With a 36% share of the global information and communication technology (ICT) market, the US is undoubtedly the world's leading technology hub, with the Big Five tech companies dominating product categories from consumer electronics to eCommerce and software-as-a-service (SaaS) in nearly every country except China.
But soon the shoe will be on the other foot: with growth in the tech industry outpacing the growth in talent across many domains, the US is waking up to its need for international partnerships.
Besides, it isn’t the only country with a thriving tech industry: companies in the UK and EU are making strides that promise to disrupt America just as American innovations have disrupted Europe.
As we explained in a previous blog post, the US is a land of opportunity for companies around the world (and it's easy to succeed if you have the right marketing strategy!). In this blog post, we'll explain four competitive strengths European tech companies can leverage to make it in the US marketplace.
1. Cybersecurity
In 2023, the US cybersecurity market was worth more than $73 billion, and revenues are expected to exceed $108 billion by 2028. In many ways, the US public and private sector are at the cutting edge of evolving cyber threats, from ransomware to nation state actors and AI-based attacks.
On the other hand, the US has a dramatic shortage of cyber talent, with more than 500,000 unfilled positions reported by Cyberseek. Aside from desperately needing an injection of talent, the US is also behind Europe in several areas of cyber focus.
Cyberwarfare Tactics and Intelligence
During the Russia-Ukraine war, NATO-aligned countries have been on the front lines of cyber war with Russia and its international sympathizers. While cyberattacks from nation-state actors transcend geographical boundaries - and the US has seen its fair share - organizations in the UK and EU have a wealth of data and real tactical experience that US companies can benefit from.
A Consumer Focus
In the US, cybersecurity is primarily viewed as a national security issue. In the UK and EU, cybersecurity is more often seen through the lens of consumer impact, including fraud, malware and data privacy violations. As the US catches up, European companies can help.
For instance, European tech companies have years of experience implementing the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). As the America inches towards adopting a national data privacy legislation, US organizations will look towards Europe for tools and methodologies to implement it.
Alternative Tech Ecosystem
America is sometimes the victim of its own success. For instance, the dominance of US cloud security providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft and Google can be onerous both to foreign and American companies alike. As the EU pursues a "walled garden" policy to keep European data in Europe, emerging cloud providers throughout the continent can offer American companies an attractive and secure alternative to the US tech ecosystem.
2. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
In the past few years, AI has seen explosive progress, with global AI investment projected to reach $200 billion by 2025. Meanwhile, US enterprises are expected to increase their investment in generative AI by 25%. While US-based AI companies provide many options for them to choose from (OpenAI, Google, Microsoft), many will choose European products for two simple reasons.
Open-Source AI Models
While US-based OpenAI has pioneered large language models (LLMs) like GPT-4 and multimodal text-to-image models like DALL-E 3, all of its products are closed-source, making them difficult to adapt for many purposes. European companies - on the other hand - are leading the way with open-sourced AI models that provide superior customizability and ownership.
London-based Stability AI is responsible for Stable Diffusion, an open-source text-to-image model that rivals Dall-E in quality of images produced and surpasses Dall-E in tools for human editing (inpainting, img2img, ControlNet). Meanwhile, Paris-based Mistral AI produces language models comparable to GPT with instruct variants on par with ChatGPT. All of it is entirely open-sourced.
While closed-source AI tools will remain popular with consumers and small businesses, open-source AI will undoubtedly form the backbone of many specialized enterprise AI implementations specialized for a specific industry, company or use case.
AI Safety and Ethics
Proving that open-sourced AI is not inherently at odds with AI safety considerations, Europe has led the way in the formalization of ethics to guide the deployment of AI products since well-before the Generative AI boom.
Recently, EU member states have voted in favor of the AI Act, which is akin to GDPR in the way it governs AI usage. In the coming years, America will undoubtedly shape AI legislation on the basis of European policies. Meanwhile, US businesses will look towards businesses in the UK and EU for the tools needed to implement them.
3. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)
SaaS is an even playing field: no matter where an SaaS solution is developed, it can equally succeed in any country with the right marketing and exposure.
Already, Europe is host to a variety of competitive SaaS companies that offer their services in the U.S. Germany’s SAP SE provides ERP and CRM products to global customers, while French Schneider Electric develops EcoStruxure IT, cloud-based IT management software for critical infrastructure companies.
SaaS products are among the easiest to market in the US, with the average company deploying 371 SaaS apps. It’s probably too much – even so, adoption isn’t slowing down, and the US SaaS market is expected to reach $181 billion by 2028.
Today, new SaaS companies can forge new and unexplored territory by integrating AI with their products (the aforementioned Stability AI and Mistral AI are also SaaS startups). As AI creates new and radical possibilities for SaaS tools, the doors are wide open for developers around the world to solve a problem first and do it better than anyone else.
4. Silicon and Semiconductors
While East Asia has been the largest global producer of semiconductors for many years, America is home to chip-manufacturing powerhouses Intel, AMD and Nvidia. In the face of increased demand, all companies are seeking to ramp up production of next-gen chips.
Unfortunately – as with cybersecurity and IT more generally – the US semiconductor industry is facing a shortage of workers that could reach between 70,000 and 90,000 in the next few years according to Deloitte. While Europe also suffers from a talent gap in the semiconductor industry, it has strengths U.S. partners could benefit from.
From NXP semiconductors in the Netherlands to STMicroelectronics in France, Europe leads the way in producing chips for connected devices including automobiles, Internet of Things (IoT) products and industrial equipment. As the US seeks to improve its silicon position, European companies can fill a gap by providing specialized chips and consulting for integration in next-gen applications.
Bringing European Innovation to the US
At Conveyance Marketing Group, we believe that foreign innovation makes American businesses stronger. Located an hour from the US capital, we provide UK and EU businesses guidance to navigate the US tech market.
With years of experience serving clients across diverse tech industries in the U.S. – including cybersecurity, AI, SaaS, enterprise IT services, life sciences and more – we provide all the services you need to make it in the Land of Opportunity:
- Comprehensive market research
- Strategic branding and messaging
- Regulatory compliance expertise
- Cutting-edge digital marketing techniques
- Networking and partnerships
- Engaging content for Web, social and email marketing
Want to learn more? Schedule a discovery session today.
