[Research] Deeptech talent war escalates between Europe and North America

A new global report on deeptech talent published by Zeki Data (Zeki), a UK-based deeptech data company that scores the future potential of deeptech companies to guide investment and talent acquisition, has revealed that the US generates three times as many deeptech companies as the UK, while small European startups have a much higher concentration of advanced-skilled talent than in North America.

Titled 'The Deep-Tech Talent War: Europe vs. North America Showdown 2024 Report', the report unravels the underlying trends in deeptech between Europe and North America using talent as the lens. The report shows the dramatic slowing of new deeptech companies since 2020.

Zeki reveals in the report, that countries are waking up to the need to attract and retain talent as a key to building sovereign capabilities in transformational technologies that will underpin the next phase of national prosperity and security.

Tom Hurd, CEO and Co-founder, Zeki Data: "There is intense competition for the finite science and engineering talent that deeptech companies need to advance their innovation ambitions. Governments are throwing money at deeptech startups to secure an innovative advantage, but Zeki's data shows there's limited ROI amid countervailing winds of high capital costs and market consolidation. Attracting and retaining the most innovative talent is the best indicator of future innovation potential for deeptech companies. This should be the priority for countries and companies alike."

The report focuses on the less studied evolution of the 6,100+ most important European and North American deeptech companies and the strategic implications of their race to master new technologies. Zeki looked at the 8,795,902 people that the companies employ globally, particularly the 227,948 individuals with highly advanced skills.

Report findings

Government investment fails to spur startup growth: New deeptech company formation has slowed dramatically since 2020 in Europe and North America. Countries have made major financial investments to drive a greater pace of deeptech innovation to no end. Countervailing winds of high capital costs and market consolidation have dampened the effect of government industrial policies.

Magnificent 7 prioritize low-cost hires: Market consolidation driven by GenAI is driving dramatic hiring shifts across Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla. Deeptech companies are favoring early-career, lower cost hires, and cutting higher-cost experience.

American startups scale 2x faster than European: Deeptech startups in the United States are scaling twice as fast as European counterparts.

Engineering biology companies struggle to scale: Engineering biology companies remain attractive acquisition targets as they struggle to grow to medium and large-sized businesses.

Battery technology has imploded: Preceded by a green energy talent exodus that began in 2019, renewable energy has fallen out of favor with talent as demonstrated by hires rapidly exiting the sector since 2022.

Software engineering is all the rage: Semiconductor, aerospace, and defence companies are battling it out for top software engineering talent, while much of the cybersecurity sector appears to be prioritizing sales over software talent.

Chinese talent exits the West: At the country-level, the exodus of Chinese deeptech talent from Western companies is accelerating. China has firmly established itself as the destination of choice for Chinese talent leaving European and North American deeptech companies.

Read the comprehensive report here.

www.zekidata.com

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