An AWS executive says nearly 4 in 10 European startups would consider leaving the region to grow, citing funding gaps, rule costs and energy limits.
Nearly 4 in 10 European startups have told Amazon Web Services (AWS) they would consider leaving Europe to grow. Among the fastest-growing ones, more than half said the same. Tanuja Randery, AWS managing director for the EMEA region, shared the figures with Reuters in an interview reported on Wednesday, Oct. 21.
Randery said startups want funding and support, and they are not getting enough funding in Europe. She also said European businesses have told AWS about three other problems:
These are AWS's accounts of what startups told it. The material does not say how many companies were asked, how the question was put, or whether any will actually move. Views on the AI Act also differ. IBM CEO Arvind Krishna called it "a sledgehammer" in January 2025, while France's first AI minister, Clara Chappaz, urged officials to treat regulation as a springboard for innovation.
Separately, the European Central Bank found in June that 70% of euro area companies use AI, but only 7% use it intensively.
AWS says many European startups are weighing a move abroad, but the claim is one company's account and not proof of an exodus.
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