Europe is losing ground, and the stakes have never been higher. The tech innovation that has been fueling economic growth and national sovereignty in the past decades has shifted to the USA and China at Europe's expense. The US has pivoted to a protectionist "America First" strategy, repatriating capital that once flowed freely to European startups. US VCs have slashed their European investments by 40% since 2021*, creating a dangerous funding vacuum right when we need it most.

Putin's illegal war in Ukraine and the US threatening to abandon NATO, impose tariffs on European companies and cut off Ukraine support are a brutal wake-up call: Europe can't count on others for protection anymore. We urgently need to build robust capabilities in defense tech, cybersecurity, and space—areas where military and civilian applications overlap. The harsh reality? Whoever leads in these domains will determine the future of European sovereignty.

That's 20% more GDP by 2030 if we get our act together. Without tech independence, we're just digital colonists taking orders from Silicon Valley and Shenzhen. We need to urgently develop our own European semiconductor industry, cloud infrastructure, AI foundational models, quantum computing capabilities, and cybersecurity solutions to maintain our digital sovereignty in the 21st century.

Let's be honest about Brussels: EU politicians talk a good game with programs like the €95B Horizon Europe or with the 28th regime, but bureaucracy moves at the speed of paperwork, not innovation. By the time they've finished discussing solutions, the world has moved on. We can't wait for permission or perfect policy conditions. The responsibility falls on us—the founders, operators, innovators, and investors who understand what's at stake.

The reality is - we're sitting on massive pools of capital and knowledge that we just need to connect. That's how we'll win. We have 4.7 million STEM pros (54% more per capita than the US). Our researchers produce 33% of the world's top-cited papers. We've got 450 million consumers with money to spend.

And our engineers? They build the stuff that powers the world's tech in firms like Arm, ASML, and Nordic semiconductors. From Paris to Berlin, Vienna to Prague, we're seeing incredible innovation: France's thriving AI and deep tech ecosystem, Germany's industrial tech powerhouses, Austria's growing crypto and fintech scene, and Czechia's emerging cybersecurity champions. Add to this the Nordics' sustainability innovation, Eastern Europe's developer talent, and Southern Europe's creative tech - we have everything we need to succeed.

National tech ecosystems have created remarkable solutions in isolation, but imagine what happens when Czech cybersecurity expertise combines with French AI capabilities and German industrial precision. The question isn't whether European diversity is valuable—it's how we connect these brilliant minds and their expertise to nurture the next generation of European tech startups. By bringing together our best innovators across borders, we can create powerful knowledge networks that help new ventures grow faster and stronger.

We must build companies that ensure our digital borders are as secure as our physical ones. We need to create technologies that keep us competitive and independent. Not in five years. Not after the next EU budget cycle. Now.

We're founders who've been in the trenches and know how to connect founders across borders without the usual networking nonsense, put money where it matters, not where it's trendy, share what actually works, not what sounds good in pitch decks, and push for changes that make a real difference, not just look good in press releases.