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The State of European Tech report points to the success of tech-based businesses or acquisitions across the continent, but at the core of this success is deep tech.

When it comes to advances in AI, machine learning, VR and AR, drones, robotics and 3D printing, Europe is either leading the way, or is on par with the likes of the US. Since the start of 2015, $2.3 billion has been invested into deep tech in Europe and 2016 is on track for $1 billion – four times the amount in 2011.


Data from Dealroom.co shows that the UK has had the most investment ($1.3 billion) since 2011, followed by $582 million in France and $480 in Germany. Even Norway, the lowest ranking country of those studied, has received $56 million in the past five years. These figures also don't represent the recent acquisition of Skyscanner by China's Ctrip travel firm.

The top hub for AI in Europe is Berlin, which also leads the way in VR and AR development. Munich takes the top spot for people with Frontier Hardware skills.

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State of European Tech report/Slush/Atomico

One of the most interesting slides from the report into deep tech in Europe shows where US tech companies have set up camp across the continent.


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The map reveals Alphabet has hubs in Switzerland and London, Apple has bases in Grenoble, Berlin, Lund and Cambridge, Facebook and Amazon have both set up drone centres in the UK (Bridgwater and Cambridge), while Magic Leap has set up in the home of Slush itself, Helsinki.

"We are seeing some interesting ideas in areas like autonomous driving from businesses like Oxbotica, and in silicon architectures for machine by Graphcore, which recently raised Series A funding," said AzeemAzhar, vice president of Venture and Foresight, Schibsted Media Group and founder of Exponential View.


Recent investment (in $m) totals made in deep tech hubs across Europe State of European Tech/Slush/Atomico

"I'm seeing this deep thinking, not just in the UK, but also in Berlin, where they're bringing together the AI community and crypto scene to rethink some of the core questions around decentralised systems. They're not just looking into blockchain, but also into InterPlanetary File Systems (IPFS) – their work is certainly ambitious!"

Siraj Khaliq, partner at Atomico and former founder and CEO of Climate Corp told WIRED: “A new generation of entrepreneurs has been inspired by Europe’s strong AI companies, and founders are now building their own their own machine intelligence, computer vision and other deep tech

startups. They’ve found that there’s plenty of talent here in Europe to make it happen, and the ecosystem is ready to power this deep tech revolution.”