In the discussion organized by Endeavor Greece titled “The Future of AI Elsewhere” in San Francisco, with Greek and Greek-origin founders of artificial intelligence and high-tech companies, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis took part.
The discussion featured Anastasios Angelopoulos, co-founder and chief executive officer of Arena, Anastasis Germanidis, co-founder and co-chief executive officer of Runway, Niki Goulimi, co-founder and chief executive officer at Tunic Pay, and Spyros Xanthos, founder and chief executive officer of Resolve AI. The moderator was Andreas Stavropoulos, partner at Threshold Ventures and vice president of Endeavor Greece.
The prime minister’s remarks follow:
In his introductory remarks, the prime minister noted:
“First of all, these are truly amazing stories. I did not share with the audience that these stories touch me not only because of my current capacity, but also because, before I got involved in politics, I myself worked in venture capital.
In the early 2000s, I essentially created the first investment fund that was exclusively dedicated to the technology sector. It was far ahead of its time, and back then it was extremely difficult even to talk about entrepreneurship and about stories like those you shared with us today.
I believe, however, that if there is one thread connecting all these stories, it is meritocracy: the conviction that, regardless of your origin or background, if you work hard and receive the right support, you can succeed.
In this context, I consider the issue of scholarships and the possibility for someone to study and gain experience abroad to be extremely important.
The question I would like to put to the participants has two parts. First of all, for those of you who do not have a presence in Greece, does the prospect of returning to the country and carrying out part of your activities there resonate with you?
I would like to open a parenthesis here. I remember when the chief executive officer of Pfizer, Albert Bourla, addressed the company’s board of directors and said: "I want to create a large artificial intelligence and data analytics center in Thessaloniki." He himself comes from Thessaloniki, so he obviously had an additional reason to try to persuade the board, which ultimately approved his proposal.
At the time, he had stated that the center would start with 200 employees. Today it employs more than 1,500 people in Thessaloniki, precisely because it had access to excellent human capital.
There is, therefore, a generation that followed yours and is ready to seek job opportunities in companies like yours and, possibly, then take the next step and create something of its own.
My second question -which is at the same time an encouragement- is for you to please take on the role of mentor, either through Endeavor or on an individual basis, devoting part of your time to supporting young entrepreneurs and company founders in Greece.
I should point out that Endeavor’s work, both in identifying high-impact companies and in providing these services, is truly invaluable. I thought I “spotted” my wife, but I don’t see her. I should also mention that I maintain a personal friendship with Endeavor’s founder, Linda Rottenberg; we were classmates at Harvard.
So I tried to persuade her to come to Greece many years ago. But she used to tell me: "No, we operate only in emerging markets." In the end, my wife, Mareva, was the one who managed to persuade her to come to Greece. Now, as founder, she very aptly made sure to “disappear” at the moment we were speaking so highly.
As I was saying, the work you do -and especially the guidance you can offer- is an exceptional source of inspiration. The problem we faced some years ago was that we did not have enough examples of success.
What do I mean: What is this path? You decide to become an entrepreneur, what follows? How will you raise capital? Will you have a successful exit? Will you be satisfied? Will you create many businesses over time? We did not have enough examples of such people.
Nothing inspires more than a good example, than someone who has already traveled this path and experienced its difficulties. Because here we are not talking only about the positive side of entrepreneurship. I would like you to share with aspiring entrepreneurs the difficulties as well, the failures, the effort and the disappointments, as these too are part of the journey.
These, then, are my two main observations, and I am particularly interested in hearing your views”.
Brain gain
Referring to the initiatives the government has undertaken for brain gain, Kyriakos Mitsotakis stated:“If you allow me, I would like to add one brief remark. As a government, we organize professional opportunity events abroad -this does not concern only the technology sector, but the Greek economy as a whole- in which Greek businesses participate.
In this context, we invite Greeks, but also citizens of other countries who are interested in working in Greece, to get to know these businesses and join their workforce. This initiative has been extremely successful, because nowadays talent is scarce- and this is a phenomenon observed worldwide.
Greece has two advantages: on the one hand, the human capital located within the country and, on the other, an exceptional community outside Greece. As we mentioned earlier, in the past we had not really managed to build a bridge connecting these two communities.
