In 2008, the United States and the European Union stood shoulder to shoulder economically, with nearly identical GDPs. Fast forward to 2025, and America’s economy is nearly twice the size of the EU’s. On the surface, it looks like a story of divergence: America innovating, Europe stagnating.
But that headline misses the deeper picture. Much of the $11 trillion nominal GDP gap can be explained by structural factors rather than pure performance. Since the global financial crisis, the euro has weakened by 34% against the dollar, U.S. public debt has soared by $24 trillion, and America’s working-age population has grown faster than Europe’s. Add to this the shale oil boom and the extraordinary rise of the “Magnificent Seven” — Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta, and Tesla — which today make up 34% of the U.S. stock market’s value, and the story looks less like Europe falling behind and more like America benefiting from unique tailwinds (Accelerating Europe, 2025).
Meanwhile, Europe has been laying its own foundations. Forty years ago, the continent represented just 1% of global venture capital investment. Over the past five years, Europe has grown to account for 17% (State of European Tech, 2023). The region has minted more than 350 unicorns, boasts 35,000 early-stage startups — more than any other region worldwide — and has doubled its tech workforce to 3.5 million people. Europe may still be seen as the underdog, but the momentum tells a different story.
Europe’s momentum: talent, startups, and capital
The State of European Tech 2023, 2024, and 2025 reports show that Europe is now creating more new startups each year than the United States. Many of these are founded by repeat entrepreneurs, a sign of ecosystem maturity. And Europe has a clear talent advantage: it produces more STEM graduates annually than the U.S. and today hosts 108,000 professionals in AI — ahead of America’s 87,000.
Public backing has also been crucial. Horizon Europe, the EU’s €95 billion innovation program, is the world’s largest of its kind. Startups that received just €12 billion in EU funding have already created €520 billion in enterprise value — a 40x return on public money. Companies like BioNTech and ARM stand as proof of what early-stage public support can catalyze.
Yet despite this progress, Europe still operates with six times less venture capital than the U.S.. That scarcity makes valuations more attractive for investors willing to look past the headlines. European venture capital has actually outperformed global benchmarks over the past two decades, but it remains under-allocated by large institutions, especially pension funds. While U.S. pension funds invest nearly 5% of their $30 trillion into venture capital, European pensions invest only 0.01% of their €9 trillion.
This imbalance represents one of the largest untapped opportunities in global finance.
Why Americans are paying attention
With political uncertainty at home, questions about overvaluation in U.S. equities, and a maturing European tech ecosystem, more Americans are looking across the Atlantic. Some are investing financially; others are making the move personally through Golden Visa programs.
Among the most attractive is Portugal’s Golden Visa. It offers residency — and eventually citizenship — to investors who support the country’s economy through funds channeled into innovation and growth. For Americans weighing both diversification and lifestyle, Portugal’s program has become a standout.
Mark Miller, a retired managing partner at one of the “Big Five” consulting firms, recently explained his choice: “As we evaluated the most appealing Golden Visa opportunities in Europe, we selected Portugal as a country and Ventures.eu as a fund. Portugal offers stability, quality of life, and investor protections. What differentiated Ventures.eu was its unique pipeline: through its sister organization Dealflow.eu, it has exceptional direct access to thousands of startups through their corporate matchmaking events, enabling them to work with founders as soon as they start gaining significant traction.”
This blend of quality of life in Europe combined with investment opportunities is why Portugal’s Golden Visa is attracting a growing share of American investors.
The quiet boom
It’s tempting to reduce the transatlantic comparison to a simple scoreboard — America winning, Europe lagging. But those who look closer see a different story. Europe is no longer the continent of “what if.” It is producing unicorns, attracting global talent, and building a differentiated innovation economy focused on AI, climate tech, and deep tech.
For investors — and especially for Americans considering both portfolio diversification and personal relocation — Europe is moving from underdog to opportunity. The boom may be quiet, but it is already underway.
This is a guest article, contributed by Thijs Povel, Founder & CEO at Dealflow.eu
