From AI chatbots to venture funding to rockets, the US isn’t just ahead of competitors. Increasingly, it has no competition at all.
I met with a great entrepreneur from Japan this week who recently moved to New York. I told him how much I loved Japan when I visited.
His response:
“It’s a great place to visit. But it’s not a good place to do business.”
The US Dominates Venture Capital
This founder was trying to raise capital for his startup. Given US domination of VC funding, it seems he’s come to the right place.
US companies raised four times as much venture capital as startups from our nearest competitor, China. We exceed the UK and France combined by a factor of 5.
And Japan, this founder’s home, saw just $5 billion in venture funding last year. OpenAI alone has raised more than that.
The picture is even more lopsided when it comes to AI. The US blows away all competitors in funding, investing 5 times as much as China or all of Europe.
Space Is Ours
US dominance goes beyond venture capital. Increasingly, even space belongs to America:
Beginning about 5 years ago, the number of US space launches…well…skyrocketed. Much of this is due to SpaceX.
In 2022, 83% of all objects launched into space were launched by the United States. As space becomes increasingly important for communications and more, the US has the industry almost to itself.
R&D Is Our Bread and Butter
The US even accounts for almost half of all global R&D spending. At $710 billion, our investment in R&D is nearly double that of the entire European Union.
Money abets innovation. But what’s really setting the US apart from its competitors is a unique culture.
Why American Culture Wins
I know a great young founder from France. I invested in his company last year, an exciting dev tools startup.
Sure enough, he built that company in San Francisco, not Paris. We caught up at a cafe in New York this summer.
“My friend told me that in Europe, if you fail at something, you’ll never have a chance to do that thing again,” I said.
“He’s absolutely right.”
That mentality will never produce innovation. Innovation requires constant, brutal failure…until you figure it out.
From Fierce Competitor to the Only Game in Town
What you’re seeing is US advantages in both culture and money compound. The 21st century may be the time when the US finally pulls away from the rest.
US GDP per capita is already double that of the EU. I can imagine a future where it’s 5 or 10x.
Unless…
What could derail America? I think the biggest threat is anti-immigrant sentiment.
Immigrants are scrappy. Immigrants take risk.
They’re far more likely to be entrepreneurs. Google, SpaceX, and NVIDIA were all founded by immigrants.
We’ve succeeded because we’ve taken the most talented people in the world and put them in the world’s best environment for innovation. Lose that, and we lose it all.
Let’s double down on our strengths and make America the best it’s ever been.
Do you think the US will dominate the 21st century? Why or why not?
Leave a comment and let us know!
Have a great weekend everyone!
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