens Begemann, Philipp
Moeser, Patrick Paulisch
Alexander Ljung, Eric
Wahlforss
key backers
Doughty Hanson Technology
Ventures, Union Square
Ventures, Index Ventures,
Kleiner Perkins Caufield &
Byers, GGV Capital
Founded
2008
key backers
HV Holtzbrinck Ventures,
Balderton Capital,Highland
Capital Partners, Tenaya
Capital
Helsinki
Online Advertising
Funding total
$10 million
Founders
Carsten Frien
key backers
Point Nine Capital, Earlybird
Venture Capital, Blumberg
Capital, Felicis Ventures
Photo sharing app
Founded
2011
Funding total
$6 million
Founders
Florian Meissner, Lorenz
Aschoff, Ramzi Rizk, Gen
Sadakane
key backers
Earlybird Venture Capital,
Wellington Partners,
Passion Capital
Supercell
activity
finland
Online games
Rovio Entertainment
(Angry Birds)
activity
Online games
founded
2003
funding total
$42 million
co-founder
Niklas Hed
founded
2010
funding total
$272 million
founders
Visa Forsten, Lassi
Leppinen, Petri Styrman,
Mikko Kodisoja, Ilkka
Paananen
key backers
Bitbar
Applifier
activity
activity
IOS and Android app
developer
Online games
founded
2008
1995
funding total
$3 million
founder
Marko Kaasila
founded
funding total
$6 million
founder
Jussi Laakkonen
key backers
Lifeline Ventures, MHS
Capital, PROfounders
C
apital, Webb Investment
Network, Tekes
Accel Partners, London
venture Partners, Index Ventures, Atomico, Institutional
Venture Partners, Initial
Capital, Lifeline Ventures,
Cerval Investments
key backers
Badoo
Shazam
Mind Candy
Hailo
activity
activity
activity
activity
Online games
Mobile taxi app
founded
founded
2003
2010
funding total
funding total
$10 million
$50.6 million
founder
founders
Michael Acton Smith
Russell Hall, Gary Jackson,
Terry Runham, Jay Bregman,
Caspar Woolley, Ron Zeghibe
key backers
Accel Partners, Atomico,
Felicis Ventures
Finnvera Venture Capital,
Creathor Venture
M
anagement, DFJ Esprit,
Qualcomm Ventures, Draper
Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ)
London
united kingdom
Social Network
founded
2006
funding total
$30.6 million
key backer
FINAM Global
Music identification
technology
founded
2002
funding total
$72 million
founders
Avery Wang, Dhiraj
Mukherjee
key backers
Kleiner Perkins Caufield
Byers, Institutional Venture
Partners, DN Capital,
América Móvil
key backers
Index Ventures, Accel
Partners, Spark Ventures
key backers
Accel Partners, Atomico,
Wellington Partners, Red
Swan, Union Square
Ventures, KDDI, Richard
Branson, Felicis Ventures
8. Paris
france
Criteo
Jolicloud
activity
Online advertising
founded
2005
Deezer
Viadeo
activity
activity
activity
Cloud management
platform
founded
Music streaming
founded
founded
2006
2009
funding total
funding total
$149 million
(IPO October 2013)
$4.2 million
founder
founders
founders
Daniel Marhely
Tariq Krim, Romain Huet
key backers
funding total
$63.4 million
Jean-Baptiste Rudelle,
Franck Le Ouay
key backers
IDInvest Partners, Elaia
Partners, Index Ventures,
Bessemer Venture Partners,
SoftBank Capital
Stockholm
activity
Music streaming
and sharing
founded
2006
funding total
$288 million
founders
Daniel Ek, Martin Lorentzon
key backers
Creandum, Northzone,
Horizons Ventures,
Wellington Partners, Sean
Parker, Founders Fund,
Kleiner Perkins Caufield
Byers, Accel Partners,
Digital Sky Technologies,
Goldman Sachs, Li Ka-shing
funding total
$50.2 million
founders
Dan Serfaty, Thierry Lunati
key backers
Atomico, Mangrove Capital
Partners
Access Industries, IDInvest
Partners, CM-CIC apital
C
Prive, Xavier Niel, Dotcorp
Asset Management,
Business Angels
Narrative
Klarna
Tictail
activity
activity
Online payment solution
Ecommerce
founded
founded
2005
2012
funding total
funding total
$166 million
$1.57 million
founders
founders
Sebastian Siemiatkowski,
Victor Jacobsson,
Carl Waldekranz,
Siavash Ghorbani,
Kaj Drobin, Birk Nilson
key backers
(formerly Memoto)
activity
Life-logging camera
founded
2012
funding total
$3 million
founders
Martin Källström, Oskar
Kalmaru
key backers
True Ventures
Niklas Adalberth
key backers
Investment AB Oresund,
Sequoia Capital, General
Atlantic, Digital Sky
Technologies
Tallinn
IDInvest Partners, Ventech
Capital, Fonds trategique
S
d’Investissement
key backers
Balderton Capital,
Klaus Hommel, Gustav
Söderström, Fredrik
Nylander, Gustaf Alstromer
Grabcad
(Development
team in Tallinn,
headquartered in
Cambridge, Mass.)
