Venture Capital/Interview/ Europe needs to grow startups faster, warns ex-Cisco boss Some 72 European startups became unicorns this year. It won't be enough to keep up with the US and India says Chambers. By Maija Palmer 26 October 2021 John Chambers & Saket Modi, CEO of Safe Security John Chambers & Saket Modi, CEO of Safe Security \Venture Capital Brunch with Sifted: Sophia Bendz — angel investor, VC partner and ex-Spotify gatekeeper By Mimi Billing 1 July 2022 Venture Capital/Interview/ Europe needs to grow startups faster, warns ex-Cisco boss Some 72 European startups became unicorns this year. It won't be enough to keep up with the US and India says Chambers. By Maija Palmer 26 October 2021 Europe needs to accelerate the pace of its startup growth, says John Chambers, the former chief executive of Cisco turned cybersecurity investor. Chambers, who was appointed French high-tech ambassador by Emmanuelle Macron in 2018, is (perhaps unsurprisingly) a fan of the French tech ecosystem and the country’s recent push to digitise. But, he says, the continent overall is not developing large tech companies fast enough. “Do I like French startups? Oh yeah. I like the ecosystem and the direction it is going. The challenge is not moving fast enough,” he tells Sifted. “France isn’t quite at a 100% growth year over year it’s more like 60 or 70% growth. The other [European countries] are a little bit slower, so we need to accelerate.” “I like the ecosystem. The challenge is not moving fast enough” Chambers says the number of unicorns created in Europe is telling. Some 72 companies became unicorns in Europe this year, far ahead of China’s 22, according to data from Dealroom. But the US is adding even more — 182 new unicorns this year — and India is speeding up too, with 16 new unicorns this year for a total of 40. “It is important Europe accelerates,” he said. Chambers has yet to invest in a European startup himself. He was speaking to Sifted on a European tour to promote Safe Security, the Palo Alto-based cyber security company backed by his JC2 investment fund. BT, the British telecoms company, led a $33m investment round into Safe Security earlier this year, a sign that European companies are becoming more willing to invest in startups, says Chambers. The deal was BT’s first major investment in a cybersecurity company since 2006, a sign that the company is looking to grow in this area. “Some 50% of the major companies in Europe won’t be there in 15 years” “The only thing worse than making a mistake is doing the right thing too long. Some 50% of the major companies in Europe won’t be there in 15 years. You either disrupt or you’ve got a problem,” Chambers says. Safe Security helps organisations, including customers like Facebook and SoftBank, calculate the likelihood of a cyberattack and estimate the financial cost. On the back of the BT deal it’s planning to build a large presence in Europe, hiring more than 100 people. The company is aiming to become a unicorn — with at least a part of that growth coming from Europe. Maija Palmer is Sifted’s innovation editor. She covers deeptech and corporate innovation, and tweets from @maijapalmer Related Articles Santander spins out investment arm to get in on the best deals By Maija Palmer Click here to read more Member Brunch with Luciana Lixandru, Sequoia’s new European chief By Isabel Woodford Click here to read more Investment theses aren’t just for VCs. Angels need them too By Sarah Drinkwater Click here to read more 11 predictions for UK tech in 2022 By Freya Pratty Click here to read more Most Read 1 Member \Venture Capital German VCs are the second best paid in Europe 2 \Startup Life Where are Europe’s top digital nomad villages? 3 \Venture Capital New platform enables ‘everyday’ folk to invest in VC 4 \Venture Capital Europe gets its first creator-founded, creator-backed VC 5 \Public & Academic The European Commission has a big new plan for startups. Here’s what you need to know about it Join the conversation Subscribe Notify of new follow-up comments new replies to my comments
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