As Industrial Impact® venture capitalists, we at Momenta are acutely aware of the growing economic disparity between the U.S. and Europe. A recent analysis by Matthias Benz in NZZ highlights this gap, revealing that while the U.S. has surged ahead in productivity and innovation, only Switzerland has managed to keep pace. This divide presents a critical opportunity for European VCs to catalyze a more dynamic startup ecosystem and drive industrial transformation. As of today, the European Innovation Council has just announced its 2025 Work Programme, committing €1.4 billion to accelerate deep tech across Europe. This latest development underscores the urgency for European venture capitalists to harness public support and bridge the innovation gap.
Benz's analysis provides compelling data that underscores the economic disparity:
Yet, while Europe faces these challenges, recent data from Cambridge Associates and analysis by Dan Gray reveal that European venture capital has been quietly outperforming the U.S. in returns, with higher net annual gains over the past 5, 10, and 20 years. Craig S. Smith, writing in Forbes, also points out that Europe’s digital startup ecosystem has been growing twice as fast as that of the U.S., driven by increased public support and a shift in mindset among founders and investors. With the European Innovation Council’s increased investment and programs like the STEP Scale-up scheme, the region is signaling that it’s ready to close critical funding gaps and foster more scalable, high-impact innovation.
Despite these challenges, Europe excels in several areas with significant potential:
At Momenta, we believe that early-growth startups are the spark of industrial innovation—an effort we scale alongside established leaders like Rockwell Automation, Advantech, and Semtech, our Limited Partners and co-creators. Since 2012, this approach has guided 120 investments across 60 global startups, generating over $100 million in value with 18 exits through our Digital Industry funds.
With a portfolio spanning the U.S. and Europe, each region offers unique strengths. Europe’s deep technical talent and industrial R&D create a robust foundation for high-impact growth in cleantech, industrial IoT, and deep tech. The EIC’s 2025 budget, especially its €300 million STEP Scale-up scheme, creates further pathways for European startups to access the scale-up funding needed to achieve global competitiveness and impact. At the same time, the U.S. provides a dynamic landscape for scaling transformative technologies. By investing in groundbreaking companies across these critical regions, Momenta is advancing the next wave of industrial innovation and shaping the future of technology worldwide.
To support Europe’s unique potential, we see several strategic actions for European VCs:
Europe’s strengths lie in its technical talent, deep industrial R&D, and a growing culture of founder-driven ambition. The EIC Work Programme 2025 provides a framework for pan-European support, simplifying cross-border scaling for tech startups and promoting a more integrated European market. By embracing the challenges highlighted in Benz’s analysis, VCs can play a critical role in fostering sustainable growth and positioning Europe as a competitive force in industrial tech.
The opportunity is here, but the time to act is now. European VCs have a rare moment to shape a lasting legacy of innovation, industrial growth, and economic resilience across the continent. Together, we can make Europe a leading force in the next wave of industrial innovation.
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Momenta is the leading Industrial Impact® venture capital firm, accelerating industrial innovators across energy, manufacturing, smart spaces, and the supply chain. Our team of deep industry operators has helped scale industry leaders and innovators to improve critical industries, the environment, and people's quality of life for over a decade. PitchBook has ranked Momenta as one of the ten best-performing venture capital firms for 2023 in its prestigious Global Manager Performance Score League Tables, and the firm is the only European-headquartered VC to secure a Top 10 spot on the list. For more information, please visit http://www.momenta.one.
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