estonia
Transferwise
(Headquartered in London)
activity
Online payment solution
founded
2010
funding total
$7.37 million
Fits.me
activity
Virtual fitting room
founded
2010
funding total
$8.95 million
founder
founders
Heikki Haldre
Taavet Hinrikus, Kristo
Kaarmann
key backers
key backers
IA Ventures, Index Ventures,
Kima Ventures, V Angel,
S
Valar Ventures, Seedcamp
KKR
2004
Spotify
sweden
8
Professional social network
SmartCap, Conor Venture
Partners, Fostergate
Holdings, Entrepreneurs
Fund, Estonian Development
Fund
Digitization in Europe – Unlocking Europe’s Entrepreneurial Potential
activity
Engineering design
collaboration tool
Erply
activity
Point of sale software nd
a
inventory system
founded
founded
2009
2009
funding total
funding total
$4.22 million
$13.6 million
founders
co-founder
Hardi Meybaum
Kristian Hilemaa, Kristjan
Randma, Kris Hiiemaa
key backers
key backers
Matrix Partners, Atlas Venture, Charles River Ventures,
NextView Ventures, David
Sacks, John McEleney, Alex
Ott, Angus Davis, Jon Stevenson, Seedcamp, Techstars
Seedcamp, Redpoint Ventures, Index Ventures, Marten
Mickos, Kenny Van Zant, Zack
Urlocker, he Accelerator
T
Group, 500 Startups, Felicis
V
entures, Dave McClure
9. Europe’s Key Disadvantages:
No Uniform Home Market, Stigma
of Failure and Limited Access to
Growth Capital
9
KKR
Digitization in Europe – Unlocking Europe’s Entrepreneurial Potential
10. Despite these differentiating factors, we believe Europe is suffering
from three important structural issues that have put European
companies at a disadvantage to their U.S. peers.
a) No Large, Uniform Home Market
While European companies tend to think relatively early about
“the world as their home market” due to the small size of the
national markets, this dynamic can also put European firms at a
disadvantage with respect to the time that is required to bring a
business to scale.
U.S. competitors on the other hand can gain scale faster,
accumulate capital and can then challenge European players in
their home markets, or alternatively simply buy them out. Examples
include Groupon’s acquisition of MyCityDeal or eBay’s acquisition of
various local listing sites in Europe. This phenomenon of strategic
take-outs of local European players by U.S. companies is one of the
key reasons why the digital balance of trade is so skewed towards
the U.S.
b) Stigma of Failure
U.S. companies benefit from having a large domestic market with a
common language, culture, media, political and regulatory system.
A successful product can thus go viral and be rolled out in the U.S.
market relatively quickly. Despite increasing integration through the
EU, Europe on the other hand is still fairly fragmented. It usually
takes more time and effort to roll-out a business model across the
different European language zones.
There is also the risk that once a business model turns out to be
successful, domestic local language copycats pop up fast. Given
that many online business models benefit from strong firstmover advantages, local first movers can sometimes be difficult
to unseat by new market entrants. In particular in less technology
heavy business models, this pattern can prevent the creation of
a European player of size, and results in a fragmented landscape
of national champions. The online classified industry is a good
example of this phenomenon.
Culture and regulatory factors may also be constraining the growth
of European companies in the digital space.
Historically, the stigma attached to failure in a business or
bankruptcy has been more pronounced in Europe than in the U.S.
