According to venture capital fund Canaan Partners of Westport, venture capitalists continue to view the United States as the global leader in technology development and innovation. But they recognize Asia and Europe are knocking on the door.
“The U.S. maintains the top spot as the global technology leader in innovation,” said Mark Jensen, national managing partner of Deloitte Venture Capital Services. “While the U.S. isn”™t losing ground, the globalization of innovation is under way. The rest of the world is finding out what they”™re good at, and venture capitalists recognize where those strengths lie.”
According to a survey by Deloitte L.L.P. and the National Venture Capital Association conducted in March and measuring opinions of nearly 400 venture capitalists worldwide, European countries are emerging as leaders in life sciences and clean technology, two of the fastest-growing business sectors.
Asian countries were recognized as offering a high level of innovation in the information technology fields.
“While technology innovation and entrepreneurship have largely been a U.S. phenomenon, other countries are quietly excelling in areas that are critical to the future of venture capital investment,” said
Mark Heesen, president of the National Venture Capital Association. “We are operating in a global economy and venture capitalists will follow the best technologies. Those countries that can marry the innovation and entrepreneurial work ethic as the U.S. has done will become formidable economic competitors in the 21st century.”
According to Canaan Partners, Europe is emerging as a new leader behind the U.S. for life sciences and clean technology sectors. Germany and the United Kingdom in particular are quickly gaining recognition for their technological savvy in these industries.
Germany was recognized by 43 percent of all respondents as having the best expertise in the rapidly growing clean technology field, just behind the United States.
Other countries to receive attention in this industry included Japan and Brazil.
“Germany is the beneficiary of a well-conceived, stable public policy that has ensured attractive markets for alternative energy technologies,” said David Prend, partner at Rockport Capital. “This, combined with a strong general technology base, has fostered substantial innovation in the space. As a result, for example, Germany, a country with marginal sun, is a leader in solar photovoltaic technology that they export to the rest of the world. Venture capital follows quality technology and innovation.”
In the field of medical devices, 39 percent of the venture capitalists surveyed also cited Germany as being the second-most-recognized country for technology in medical devices and equipment, followed by the United Kingdom at 20 percent and Israel at 14 percent.
“Germany, and more broadly the Alpine region, has always been a home to invention in the medical device field with a strong incumbent industry base,” said Regina Hodits, partner in the life sciences group at Atlas Venture Today. “This region provides a favorable environment for medical device development based on the regulatory framework, a high degree of innovation emerging from world-class medical research institutions and experienced key human resources. Additionally, London, the Medicon
Valley in Denmark and Sweden, and emerging centers of excellence in Switzerland, are hubs around which biotech innovation is growing.”
The United Kingdom was identified in the second spot by 31 percent of the respondents as having leading technology for Biopharmaceuticals, followed by Switzerland at 18 percent and Germany at 15 percent.
While there has been great interest surrounding the promise of China and India as emerging technology centers of the world, the United States continues to be viewed by the majority of venture capitalists worldwide as the global leader in technology in all IT sectors.
Asian countries consistently ranked high in information technology among all other nations.
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