This Week's Buzz and Insights
December 20, 2024
Editor's Column: Europe Can't Afford Losing Hungry Talents Like Ghodsi
Swedish-Iranian Ali Ghodsi made headlines worldwide this week when Databricks announced a $10 billion venture capital round. Ghodsi’s story is remarkable: born in Iran and raised in a rough suburb of Stockholm, he found salvation in computers, which sparked his passion for research. Yet, like many European immigrants, he felt excluded and constrained by limited opportunities in Sweden.
Ethnicity plays a lesser role in Silicon Valley. While far from perfect, individuals in Silicon Valley are judged primarily on their skills, contributions, and drive. It’s where talents from around the world come to succeed.
I have met others like Ghodsi—highly talented entrepreneurs and professionals who grew up as immigrants in the Nordics but never felt fully accepted. Motivated to prove themselves and achieve more, they moved abroad, seeking environments where their potential was recognized.
Silicon Valley thrives on hungry, ambitious entrepreneurs—many of them immigrants. They arrive in the U.S. with dreams and ambitions, finding a system where their backgrounds do not define their futures. This enables them to focus on creating companies, developing innovations, and transforming industries.
Europe risks losing the next generation of global leaders and innovators if it doesn’t adapt. Bureaucracy, insufficient startup support, and often negative attitudes toward immigrants hinder talented individuals from succeeding. While the U.S. welcomes -or at least used to welcome - and empowers these people, Europe often holds them back—at great cost to both the individuals and its own economic and technological future.
For Europe to compete globally, it must create an environment where talent from all backgrounds can thrive. This requires combating racism and exclusion, supporting entrepreneurs, and investing in education and research. Recognizing the power of diversity and the energy immigrants bring is crucial to innovation.
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