A 2012 poll by the European Commission, for instance, found that
roughly half of EU respondents said the risk of failure would deter
them from starting their own businesses. The aversion to failure
tends to vary by country, ranging from 66 percent of respondents in
Portugal to 52 percent in Germany, and from 48 percent in Sweden
to 38 percent in the UK.18 By comparison, 2012 polls by the group,
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, found that fear of failure would
deter only 32 percent of respondents in the U.S.
In addition, bankruptcy laws in European countries have historically
often resulted in full liquidation despite protracted proceedings,
forming another deterrent to risk-taking startups. Until a recent
change in the bankruptcy code, Italian bankruptcy proceedings,
FUNDRAISING, INVESTMENTS DIVESTMENTS BY EUROPEAN PE AND VC FUNDS (2000 - 2012)
1 20
112
100
80
€ billion
80
72
80
73
71
55
60
48
47
40
35
40
37
28 28
24
20
9
43
13
2 7 29
11
30
27
14
33
47
37
31
27
20
42
14
19
25
22
24
20
22
12
0
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
20 0 5
Funds Raised
20 0 6
Investments
20 0 7
20 0 8
20 0 9
20 1 0
20 1 1
20 1 2
Divestments
Source: Thomson Reuters / EVCA (2000 - 2006) EVCA / PEREP_Analytics (2007 - 2012)
18 European Commission. “Entrepreneurship in the EU and Beyond.” EC. May
23, 2013. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl_354_en.pdf
10
KKR
Digitization in Europe – Unlocking Europe’s Entrepreneurial Potential
11. for example could last a decade. But several countries including
France, Germany, Spain and Italy have now adopted laws similar
to Chapter 11 in the U.S., which may afford companies some
protections. In Germany, for example, companies can now more
easily convert debt to equity and attract new investors.19
We also believe a shift in attitudes is taking place in Europe, with
“entrepreneur” becoming an increasingly viable and desirable
career choice, especially as traditional industries, including
financial services, have declined since the financial crisis began in
2007.
c) Access to Growth Capital
Finally, European companies often get less ample funding than
their U.S. peers. In the second quarter of 2013, the amount invested
in the European tech sector was just shy of $1 billion, according
to Dow Jones VentureSource. This amount was dwarfed by the
investments in the U.S. tech sector, which equaled almost $4.7
billion in the same period.20 While it looks like 2013 will be the best
year for venture capital funding in Europe since the pre-crisis days
of 2007, the financial landscape remains much more uneven than
in the U.S, with the supply of capital varying significantly across
different phases of the funding cycle.
Seed and Early-Stage Funding – Good Capital
Supply
In this first funding phase, startups usually get seed funding of up
to €1 million. Despite the reputation of European investors as risk
averse, there is actually healthy appetite by local angel investors to
fund early rounds.21 There are also various attractive government
incentive schemes. In the UK, the Seed Enterprise Investment
Scheme (SEIS) offers tax relief on investments up to £100,000, and
allows 100 percent write-offs in failed companies. In Germany, KfW,
a quasi-governmental development bank, is lending up to €500,000
to start-ups at a low interest rate of 0.65% per annum. In France,
high earners can deduct up to €1.5 million from their wealth tax if
they invest in local startups or funds.
Seed funding from venture capital has remained relatively static,
but other investment vehicles such as Rocket Internet, EPIC and
Project A have a growing impact. These incubators are often
backed by money from media companies (e.g. EPIC/ProSiebenSat.1;
Project A/Axel Springer) or family groups with an affinity to online
models (Rocket Internet/Kinnevik; Project A/Otto Group).
19 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Fear of Failure data. Available at: http://
www.gemconsortium.org/visualizations
20 The Wall Street Journal. “Europe Builds Own Chapter 11.” WSJ.com, April 5,
2013. Available at: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB1000142412788732
3296504578398612178796882
21 British Venture Capital Association. “European Venture Capital:
Myths and Facts.” BVCA. January 2013. Available at: http://
www.bvca.co.uk/ResearchPublications/ResearchReports/
EuropeanVentureCapitalMythsandFacts.aspx
11
KKR
First and Second Round - Lack of Capital Supply
The second phase is the funding for Series A and B. This phase
of funding has been a more challenging area for European
entrepreneurs. It provides the crucial capital that helps companies
grow from conception and initial start to economic viability. Less
than 25 percent of venture capital invested in Europe in the second
quarter of 2013 was for second funding rounds, compared with
almost 70 percent in the U.S.22
This is mostly a capital supply issue, as there are far fewer funds
that are able to lead a $5 million investment in a single company.
