Archive for September, 2021
[VivaTech 2021] Emmanuel Macron : Championing European Scale-Ups and Innovation
Abstract
At VivaTech 2021, French President Emmanuel Macron joined a panel of European scale-up CEOs to discuss the future of Europe’s tech ecosystem. In a 66-minute conversation, Macron emphasized the need for a robust financial ecosystem, streamlined regulations, and a unified European market to support scale-ups. The panel, featuring leaders from Believe, Aledia, Neuroelectrics, and Klarna, highlighted Europe’s potential to lead in innovation through ethical, sustainable, and citizen-centric approaches. This article explores Macron’s vision for fostering European champions, addressing challenges in funding, regulation, and talent, and positioning Europe as a global tech leader.
Introduction
In June 2021, VivaTech, Europe’s premier startup and tech event, hosted a landmark panel featuring French President Emmanuel Macron alongside CEOs of leading European scale-ups. Moderated by Nicolas Barré of Les Échos, the discussion showcased Europe’s burgeoning tech landscape through the lens of companies like Believe (digital music distribution), Aledia (LED displays), Neuroelectrics (neuroscience), and Klarna (fintech). Macron articulated a bold vision for transforming Europe into a hub for innovation by strengthening its financial ecosystem, reducing regulatory barriers, and embracing a distinctly European approach that blends science, ethics, and ambition. This article delves into the key themes of the panel, weaving a narrative around Macron’s call for speed, scale, and sovereignty in European tech.
Building a Thriving Tech Ecosystem
Believe: Scaling Digital Music
Denis Ladegaillerie, CEO of Believe, opened the panel by sharing his company’s journey from a three-person startup in his living room to a global leader supporting 850,000 artists across 50 countries. Believe, which recently went public via an IPO, aims to dominate digital music distribution by offering artists transparency, better economics, and digital-first expertise. Ladegaillerie credited France’s Next 40 and French Tech initiatives for creating a supportive environment for its Paris-based IPO, noting Europe’s rising prominence as the second-largest music market by 2028. He urged Macron to foster more IPOs by attracting talent, educating investors, and building a pipeline of listed companies to create a virtuous cycle.
Macron responded by emphasizing the need for a robust financial ecosystem to provide liquidity for investors through mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and IPOs. He highlighted France’s Tibi Initiative, which redirected 6 billion euros of institutional savings to tech investments, unlocking 20 billion euros for the sector. Macron proposed scaling this model to the European level, encouraging banks and insurers to invest more in tech equity and fostering cooperation with large corporations for M&A exits. He stressed that successful IPOs like Believe’s enhance Europe’s credibility, attracting analysts and investors to fuel further growth.
Aledia: Industrializing Deep Tech
Giorgio Anania, CEO of Aledia, brought a deep-tech perspective, focusing on energy-efficient LED displays poised to revolutionize augmented reality (AR) within five years. With experience across startups in the U.S., U.K., Germany, and France, Anania praised France’s supportive environment, particularly BPI France’s assistance in choosing France over Singapore for Aledia’s manufacturing plant. However, he highlighted Europe’s lag in capital access compared to the U.S. and China, where “infinite money” fuels rapid scaling. Anania posed three questions to Macron: how to match U.S./China capital access, accelerate European reforms within three years, and simplify regulations for small companies transitioning to industrial scale.
Macron agreed that “speediness and scale” are critical, advocating for a European strategy to attract U.S. and Chinese investors by positioning Europe as business-friendly and innovative. He proposed rethinking procurement to favor startups over “usual suspects” in deep-tech sectors like energy, mobility, and defense, citing SpaceX’s disruption of aerospace as a model. Macron emphasized that deep tech is a matter of European sovereignty, warning that missing the current innovation wave could leave Europe dependent on U.S. or Chinese technologies. To support industrialization, he committed to streamlining regulations to ease the growth of small companies like Aledia.
