The Challenge of Scaling Deep Tech Innovation in Europe: Lessons from Talent and Funding, by Thomas Hurd

The founder of Zeki Data, Thomas Hurd, breaks down the keys to global scientific and technological talent in his presentation at the Future Trends Forum . Why doesn’t Europe scale like the US in deep tech? Is quantum talent losing patience? What role does the cost of capital play? Here we summarize his most provocative ideas, based on real data.

Thomas Hurd’s speech is part of the Future Trends Forum on artificial intelligence Physical AI (Embodied AI), organised by the Bankinter Innovation Foundation. An international meeting in which more than 40 experts from around the world analysed how artificial intelligence is ceasing to be a purely digital technology and is being physically integrated into the real world. From autonomous robots to embedded intelligent systems, the FTF has explored this critical transition. In this context, Hurd addresses one of the most relevant topics of the forum: the role of scientific talent and the ability to scale deep tech innovation in Europe and the United States.

Don’t miss Thomas Hurd’s presentation:

Thomas Hurd: “Tracking innovation through the lens of talent” #EmbodiedAIForum

In an environment where capital, talent and technology determine global leadership, Thomas Hurd has put on the table a devastating analysis: Europe generates deep tech innovation at the same rate as the US, but fails to scale it successfully. His speech at the Future Trends Forum of the Bankinter Innovation Foundation offers a rigorous and data-laden vision of the future of scientific and technological work, the real state of sectors such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology and quantum computing, and the factors that are slowing down Europe’s take-off.

6,000 deep tech companies, 11 countries and a common pattern

Zeki Data has analyzed more than half a million profiles in 250,000 technology companies to filter out those that depend on scientific and engineering talent to survive. From this filtering emerge 6,000 key deep tech companies, distributed between the US, Canada and the nine most advanced countries in Europe.

Among the most represented sectors, biotechnology (engineering biology) stands out, which generates a large amount of innovation although it suffers from a strong fragmentation and high failure rate. Artificial intelligence – only the most advanced, based on real scientific talent – and quantum computing complete the podium of the most promising areas. However, Hurd issues a warning: “The quantum market is saturated. The best quantum talent is starting to lose patience with the industry and is moving into other more promising sectors, such as AI.”

The new destiny of theoretical physicists? Anthropic

One of the most striking data that Hurd shares is the movement of quantum talent towards companies such as Anthropic, where theoretical physicists now find better opportunities, due to their great capacity for learning and adaptation. He also cites the case of SandboxAQ, which is integrating physics, biology and chemistry under the same umbrella, thus attracting high-level technical profiles.

This phenomenon connects directly with one of the ideas that the Foundation has already explored in its quantum roadmap for companies: useful quantum computing will not be monolithic, but hybrid, transversal and connected to artificial intelligence.

European deep tech: the problem is not creating, it’s scaling

The data is clear: Europe creates as many deep tech companies as the US, but it takes twice as long to bring them to scale (more than 250 employees). Why? According to Hurd, there are two key factors:

1. Cost of capital: Deep tech startups require a lot of funding. The increase in interest rates and the fragmentation of the European market penalizes them compared to their US counterparts.
2. Reliance on subsidies: Hurd warns of the “zombie risk” of businesses that survive on public subsidies but fail to become viable businesses. “Grants can be a curse if they are not combined with ambitious private investment.”

Young talent: Europe connects with universities, but struggles to make products

One of the most interesting findings of Zeki Data’s analysis is that Europe stands out for the high proportion of scientists and engineers working in small deep tech companies. In companies with between 10 and 50 employees, the presence of this type of profile is twice as high in Europe as in the United States. Hurd interprets this as a positive sign: it means that the continent is very connected to its universities and that young talent is willing to take on challenges from technology startups.

But this strength also contains a weakness. Hurd points out that many of these European companies are “too scientific and not very product-oriented”. In other words, they are led by highly technical profiles, focused on research, but without a clear roadmap to transform that knowledge into marketable solutions. In contrast, North American startups tend to balance science and market better from the start.

