Niklas Zennstrom, Skype founder and Atomico CEO
Skype founder and CEO of London-based venture capital firm Atomico Niklas Zennström is to lead Europe’s promising scale-ups as head of the European Tech Alliance.
Representing the interests of Europe’s technology scale-ups, European Tech Alliance aims to influence policymaking in Europe.
“We have formed an alliance to share our collective experience with policymakers and challenge mindsets about Europe, technology, and the Internet,” said Niklas Zennström
“There are so many European tech company success stories. We think we will be able to help European leaders understand that Europe is good at tech and show how policymakers can clear the way for the tech industry to grow further.”
Europe’s Digital Single Market strategy should be ripe for start-ups
Zennström said that the Alliance will look to further the goals of the Commission’s proposed digital strategy.
“The next 12 to 18 months will be particularly critical because the European Commission is writing rules to carry out its Digital Single Market strategy, aimed at clearing the way for all tech players – from the EU and beyond – to invest, grow, and prosper in Europe,” he said.
Scaling up existing businesses in the region is vital for Europe as it can help generate jobs, growth, and consumer value.
The Alliance will look to work with European Union institutions and Member States and commit to share their experience of building tech companies in Europe, so that any legislation or regulation that the EU looks to introduce nurtures the tech sector and enables it to compete on a global level.
The creation of the alliance was endorsed by European Commission vice president Andrus Ansip, who is leading the Digital Single Market strategy.
“I am delighted that the Alliance has come together to open a new line of communication with policymakers in the EU. Their experience of building businesses from the ground up in Europe will be an important contribution as we create a Digital Single Market,” he said.
Niklas Zennstrom image by Eirich Solheim via Flickr/Creative Commons