The European Way: Science, Ethics, and Impact
Neuroelectrics: Innovating in Healthcare
Ana Maiques, CEO of Neuroelectrics, shared her Barcelona-based company’s mission to modulate brain activity for conditions like epilepsy and depression. Demonstrating a cap that monitors and stimulates brain signals in real time, Maiques highlighted Neuroelectrics’ FDA breakthrough designation for reducing seizures in children non-invasively. She emphasized Europe’s potential to address healthcare challenges—mental health, aging, and neurodegeneration—through responsible innovation. Having scaled her company to Boston, Maiques asked Macron how the “European way” could attract the next generation and how the pandemic reshaped his healthcare vision.
Macron described the European way as a unique blend of science, ethics, and economic ambition, resilient to globalization due to its ability to navigate complexity. Unlike the U.S., which prioritizes market efficiency, or China, Europe embeds democratic values and ethical considerations in innovation. He argued that sustainable business requires regulation to protect human rights and prevent unchecked data exploitation, citing the risks of private platforms controlling brain data or insurers using it to discriminate. Macron positioned Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Digital Markets Act (DMA), and Digital Services Act (DSA) as frameworks for ethical innovation, ensuring transparency and citizen trust.
On healthcare, Macron identified education and healthcare as key investment pillars, advocating for personalization and prevention through AI and deep tech. He highlighted France’s centralized healthcare data as a competitive advantage, enabling secure, innovative solutions if access is managed transparently. Post-pandemic, Macron saw innovation as critical to shifting healthcare from hospital-centric models to citizen-focused systems, reducing costs and preventing chronic diseases through personalized approaches.
Disrupting with Purpose
Klarna: Fintech and Open Banking
Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO of Klarna, represented Sweden’s vibrant tech scene, with Klarna’s 90 million users and $45 billion valuation disrupting retail banking. He praised Macron’s business-friendly leadership but criticized Brussels’ slow and ineffective regulations, particularly on open banking and GDPR. Siemiatkowski argued that GDPR’s cookie consent overload (142 lifetimes daily) fails to enhance privacy, while open banking regulations fall short of enabling data mobility to drive competition. He urged Macron to push for consumer-centric regulations that foster innovation and position Europe as a global leader.
Macron defended GDPR as a necessary foundation, ensuring legal accountability and consumer awareness, but acknowledged that regulations blocking innovation are counterproductive. He candidly admitted governments’ reluctance to fully embrace disruptive models like Klarna’s, which can eliminate retail banking jobs. Macron clarified his dual role: supporting innovation that adds new services without destroying jobs, while balancing economic and social priorities. He cited Singapore’s open banking success as a model, suggesting that forward-leaning regulation could attract investment and create jobs, but emphasized the need for European players to lead disruption to maintain sovereignty.
A Call for Speed and Sovereignty
Macron concluded by reiterating the urgency of building a single European market, lifting sectoral barriers, and replicating France’s Next 40 and FT 120 initiatives at the European level. He committed to prioritizing these goals during France’s EU presidency in early 2022, aiming for concrete results. Macron underscored the political dimension of innovation, framing it as a matter of sovereignty to ensure Europe develops its own champions and technologies. By fostering trust through regulation, attracting global capital, and empowering startups, Europe can seize the current wave of innovation to shape a sustainable, ethical future.
Conclusion
The VivaTech 2021 panel with Emmanuel Macron and European scale-up leaders was a powerful testament to Europe’s potential as a global tech hub. From Believe’s digital music revolution to Aledia’s deep-tech displays, Neuroelectrics’ brain health innovations, and Klarna’s fintech disruption, the panel showcased diverse visions united by a commitment to impact. Macron’s vision—rooted in speed, scale, and the European way—offers a roadmap for building a resilient ecosystem. By strengthening financial markets, streamlining regulations, and championing ethical innovation, Europe can lead the next decade’s technological wave, ensuring sovereignty and prosperity for its citizens.