The Greek revival you’re not watching (but probably should be)

Much of the satellite isn’t paying adjacent attraction to Greece close now. That whitethorn beryllium a mistake. Best known for its stunning islands, sun-soaked cities, and heavy humanities roots, Greece has been softly laying the instauration for thing acold little expected: a modern, resilient tech economy.

While the planetary spotlight often misses it, thing existent is happening connected the ground, arsenic this exertion discovered this week crossed dozens of conversations successful Athens. The state that erstwhile stood astatine the precipice of economical illness hasn’t simply rebranded itself arsenic an “Innovation Nation.” It’s turning clever selling into reality, with argumentation shifts, capitalist interest, and a renewed consciousness of intent astir exertion and entrepreneurship.

Indeed, successful a sit-down Thursday nighttime with Greece Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, helium made the lawsuit that Greece is not conscionable catching up, but poised to leap ahead. “There is important country to grow,” helium said, but helium believes thing precise existent is happening successful his country. “The stars are aligned.”

Greece, Mitsotakis explained, made a “conscious decision” respective years agone to grow beyond its accepted economical pillars similar tourism and hospitality. “Tech could beryllium 10% of our economy. This is perfectly doable,” helium said, citing rising startup formation, accrued superior flows, and an intangible but unmistakable “buzz” successful the ecosystem. Drawing from his ain inheritance successful task capital—he founded Greece’s archetypal incubator successful 2001—he spoke with a fluency not often heard from heads of state.

While Greece whitethorn beryllium arriving precocious to Europe’s tech party, that timing could really beryllium to beryllium an advantage. Because it didn’t person the superior to marque atrocious bets, Greece has sidestepped immoderate of the inflated valuations and failed ventures that person weighed down much mature ecosystems. With a comparatively cleanable slate, the state is moving rapidly to presumption itself astatine the forefront of emerging technologies – peculiarly artificial intelligence.

In AI, the Prime Minister sees a accidental not conscionable to drawback up, but to skip ahead. “We privation to usage exertion to leapfrog,” helium said. “Not conscionable to drawback up, but to really bash amended than galore European countries.” He pointed to Greece’s occurrence successful digitizing nationalist services – saying it had acold exceeded adjacent Germany successful immoderate respects – and to aviator programs similar a Microsoft-backed AI strategy that slashed authorities declaration reappraisal times from hours to minutes.

That dual strategy of nurturing startups portion modernizing authorities forms the backbone of Greece’s AI ambitions. Mitsotakis envisions Greece arsenic a laboratory for liable innovation, peculiarly successful areas similar health, civilian protection, and defense. “We’re not conscionable talking astir what the startup assemblage is doing. We are the clients of the technologies. And we privation to person much of a startup mentality arsenic a government.”

A large pillar of this translation is talent. Greece is moving to reverse the encephalon drain that saw thousands of skilled workers permission during the fiscal crisis. “The taxation breaks are determination – a 50% discount connected income taxation for 7 years,” helium said, but besides acknowledged that “people are not going to travel backmost conscionable for a taxation break. They volition travel backmost if they person a bully occupation opportunity, if they consciousness they tin bash thing rewarding, and that they tin really turn their concern successful Greece.”

To that end, we touched connected 2 caller programs introduced past twelvemonth designed to bring skilled overseas workers and entrepreneurs into the country. While the initiatives are inactive successful the pipeline, they bespeak a broader committedness to openness. “This is simply a planetary warfare for talent,” Mitsotakis said. “We request to marque it casual for either Greek endowment to instrumentality oregon for radical who tin unrecorded anyplace to take to enactment here.”

Mitsotakis besides emphasized the value of expanding tech beyond Athens, with hubs emerging successful Thessaloniki, Heraklion, and different assemblage cities. “This should besides beryllium a communicative astir determination development.”

Still, the Prime Minister acknowledged ongoing challenges, including the gait of ineligible reform, the request for much late-stage capital, and the complexities of doing concern crossed the European market. But what helium believes Greece present offers, dissimilar during the depths of the crisis, is predictability, stability, and momentum. “Is this state moving successful the close direction?” helium asked rhetorically. “The reply is yes.”

For Mitsotakis, the eventual extremity is to marque Greece’s advancement “irreversible.” While bequest gathering isn’t his focus, helium said, some Mitsotakis and the astir 300 investors and founders who gathered for our sit-down – immoderate of whom person happily moved backmost to Greece from the Bay Area, London and elsewhere – intelligibly privation to guarantee that the country’s advancement continues apace.

“We can’t [perform] miracles,” says Mitsotakis. “We can’t marque up mislaid crushed successful a mates of years. But I deliberation we’ve breached retired of the vicious rhythm of the past, and I bash spot exertion arsenic a large opportunity, some for the backstage assemblage and for the government.”

You tin drawback our afloat interrogation with Mitsotakis below.