Guest: Gabriele Columbro (LinkedIn)
Organization: Linux Foundation Europe
Show: The Source
Topic: Open Source

Europe’s history of innovation is undeniable. From the printing press to the automobile, the continent gave the world some of its most transformative technologies. Yet, in today’s digital economy, global tech dominance seems concentrated in the U.S. and Asia. Why hasn’t Europe produced its own Tesla, AWS, or ChatGPT? According to Gabriele Columbro, General Manager of Linux Foundation Europe, the answer lies in understanding — and embracing — Europe’s differences rather than trying to copy others.

“Europe shouldn’t necessarily try to create its own hyperscalers,” says Columbro. “It should embrace its unique structure and strengths.” Those strengths, he explains, include a vast small and medium business sector and a deep tradition of open source collaboration. Rather than building a single dominant player, Europe’s opportunity lies in creating a distributed network of innovative companies that reflect its diversity in culture, language, and regulation.

Europe remains the largest economy when its 27 member states are considered together. But structural differences, from fragmented markets to complex regulations, often make it harder for startups to scale in the same way as U.S. or Chinese counterparts. Columbro acknowledges that regulatory frameworks — while essential for privacy and security — can sometimes stifle agility. The challenge, he says, is to find a better balance between regulation and economic opportunity.

He points to examples like Salvatore Sanfilippo (creator of Redis) and Daniel Stenberg (creator of cURL) — European innovators whose projects became global standards. “It’s not that Europe lacks talent,” Columbro emphasizes. “The issue is ensuring that innovation developed here can scale and thrive here, too.”

Part of the solution lies in creating a more supportive funding and fiscal environment for open source startups. “While we must preserve privacy and digital sovereignty,” he says, “we also need to foster the kind of funding climate that keeps talent here, reinvesting in open source and building a virtuous cycle.”

That cycle, Columbro suggests, can be strengthened through new initiatives like the EU Sovereign Tech Fund, which expands on Germany’s national-level model to support open source infrastructure and innovation across Europe. These programs, he argues, are vital to maintaining Europe’s independence in technology development while supporting local businesses.

Unlike the centralized approach of the U.S., where the federal government plays a strong role in national security and infrastructure policy, Europe’s governance is more distributed. “Each nation has its own regulations and priorities,” Columbro notes. “That makes centralization difficult — but it also reflects the richness of Europe’s diversity.”

For Columbro, Europe’s digital sovereignty will come not from copying the hyperscaler model but from strengthening collaboration between governments, startups, and open source foundations. That includes fostering trust, sustainability, and competitiveness while ensuring that innovation benefits local economies.