Global investment firm Accel pointed out in its latest "2025 Globalscape Report" that although the United States still leads in large artificial intelligence models, Europe is catching up in AI applications, with emerging companies such as Lovable and Synthesia rising rapidly.
According to the report data, since 2025, private financing in cloud and AI application sectors in Europe and Israel has reached 66% of that in the United States. Ten years ago, this ratio was only 10%. Philippe Botteri, a partner at Accel, said this significant shift is due to Europe's mature software startup and investment ecosystem, as well as a decade-long "technology flywheel effect."
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Different from the past, today's tech talent in Europe and Israel not only flows to Silicon Valley but also establishes competitive startups locally. In multiple industries such as law, healthcare, manufacturing, and marketing, founding teams with both technical capabilities and market insights continue to emerge. Jonathan Userovici from Headline said, "European AI entrepreneurs are combining their expertise with technological innovation to create differentiated advantages."
The growth speed of these AI-native companies is astonishing—annual revenue of millions of dollars that used to take decades to achieve can now be reached in just a few years. Botteri said that the productivity per person of this generation of software companies is "unprecedented," and this trend is occurring simultaneously on both sides of the Atlantic.
Despite this, traditional cloud software companies remain active. The Accel Public Cloud Index grew by 25% over the past year, and major cloud providers are adding intelligent agent features to their products. Some companies, such as Doctolib, have been seen as representatives of "AI-native" development.
As for the foundational model field, Botteri remains cautious about Europe's prospects. He pointed out that although companies like Mistral AI have attracted attention, the concentration of resources in the model layer still sees the United States and China as dominant. In contrast, venture capital firms are fiercely competing for AI application layer opportunities, believing that as long as products focus on user value and achieve rapid deployment, they still have a strong moat.
Additionally, Lotan Levkowitz from Israeli Grove Ventures emphasized that data is the underestimated golden asset: "The market focuses on models and computing power, but ignores the long-term value of data. Companies that master unique data and data flywheels will truly be the winners with great potential."
Key Points:
📈 Rise of Europe: AI application financing has reached two-thirds of that in the United States, achieving a tenfold increase in ten years.
🚀 Startup Flywheel: AI-native companies are growing rapidly, with productivity per person reaching an all-time high.
💡 Investment Shift: Shifting from model competition to data and application innovation, unique data has become the new focus of value.
