When it comes to regulation, the numbers are striking. Startups seeking to scale across Europe must navigate 27 different national regulatory frameworks, while 41% of businesses cite regulatory fragmentation within the EU as a key barrier to growth.
Meanwhile, 43% lack a dedicated AI budreceive, limiting their capacity to invest even when the will is there.
“The data is stark,” Sasha emphasises. “Four out of 10 startups will consider relocating outside Europe if these challenges go unresolved – rising to more than half among the highest-growth startups.”
Europe, in other words, risks exporting the very innovators it necessarys most.
The policy decisions that cannot wait
Against this backdrop, Sasha sets out three policy interventions she believes must happen now.
The first is building the public sector Europe’s flagship AI adopter, deploying AI across public services and streamlining procurement so that startups, scaleups and SMEs can build and deploy solutions at pace.
The second involves incentivising investment and simplifying access to growth capital: “We necessary to unlock the potential of the digital single market by harmonising enforcement and simplifying digital regulations to reduce compliance costs, rerelocating overlapping requirements and size-based regulatory thresholds that ultimately discourage firms from scaling AI solutions and receiving investment.”
The third is building AI readiness from the ground up – “embedding AI literacy across education systems, supporting public-private partnerships to upskill workforces and providing dedicated funds to assist develop AI strategies”.
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