Opinion

May 29, 2026

Stop telling European founders to move to the US

Europe's operating environment has not substantially worsened in the past year, but the narrative has, write Aura Salla and Pauliina Martikainen-Rahnu.


Here’s what’s happening, regularly, throughout Europe: A US investor flies in, sits across from a pre-seed founder and tells them they have to move to the US and incorporate there. It is simply impossible to build a global company from Europe or raise serious money as a European entity.

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Aura Salla

Aura Salla is a member of the European Parliament since 2024. Before turning to politics she was the head of EU affairs at Meta.

Pauliina Martikainen-Rahnu

Pauliina Martikainen-Rahnu is the managing partner at the Nordic venture capital firm Maki.vc.

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