歐洲部分創業者入侵硅谷 多樣化競爭初顯

In a bare office in downtown San Francisco, European bureaucrats wearing suits and ties cleared their throats and spoke about the glory of European innovation and American investment. They were launching a new Silicon Valley hub that they hoped would get European start-up talent American funding.

在舊金山市中心一間空曠辦公室中，一衆西裝革履的歐洲官員清了清嗓子，開始談論歐洲創新和美國投資的榮耀。他們打算建立一家全新的硅谷中心，希望讓歐洲的創業天才得到美國人的資助。

To celebrate, they snipped a ribbon unfurled across the stage and assembled a foam puzzle showing the European Union and US flags. The audience checked their cellphones.

爲了慶祝中心的成立，他們在臺上舉行了剪彩儀式，並用泡沫拼出了歐盟旗幟和美國國旗。不過觀衆都在玩自己的手機。

The event, with its long Chamber of Commerce-style speeches, highlights the disconnect between Europe and Silicon Valley. Although Europeans are trying to emulate the U.S. tech industry’s success, they still have much to learn – starting with the need to loosen up, in keeping with the region’s free and easy vibe.

這場充斥着商會式長篇演講的活動，凸顯了歐洲和硅谷之間的脫節。儘管歐洲人試圖模仿美國科技界的成功，但他們仍然要學許多東西——首先，他們需要放鬆自己，還要保持這一行業輕鬆愉快的氛圍。

“If Europe took a selfie, it would be an old lady,” Mauro Battocchi, Italy’s consul general, said on stage.

意大利總領事莫羅·巴託基在臺上表示：“如果歐洲來張自拍，那一定是個老太太形象。”

The new tech hub, which formally opened in September, is intended to showcase the best of European innovation at a time when American technology by the likes of Google, Facebook and Apple dominate. The overseas start-ups will need to prove that they have something new to offer Bay Area investors who have plenty of other options to choose from.

這一全新的科技中心於9月正式開放，意圖在這個由谷歌（Google）、Facebook和蘋果（Apple）統治的時代中展現歐洲最優秀的創新成果。來自海外的初創公司需要向舊金山灣區的投資者證明他們的確有一些新創意，因爲投資者還有許多其他選擇。

There’s a good reason for the Europeans to look for money in the Bay Area tech scene. In 2013, venture capitalists invested $33 billion in US companies, according to Dow Jones Venture Source. That’s more than four times the amount invested in companies in the entire European Union.

歐洲人有充分的理由尋求舊金山灣區科技界的投資。據道瓊斯旗下的市場研究機構Dow Jones Venture Source統計，風險投資家在2013年對美國公司投資了330億美元。這是歐盟所有企業同期獲得投資額的4倍以上。

The gap is even wider in the tech industry. Total venture capital invested in the US tech industry reached $8.67 billion last year compared with just $1.44 billion in Europe.

而在科技界，這一差距甚至更大。去年，美國科技公司獲得的風投資金爲86.7億美元，而歐盟的同類公司僅有14.4億美元。

The new European hub is hosted in a co-working office in downtown San Francisco called Rocketspace, which is already home to incubators for Canada, Brazil and Spain. Start-ups from all over Europe will be invited to work out of the office, get training and participate in events, at no charge.

這個新的歐洲中心設在舊金山市中心一家名爲Rocketspace的聯合辦公室內，那裏已經是加拿大、巴西和西班牙公司的孵化中心。來自歐洲各地的初創公司都會受邀前往這裏，免費接受培訓，參加活動。

In typical bureaucratic fashion, the organization sponsoring the hub has a mouthful of a name: European Institute of Innovation and Technology Information and Communication Technology Labs. The hub, itself, is known by the acronym, EIT ICT Labs, which shows just how desperately the organizers could use help from Silicon Valley’s marketing gurus.

爲這家中心提供贊助的機構有着一個極具官僚作風的冗長名字：歐洲創新與科技研究院和通信科技實驗室（European Institute of Innovation and Technology Information and Communication Technology Labs）。這個中心自身則使用了一個縮寫名稱：EITICT實驗室，由此可看出組織者多麼需要得到硅谷營銷專家的幫助。

A number of countries already have start-up incubators in Silicon Valley including Germany, France, Spain, and Italy. They offer services ranging from mentorship, education classes, and networking opportunities. However, EIT ICT Labs says it will distinguish itself by drawing from start-ups all across Europe, and this rather than any other major program offerings seems to be their major selling point.

