Europe's tech gap widens as euro's faith grows

Europe's AI investment gap isn't just widening—it's becoming a chasm that could define the next century. In 2024, the US attracted approximately $109 billion in private AI investment. Europe and the UK? Just $19 billion—a roughly 6x gap. While Americans deployed capital at wartime urgency, Europe debated regulations and consulted stakeholders. The ratio tells the story: in 2013, the US invested nearly 7x more than Europe in AI. Today, after a decade of "strategic autonomy" rhetoric, the multiple is essentially unchanged. This isn't about one technology—it's about who controls the commanding heights of the 21st century economy. AI will reshape everything from defense to healthcare to productivity. Europe's hesitation today means dependency tomorrow. The continent that invented the scientific method now watches from the sidelines as others build the future. Can Europe afford another decade of incrementalism, or is it time to abandon caution and embrace the risk that built Silicon Valley?

I have been pushing the Middle East-to-Asia corridor quite a bit over the past few years. Everyone talks about the rise of Asia and the ambition of the Middle East, and this new report is quite interesting. https://lnkd.in/et9qP27p It's one of the clearest pieces of analysis showing that the world’s financial centre of gravity is moving. Not slowly. Not tentatively. Rapidly. The numbers are extraordinary. 1. Trade between the Gulf and Asia has grown at more than double the rate of Gulf trade with Europe and the USA. 2. Asian investors are now among the largest recipients of Gulf capital. 3. Strategic partnerships between GCC sovereigns and Asian governments have grown tenfold over the past decade. 4. More than half of the new long-term investment agreements signed by GCC governments in the last three years involve Asian partners. Here is the real headline. Europe and the USA no longer define the core of global capital flows. They remain relevant, but they are no longer the gravitational centre. The Gulf and Asia now drive the most dynamic flows of capital, trade, technology, and financial infrastructure. You can see this shift everywhere. Gulf sovereign wealth funds are deploying billions into India, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, South Korea, and Japan. Asian corporates investing in Saudi giga projects, UAE climate platforms, and GCC infrastructure. The rise of new IFCs across Asia and the Gulf that increasingly speak to each other rather than to London or New York. The adoption of tokenised funds, real-time settlement, and stablecoin-based payment rails is happening more quickly along this corridor than in any Western market. For Apex Group Ltd and indeed my other firms, this is not theory. It is what we see every day. Chinese, Indian, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Korean, and Japanese managers are flowing into the Gulf at a pace that would have been unimaginable a few years ago. Gulf allocators are reciprocating. The corridor has become a living system of capital. The Asia House report simply confirms what the data has been screaming for years. The centre of global financial energy has shifted. The world is reorganising around a Middle East to Asia arc. Those who understand this will shape the next decade. Those who cling to the old map will spend the next decade wondering what happened. Apex Invest kicks off next weekend, and it's so heartening to see so many Asian managers here to meet the Middle Eastern-based allocators. #MiddleEastAsiaCorridor #CapitalFlows #GlobalFinance #SovereignWealth #AsiaInvestment #GCCGrowth #FutureOfFinance Benjamin Tan Valérie Mantot - Groene Tyler McElhaney Wilber Chiu John Davis Jake Fisher Akshay Thakurdesai Amit Jain Christiane El Habre Naveed Zamir, FCCA Emad Khan, CFA Zafar Khan Sonja Suessenbach Walid Hayeck Georges Archibald Matthew Pykstra, CFA, FRM

Europe’s 2026 economic engine is forecast to regain traction. The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) latest World Economic Outlook projects that the region’s combined output will reach $31.4 trillion (€27.0 trillion) in 2026, with the biggest gains concentrated in Western Europe. https://lnkd.in/gtmA-jhJ