There were about 200 companies that had deals of $5 million or
more during the first half of 2013, compared with 1,000 in the U.S.,
according to London venture capital firm, DFJ Esprit LLP.23 While
capital is increasingly international, this is more often the case in
later stages.
The second underlying issue is one of higher risk aversion by
institutional investors, in Europe as elsewhere. Dörte Höppner,
Secretary-General of the European Private Equity and Venture
Capital Association, says that some European institutional investors
are still in the process of getting comfortable with venture risk.
Nevertheless, these investors need to generate high returns to
meet their liabilities and for this reason will turn to venture capital
once again. Currently, there are a significant number of promising
companies in the portfolio of European Venture capitalists with
the capacity for growth. These companies, once sold, will generate
significant returns for their investors.
IPOs – Illiquid Capital Markets for Tech and Online
Companies
Europe is clearly lagging behind the U.S. when it comes to a liquid
IPO market that can fund growth through primary capital or allows
entrepreneurs to exit their investments. According to Dealogic,
there have been 33 tech IPOs with a combined market capitalization
of $4.7 billion in the U.S. over the last 12 months, while London,
Paris and Frankfurt together saw only 3 IPOs with a combined
market capitalization of less than $500 million.24 Capital markets in
Europe are generally not as liquid as in the U.S., which is an issue
for smaller listings. Investors are also less familiar with digital
business models, and there is thus no equivalent of the NASDAQ
Stock Market in Europe.
The resulting higher valuations in the U.S. are attracting European
companies to list in the U.S. rather than in Europe. As a case in
point, French online advertising firm, Criteo, listed on NASDAQ on
October 30, 2013, in what was widely considered to be a successful
IPO, with an initial market capitalization of approximately $2.3
billion. Criteo’s venture backers, including Index Ventures, Idinvest
Partners, Elaia Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners, are
expected to profit from the deal.
22 The Wall Street Journal. “Venture Capital in the U.S. and Europe
Compared.” WSJ.com. July 31, 2013. Available at: http://blogs.wsj.com/techeurope/2013/07/31/venture-capital-in-the-u-s-and-europe-compared/
23 DFJ Esprit. Op cit.
24 Dealogic estimates.
Digitization in Europe – Unlocking Europe’s Entrepreneurial Potential
12. Undersupply of Capital Creates
Attractive Opportunities
12
KKR
Digitization in Europe – Unlocking Europe’s Entrepreneurial Potential
13. If one combines the high level of digital adoption by European
consumers and businesses with the quality of talent, creativity and
diversity of its multiple tech hubs, one would think that Europe
offers a good supply of investment opportunities. On the other hand,
capital supply, in particular in the critical growth stage of a startup,
is scarcer than in the U.S. and capital markets are often not an
option to raise capital or exit a company.
This supply/demand imbalance can lead to attractive investment
opportunities for investors, as deal competition is more limited and
the resulting valuation levels are lower in comparison to the U.S.
DIGITAL INVESTMENTS A S
%
Jean-David Chamboredon, the head of Paris-based venture firm
ISAI summarizes this dynamic well, when he says, “Clearly, the
competition between investors remains relatively modest, which
means that for an ecosystem of startups that — in terms of quality
— competes with the U.S., the entry price for an investor remains
much lower.” Adding to that, Matthias Ummenhofer, the head of
venture capital for the European Investment Fund (EIF), a publicprivate partnership that provides finance to small and medium
enterprises across Europe says, “Very good companies are being
sold at a nice discount.”
OF GDP IN U. S. , U. K. AND FRANCE
0.8
(As a percentage of nominal GDP)
0.7
0.6
0.5
0 .4
0 .3
0.2
0 .1
0.0
2005
2 0 06
20 0 7
United States
20 0 8
United Kingdom
Source: INSEE, CapitalIQ, Global Insight WMM
13
KKR
Digitization in Europe – Unlocking Europe’s Entrepreneurial Potential
20 0 9
France
20 1 0
14. Unlocking Europe’s Digital Potential
through a Differentiated Global
Funding Chain
14
KKR
Digitization in Europe – Unlocking Europe’s Entrepreneurial Potential
15. Attractive valuations and lower levels of competition are leading to
an interesting emerging “funding chain” that is starting to address
the European funding gap.
