We need more Autonomous Mobility startups, especially because most foundational model players are increasingly being acquired.
Having a couple dedicated foundational model firms can allow additional players in the automotive space to form.
Also, Wayve AI seems to be split between London, MTV, and Vancouver.
This means that the happy feedback loop SV enjoys of success breeding more success is cut short, and inherited wealth is favoured to a greater extreme.
The UK is simply not a country that rewards people that do anything serious. The Liz Truss remark approximating "why do all the kids want to be pop stars or football players?" was dangerously close to the point: that's the only real chance they have, and they know it.
What would be different if the company was based in mainland Europe? Wouldn't Microsoft and Nvidia still be able to invest?
Huh? I have seen much more desperation in the US compared to UK
It's a bit marketing-material but lots of stuff to look through there.
It's truth, not fiction.
Here are dealflow statistics by country [0]
There isn't enough dealflow in much of the EU, leading to a major issues as a founder where you don't have access to operators to give funding, advice, and open doors. This means you have to move, but this also means local champions don't develop who will fund local entrepreneurs.
It's a chicken and egg situation, as there aren't that many unicorns within mainland Europe (CH and DK for biotech, and SW excluded) meaning there isn't as much capital flowing around or experienced people who can found companies.
Edit: realized you meant friction
> is it simply that it is hard to network and gain the confidence of VCs if you don't live close to where they operate from
Pretty much this.
The main problem IMO is that EU is still not really a single market and so a lot of the business models don't transfer as expected(an EU fintech entering DACH from like France or Denmark is like a massive step up in difficulty because the mentality is completely different).