China’s Five-Year Plans are strategic blueprints that guide national development priorities. The article dated November 3, 2025, in the NY Times, covers the latest iteration--China’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030)--which is expected to emphasize technological self-reliance, green development, and economic resilience amid global tensions and domestic challenges. Key Focus Areas in China’s 15th Five-Year Plan: Technological independence: Strengthening domestic innovation in semiconductors, AI, biotech, and quantum computing to reduce reliance on Western tech. Green transformation: Accelerating carbon neutrality goals, expanding renewable energy, and promoting electric vehicles and sustainable urbanization. Economic restructuring: Shifting from export-led growth to domestic consumption, boosting services and high-end manufacturing. Rural revitalization: Investing in rural infrastructure, education, and healthcare to reduce urban-rural disparities. National security and supply chain resilience: Enhancing food, energy, and data security amid geopolitical uncertainties. Global markets: The plan may signal tighter controls on foreign investment and data flows, affecting multinational corporations operating in China. Climate diplomacy: China’s green commitments could influence global climate negotiations, especially around carbon trading and emissions targets. U.S.–China relations: Emphasis on self-reliance and national security may deepen economic decoupling trends.

🇪🇺 Europe’s Economy — A Continent of Balance and Contrast INVEST — Insights for Success. Europe remains one of the world’s most complex and diversified economic zones, generating a combined $43.8 trillion (PPP-adjusted GDP) in 2025. Behind this impressive figure lies a mosaic of strengths — from industrial powerhouses to emerging markets driving future growth. 🔹 Western Europe — $14.8T The region’s engine of innovation, industry, and finance. • Germany ($6.2T) leads with advanced manufacturing and exports. • France ($4.5T) balances energy, services, and global diplomacy. • Switzerland ($0.88T) and Netherlands ($1.5T) remain strongholds of finance and trade. 🔹 Northern Europe — $7.8T Efficient, digital, and sustainable. • United Kingdom ($4.4T) maintains global reach through finance and creative industries. • Sweden, Norway, Ireland, Denmark excel in technology, green energy, and innovation. 🔹 Southern Europe — $8.3T Where resilience meets reinvention. • Italy ($3.7T) and Spain ($2.8T) recover strongly with tourism, automotive, and renewables. • Portugal and Greece prove that reform and stability pay off. 🔹 Eastern Europe — $12.8T The continent’s growth frontier. • Russia ($7.2T) remains dominant despite geopolitical headwinds. • Poland ($2.0T), Ukraine ($690B), and Romania ($927B) show rising economic momentum. 💬 Europe’s power lies in diversity — mature economies ensure stability, while emerging ones fuel expansion. Together, they form an interconnected ecosystem driving innovation, trade, and sustainable transition. 📈 INVEST — Turning Insights into Success. Source: IMF, Visual Capitalist (2025) #Europe #Economy #Finance #Investing #Markets #Growth #GDP #IMF #Trade #Innovation #INVESTMagazine

🤔 What are young people’s hopes, concerns, dreams? Executive Board member Frank Elderson spoke with young Europeans at this year’s #Euro20+ event organised by the Deutsche Bundesbank.   Key topics included: 🏦 how safe banks serve as the backbone of our economic system 🌿 how the climate crisis and nature loss affect our economy 💼 how to navigate career choices and find purpose in your job   Want to learn more about the event? Watch the recording 👉https://lnkd.in/eKxGxJFS 📷 by PicturePartners / Sophie Schüler

Despite an increasingly complicated and grim external environment, China's stepped-up policy support, domestic enterprises' focus on innovation and a growing inflow of foreign capital are further consolidating market confidence, said Robin Xing Ziqiang, chief China economist at Morgan Stanley. The number of Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors totaled at least 907 as of the end of August, with their holdings of Chinese shares valued at 949.3 billion yuan ($133.6 billion). #InvestinChina #ChinaOpportunity #ChinaEconomy #Innovation #GlobalInvestment

Nice take on making growth as primary metric for European economies. "To face the great transformation ahead, Europe needs both an innovation system and creative destruction. We lack in both areas, but we are particularly weak in creative destruction. The ECB has pointed out repeatedly that Europe’s failure to kill zombie firms crowds out credit for healthy firms. We must stop defending legacy assets and build a system that accepts both market entry and exit as the basic conditions for innovation." Lfg 🚀 Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eRGDy5vq