In this funding chain, local seed investors, partially supported by
government incentives, fund the start-up in its early stages. Supply
in this stage is relatively decent in Europe.
In the next phase of growth, incubators and accelerators like Rocket
Internet, Project A or EPIC are beginning to play a more important
role. They combine ample funding, often from European families or
traditional media companies, with hands-on support. As mentioned
above, incubators are also taking advantage of Europe’s roll-out
DNA to build global businesses from a European home-base.
U.S. venture capital funds, “VCs,” which are facing a highly
competitive market in the U.S., are also increasingly investing
in Europe’s digital companies. SoundCloud is a good example
of how European companies are taking advantage of the supply
of U.S. venture capital and thereby mitigating the fact that
homegrown venture funding is scarce. “In the Bay Area, there
is an abundance of money, so it becomes an entrepreneur’s
market,” says SoundCloud co-founder, Eric Wahlforss. “There is
so much opportunity that if you are a savvy entrepreneur, you can
pick and choose among the best.” SoundCloud raised capital from
Union Square Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers and Index
Ventures, among others.
In the later stage growth funding phase, private equity funds are
starting to take advantage of the fact that European capital markets
are often not liquid enough to support companies and founders.
They also bring a different skillset than VC funds and can help
companies with larger acquisitions or international roll-outs.
With this emergence of international capital, entrepreneurs
can potentially hold out longer and grow their companies for a
much larger exit, according to Per Roman, a founding partner
at Stockholm-based investment bank, GP Bullhound AB. Less
than a decade ago, startups would have been pushed by VCs to
exit at about $100 million in revenue. Now, more risk tolerant
investors with longer time horizons are allowing them to build their
businesses. Companies in this category include Spotify and Rovio.
Private Equity Partnerships as a Late Stage
Growth Funding Option
Private equity companies have become a viable exit and
funding alternative to the difficult European IPO markets. The
microstock photography website, Fotolia, is one example of how
digital innovators can leverage the capital, global network and
experience of private equity players to try to get to the next level in
development.
Founded in 2005, Fotolia’s crowdsourcing platform today provides
more than 4 million registered members access to roughly 24
million images from more than 200,000 photographers. These
images are sold at significantly lower prices than images of the
traditional “macrostock” agencies. Fotolia’s simple, low-priced,
online-only model disrupted the stock images space in Europe.
In 2012, Fotolia’s Founder, Oleg Tscheltzoff, wanted to de-risk a
part of his investment and needed a growth partner, who could
help him grow the company to the next level. KKR has worked with
Tscheltzoff and his team to develop a plan which was focused on
expanding the predominantly European business to new markets,
while at the same time investing in areas such as marketing, sales,
finance and information technology.
Given the lack of a liquid IPO market in Europe, private equity
can therefore act as an important exit route for founders or VCs
invested in larger online businesses, and become a partner for
operational professionalization, global roll-outs or buy and build-out
strategies.
“
For an ecosystem of startups that
— in terms of quality — competes
with the U.S., the entry price for
an investor remains much lower.
“
Jean-David Chamboredon
Head of Paris-based venture firm, ISAI
15
KKR
Digitization in Europe – Unlocking Europe’s Entrepreneurial Potential
16. Outlook: Europe’s Chance to
Reduce the Digital Trade Deficit
16
KKR
Digitization in Europe – Unlocking Europe’s Entrepreneurial Potential
17. In our view, Europe’s digital economy has great potential. It is
buzzing with creativity as well as the diversity that is needed to
create innovative new products. It boasts some of the world’s most
tech-savvy consumers, benefits from a high-quality talent base
that is reasonably priced and can operate from a diverse range of
competing hubs like London, Stockholm, Berlin and Paris, to name
some of the major ones. Some European governments, in particular
in Northern Europe, are supporting these ecosystems with funds
and tax breaks. Furthermore, European companies grow up with a
“roll-out DNA” that we believe could give them an edge in expanding
beyond their continent.
Large Exits Are Needed
Large successful exits are needed to energize the ecosystem and
encourage venture capitalists to invest larger sums in expectation
of bigger payoffs. “What Berlin needs is a big IPO for the industry
to be taken more seriously,” says Rocket Internet’s, Alexander
Kudlich. Large exits would also create significant wealth for local
entrepreneurs that could re-invest their exit proceeds into new
ventures like their U.S. peers. Over time, this could lead to a
normalization of capital supply.