包括德國、法國、西班牙和意大利在內的許多國家都已經在硅谷設立了孵化中心，提供導師、培訓課程和社交機會等服務。然而，EIT ICT實驗室表示他們將從所有歐洲初創公司中挑選最合適的推銷對象。這一點，而不是提供某種重要服務，似乎是他們的主要賣點。

“We can pick the best of the best and make the selection process more streamlined,” says Paul Campbell, the Silicon Valley advisor for the hub.

該中心的硅谷顧問保羅·坎貝爾表示：“我們可以優中選優，從而進一步簡化篩選過程。”

Yet, others aren’t quite sure of that will be enough of a distinction.

然而，其他人並不確定這是否足以成爲區別。

“It’s hard to say if this is another European outpost,” said Bernd Girod, associate dean of online learning at Stanford University and who also teaches electrical engineering. “It could be big if they get some excellent smart people. They have the money to succeeded, but money is not all that success takes.”

斯坦福大學（Stanford University）在線學習副院長兼電氣工程教授貝恩德·吉羅德表示：“很難說這是否將成爲歐洲的另一個前哨站。如果他們能夠招攬到一些充滿智慧的傑出人士，就能發展壯大。他們擁有獲得成功所需的資金，但光有錢並不能確保成功。”

EIT ICT has a 2014 budget of $300 million Euros ($381 million), but won’t discuss its specific investment in the San Francisco hub. So far they have leased four desks for European start-ups to use but haven’t specified how they intend to choose the start-ups or who will fill the desks.

EIT ICT在2014年的預算達到3億歐元（合3.81億美元），但還沒有開始討論他們將如何在舊金山中心展開具體的投資。到目前爲止，他們只是借來了4張桌子供歐洲的初創公司使用，但還沒明確究竟要如何選擇初創公司，或是讓哪些公司來使用這些桌子。

“We need to show that we’re a strong ecosystem to invest in,” Willem Jonker, the CEO of the European group, said in his speech at the event.

歐洲集團(European Group)首席執行官威廉·瓊克在會議上發言表示：“我們需要證明自己有着強大的生態體系，是合適的投資目標。”

However, the event’s formality made attendees skeptical of EIT ICT Labs’ ability to bridge the cultural gap between Europe and Silicon Valley. During the speeches and panels, most of the entrepreneurs mingled at the bar where, their chatter making it difficult to hear the speakers.

然而，這次會議的形式讓參與者們懷疑EIT ICT是否有能力跨越歐洲和硅谷的文化鴻溝。在發言和座談期間，大多數企業家坐在一邊聊天，嘈雜的聲音讓人們很難聽清發言人究竟在說什麼。

“We’re quite embarrassed,” said Dr. Anne Bruinvels who came to pitch her Dutch start-up Px Healthcare which uses cancer patients’ data to create personalized treatment plans. “We believe that Europe is far more dynamic than how it was represented today. I hope they are open to listening to feedback. With our input they could possibly create a lot of impact. Without it, it could fail and that would be a terrible waste of the investment.”

與會者安妮·布魯因韋爾斯來自荷蘭初創公司Px Healthcare，特地前來展示該公司藉助癌症患者數據進行個性化治療的方案。她表示：“我們非常尷尬。我們認爲歐洲要遠比今天這場活動給人的印象更加生機勃勃。我希望他們抱着開放的心態傾聽反饋意見。有了我們的參與，中心也許能產生很大的影響力。如果沒什麼影響，這個中心可能會失敗，那會極大地浪費投資。”

Yet despite the lackluster enthusiasm for the speeches, the energy perked up during the pitching session. Start-ups were given a few minutes to present their business ideas to a board of judges who gave them feedback,American Idolstyle. And, like onAmerican Idol, attendees cheered whenever someone made a particularly good pitch.

不過儘管人們對發言了無興趣，但在展示環節上他們還是充滿熱情。初創公司擁有幾分鐘時間來展示他們的商業理念，評委會則會予以反饋，這是真人秀節目“美國偶像”（American Idol）的形式。同“美國偶像”一樣，只要有人表現得十分精彩，與會者都會發出歡呼。

“I love the vibe in San Francisco,” said Glenn Bilby, an Australian based in Sweden who came to pitch his start-up, Quick Posture, a tool that lets doctors diagnosis a patient’s movement and posture problems. “It feels like anything is possible. This must succeed.”

澳大利亞人格倫·畢爾比藉此展示了他在瑞典新創的公司Quick Posture，這是一個幫助醫生診斷病人運動和姿勢問題的工具。他表示：“我喜歡舊金山的氣氛。這裏讓人覺得一切皆有可能。這個孵化器一定能成功。”

And perhaps, if the agency manages to lose the tie and roll up its sleeves, it will.

如果這個中心能夠鬆開領帶，捲起袖子大幹一場，也許它真的會成功吧。