In addition, although there is a growing trend of young people going directly from university to deep tech startups – it has risen from 6% to 8.4% in the last decade – it is still a minority. The challenge in Europe is twofold: to attract even more young talent to scientific entrepreneurship and to accompany it with business training, product design and market validation. Only in this way will it be possible to close the circle that goes from the laboratory to the real impact.

There is no brain drain, there is talent circulation

Against the usual narrative that Europe is losing its best talent to the United States, Thomas Hurd offers a much more nuanced and optimistic view. The data he presents show that the most educated European scientists and engineers are not leaving the continent en masse. On the contrary, many train in leading centers in the U.S. and then return to work in European deep tech companies.

This suggests that Europe maintains a good capacity to attract highly qualified talent, especially in the scientific field. It also points to the existence of a powerful academic ecosystem, capable of generating and retaining high-level professionals. The key, according to Hurd, is to take advantage of this circulation of talent, not only as a return, but as a bridge to create connections between global innovation poles.

For example, many of these professionals have worked or researched in large American laboratories, such as those of Google, Amazon or the 52 main AI laboratories in the world. This international experience is a competitive advantage that Europe must be able to integrate and capitalise on. To do this, it is crucial to create work environments in which scientific talent can develop careers, scale their ideas and lead projects with global ambition.

Keys to the future: what Europe must solve

Thomas Hurd does not stop at the diagnosis. His presentation clearly points to the bottlenecks that prevent Europe from turning its scientific potential into technology companies with global impact.

1. Scalable funding, not eternal grants

One of the big obstacles is the type of financing. In Europe, many deep tech companies rely on public subsidies to survive. According to Hurd, this can end up turning them into “technological zombies” that never get to scale. “Grants are a bit of a curse,” he warns. On the other hand, the U.S. ecosystem is based on more aggressive private investment rounds, which force business and product validation from the beginning. Europe needs more venture capital that understands the nature of hard science and is willing to bet big.

2. Business ambition and culture of scale

Technical talent in Europe is not the problem. In fact, data shows that European scientists and engineers are more easily integrated into small startups than their counterparts in the US. But Hurd issues a warning: “Too much about science, too little about product.” The challenge is not only to research, but to build scalable businesses based on that science. This requires developing a business culture with ambition on a global scale, more market-oriented and less fear of failure.

3. Connection with large companies and multinationals

Hurd points out that, in the US, large companies such as Google or Amazon play an essential role in attracting, training and absorbing scientific talent. Google, for example, receives two million applications a year and hires about 20,000 profiles, half of them from advanced scientific environments. This creates an ecosystem in which large companies act as centers of attraction and acceleration of knowledge. In Europe, that connection is weaker. Deep tech startups need to collaborate more with large corporations to create clear paths for growth, knowledge transfer, and market.

4. Improve talent fluency

A key fact from the Zeki Data study is that there is no massive brain drain from Europe to the US, as is often thought. On the contrary: many talents are trained in the United States but return to Europe to work in deep tech. This means that Europe has a real opportunity to take advantage of that return, if it offers growth conditions and stimulating environments. The challenge is to maintain this fluidity and prevent talent from stagnating in companies without projection.

5. Reduced Stopover Time

The data is conclusive: it takes an American deep tech company half as long to reach 250 employees as a European one. This difference is not explained by the capacity for innovation, but by capital structures and the ability to execute quickly. If Europe wants to compete in the global game, it needs to reduce this maturation cycle with faster investment mechanisms, less bureaucracy and better accompanying infrastructures to scale scientific companies.

Conclusion: it is not a problem of ideas, it is a problem of ambition

Europe does not have a deficit of talent or innovation. It has a challenge of ambition, scale and strategic vision. The ideas are there. The science is there. Young talent, too. What’s missing is the momentum to turn that potential into global impact. As Hurd rightly points out, “this is not a problem of creation, it is a problem of growth”.

At the Bankinter Innovation Foundation, we continue to analyse and connect these challenges with real proposals, promoting debate among the main actors in technological and economic change. Because the future of work, talent and technology is at stake, today, in the ability to transform science into scale.