Regulatory Barriers Must Fall
Divergent regional regulations and tax codes remain hurdles.
While the European digital industry - with its fluid, multi-lingual
international labor force, its global business outlook and its
emerging international funding chain - has already become a poster
child for economic integration in Europe, talent and capital mobility
is still an issue in many instances, in our view. A handful of leaders
in Europe’s tech sector, including the co-founders of Spotify and
the accelerator Seedcamp, have therefore recently unveiled a
manifesto for entrepreneurship and innovation that makes access to
talent and capital a key pillar of their digital growth plan for Europe.
The manifesto’s authors call for easing restrictions on companies
hiring outside their home countries and making it easier for non-EU
entrepreneurs to start businesses or joining EU businesses, among
other priorities.
Moreover, a collection of startups are poised to make big exits in
the coming years, which industry watchers expect may set loose
the animal spirits of entrepreneurship.
For all these reasons, we expect to see a correction in the digital
balance of trade that favors the U.S. However, several elements
should first align:
Various European countries are starting to realize that
entrepreneurship is the most effective way to foster growth in
otherwise stagnant economies and are becoming more open to
such policy changes. The signs are therefore encouraging that the
European digital industry will in the years ahead be able to awaken
the extraordinary entrepreneurial potential of Europe.
Access to Funding Must Improve
Europe’s biggest strength is also its greatest weakness: diversity.
It can lead to fragmentation into national markets, which impedes
the scalability of business models. Although local angel investors
and government schemes contribute to a healthy seed funding
environment, capital supply in the Series A/B, growth and latestage phases of a company is scarcer than in the U.S. Capitalraising through IPOs is much more difficult than in the U.S.
The relative attractive valuations that can be achieved for quality
companies in Europe is, however, starting to lead to an increasing
influx of capital from the U.S., while European companies and
families are investing into incubators that are de-risking the venture
phase through hands-on operational help. Private equity can play an
important part to substitute less developed IPO markets and bring
larger digital companies to the next stage of their development.
17
KKR
Digitization in Europe – Unlocking Europe’s Entrepreneurial Potential
18. Important Information
The views expressed in this publication are the views
of the KKR Global Institute and do not necessarily
reflect the views of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts Co. L.P.
(together with its affiliates, “KKR”). This publication
is not intended to endorse any investment theme
or sector. It is being provided merely to provide
a framework of the current European digitization
landscape and the strengths and weaknesses of this
sector.
The views expressed reflect the current, good faith
views of the KKR Global Institute as of the date hereof
and it does not undertake to advise you of any changes
in the views expressed herein. In addition, the views
expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinions of
any investment professional at KKR, and may not be
reflected in the strategies and products that KKR offers.
It should not be assumed that KKR or the KKR Global
Institute will make investment recommendations in the
future that are consistent with the views expressed
herein, or use any or all of the techniques or methods
of analysis described herein in managing client
accounts. KKR and its affiliates may have positions
(long or short) or engage in securities transactions
www.kkr.com
that are not consistent with the information and views
expressed in this document.
This publication has been prepared solely for
informational purposes. The information contained
herein is only as current as of the date indicated,
and may be superseded by subsequent political or
market events or for other reasons. Charts and graphs
provided herein are for illustrative purposes only.
The information in this document has been developed
internally and/or obtained from sources believed to
be reliable; however, neither the KKR Global Institute
nor KKR guarantees the accuracy, adequacy or
completeness of such information. Nothing contained
herein constitutes investment, legal, tax or other advice
nor is it to be relied on in making an investment or
other decision.
This publication should not be viewed as a current or
past recommendation or a solicitation of an offer to
buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investment
strategy.
The information in this publication may contain
projections or other forward-looking statements
regarding future events, targets, forecasts or
expectations described herein, and is only current
as of the date indicated. There is no assurance that
such events or targets will be achieved, and may
be significantly different from that shown here. The
information in this document, including statements
concerning political events and financial market trends,
is based on current political or economic conditions,
which fluctuate and may be superseded by subsequent
events or for other reasons.
The KKR Global Institute assumes no duty to, nor
undertakes to update forward looking statements.
No representation or warranty, express or implied,
is made or given by or on behalf of the KKR Global
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