Germany Leads Europe in AVs, Robotics

　　Germany is perceived to be a clear leader amongst European countries in the race to build a world-leading position in autonomous vehicles and robotics, according to the latest annual State of European Tech 2017 report published by VC firm Atomico.

　　In a survey of 3,500 people from across the European tech industry, respondents said Germany would be a leader in autonomous vehicles, robotics and quantum computing, while the UK would lead in artificial intelligence and France in drones.

　　According to the report, about $3.5 billion has been invested this year in Europe's deep tech companies — which includes semiconductors, IoT, robotics and artificial intelligence — in more than 600 deals. European chip companies have raised about $1.1 billion in 172 deals since 2012, according to the report.

　　The UK has seen the largest amount of capital invested in deep tech companies so far in 2017 (about $1.8 billion), followed by France ($509 million) and Germany ($400 million), according to the report.

　　The report also found that Europe’s most promising deep tech companies are raising large rounds and actively choosing to stay independent to continue to build and take on global opportunities. It cites recent fundraising rounds by Graphcore, with its $50 million investment lead by Sequoia Capital; Lilium which raised $90 million lead by Tencent; and FiveAI which raised $35 million in a round lead by Lakestar.

　　"European entrepreneurs are catalyzing the development of AI technology and the proliferation of AI-powered applications," said David Kelnar, an investment director at MMC Ventures. "As AI reaches an inflection point in adoption, early-stage AI companies will empower buyers that have the vision to embrace them and disrupt those that do not."

　　According to Kelnar, Europe is home to about 900 startups focused on AI, roughly 70 percent of the number of AI-focused startups based in the U.S. Europe also boasts a quarter of the world's top 50 universities and a flourishing ecosystem for entrepreneurship, he added.

　　Europe accounts for the largest share of top 100 AI research institutions worldwide, according to the report. There are 32 research institutions in the global top 100 for AI-related research paper citations in Europe, compared to 30 from the U.S. and 15 from China, according to the report.

　　This is the third year that Atomico has created this report, which it calls the most comprehensive data-driven story of European technology today. It teamed up with existing partners LinkedIn, Stack Overflow, Meetup, Dealroom.co, the London Stock Exchange, Quid, European Startup Initiative, Signal and Invest Europe, as well as partners such as the European Investment Fund, Craft.co, and TokenData, Silicon Valley Bank and Orrick.

　　The 143-page report covers a broad range of areas including the entrepreneur ecosystem, talent, capital flows, and deep tech.

　　Overall, it sees a picture of an ecosystem in "rude health." Europe is building a tech ecosystem in its own image, defined by deep tech expertise, geographic diversification, and a collaborative approach with traditional industry. The report argues that solid foundations have been laid — a huge and deep talent pool, founders with global ambition levels, and a large, growing and increasingly sophisticated investor base — meaning that Europe marches to its own beat.