You are, however, absolutely right. Our experience shows that, even when the larger companies create positions, a significant percentage of the new hires comes to Greece from abroad. I remember our own return, when our first daughter was born, in 1997. It is a life change. The possibility, however, for someone to work in an already established or even in a smaller company, without having to immediately start something of their own, offers them a safer path of return.
In the overwhelming majority of cases, the people who have returned to Greece in recent years say they are satisfied with their choice, as is also shown by relevant surveys we conduct.
Ultimately, if someone has lived abroad for many years and wishes to return to Greece, they need, in my view, two things. First, a good job position. At the same time, however, they must deeply believe that the country is moving in the right direction.
They return with their family, look for schools and a suitable place in which their children will grow up. Therefore, if they do not believe that the country has truly turned a page and that we are not going to return to what we experienced in the previous decade, they will probably consider that returning is not the right choice”.
Artificial intelligence
Asked about the efforts to shape a regulatory framework for AI and the challenges that arise, the prime minister pointed out:“First of all, we act within the framework of the legislation of the European Union, therefore, we cannot chart a completely independent course. Even with regard to banning the use of social media, there are specific limits as to the measures we can take and implement, because at some point a conflict may arise with the Digital Services Act, something that could create other kinds of problems.
So we are not absolutely independent. We can, however, to a certain extent, contribute to shaping the relevant discussion.
The main concern that arises for me from listening to you -and one of the reasons why I wanted to make this trip- is the need to be informed and to better understand developments. If the gap between what is actually happening in these extremely advanced technologies and the degree to which policymakers understand them keeps widening, then many problems may arise.
We may either consider an issue excessively complex and choose not to touch it at all, or the big companies may become involved, and they will essentially draft the regulatory framework on behalf of everyone. There is also the possibility that, out of fear that something catastrophic may happen -a fear that may be based on entirely valid concerns-, we may slam on the brakes too abruptly.
Do I have an answer, a clear answer? No. I do know, however, that I would at least like to identify certain specific sectors on which we can focus. Health would be a good example for Greece. I would like us to be able to say: "We have data. How can we use it in a way that respects privacy, while at the same time adding value to the health system?"
I cannot win all the battles, nor is it my responsibility to seek to do so. Ultimately, however, I firmly believe -as we discussed earlier- that the decisive battle over the regulatory framework for artificial intelligence will be fought here, in the US.
China is a different model, as there is already a high degree of concentration, in the sense of state control over technology companies. There, this particular issue was resolved some years ago. In the United States, however, the situation is different.
I believe, therefore, that the future of artificial intelligence and the regulatory framework will not be shaped so much in Europe, because, to a certain extent, we are recipients of technologies developed elsewhere, unfortunately. It will be shaped here, in the US”.
The differences between the US and Europe
Asked to comment on differences between the investment environment in Europe and in the US, also with regard to AI, Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed:“Beyond what you mentioned, in the US you have capital markets with high liquidity. But there is also another issue that we have not managed to resolve in Europe and which, for me, should be the number one priority: the full utilization of the single market.
Europe is a large market, but there are still many different regulatory regimes with which a business must comply. That is why we are discussing the idea of the so-called "28th regime": a European corporate identity, through which one could, for example, establish a business in Greece and operate seamlessly in Lithuania.
As a European, I would place this issue at the top of my priorities. We constantly talk about a single market for digital services. Our market is large, numbering about 450 million consumers. However, if a business wishes to operate in all European countries, the truly single market has not yet been implemented in Europe. By contrast, in the US it can operate anywhere in the country”.
Regarding his interlocutors’ urging that a direct air connection be established between Greece and San Francisco, the prime minister said:“Since we are talking about air connections, ten years ago there were essentially almost no direct flights from the US to Athens. This summer, however, we had 130 flights per week from the US to Athens.
In fact, to my surprise, from next year there will also be a direct flight from Seattle to Greece. Only during the summer season, but still, that is usually how these connections begin. Then the airlines find that they can ensure sufficient occupancy for increasingly longer periods of time.
So it is a very good point. We will discuss it with the major airlines -especially with United Airlines- and I believe there are strong arguments in favor of a direct flight. I would even be happy to be a passenger myself”.