Data from a 2025 survey by Sifted across 250+ startup founders reveals a striking portrait of the two different ecosystems. In this blog, Director of our MedTech team Tanya Ridding explores the key takeaways that she believes founders, investors and talent across the MedTech industry should know.

 

 

Capital: Europe’s ongoing struggle
  • 53% of EU founders cited access to capital as their top growth challenge vs 30% in the US.
  • This isn’t just a perception gap – in 2024 US startups raised €191B over 9.4K rounds compared to EU startups raising €75.6B over 4.7K rounds.
  • Explanations include deeper cap pools, more VCs (19,600 US vs 7,800 EU) and greater appetite for risk.
  • Up to 31% of “household savings” stay in banks (rather than going into stocks/shares) in EU vs just 12% in the US.

 

Talent: Toughest in Europe
  • US founders ranked ease of access to talent as 8/10 compared to EU founders at 6/10.
  • Challenges on both side include high salaries, visa issues and fierce competition from “big tech”.
  • EU faces additional challenges from a patchwork of languages, cultures and regulations – compared to the US single market.

 

medical health monitor medtech

 

Supply chain: A US anxiety 
  • 21% of US founders cite supply chain as a top concern in 2025 vs just 2% of those in EU.
  • The US tech sector is more exposed to hardware, manufacturing and global logistics disruptions compared to EU.

 

Deals: The US leads in ambition 
  • 59% of US founders surveyed were actively exploring M&A vs 43% in EU.
  • 21% of US founders surveyed were aiming for IPO – double the EU 12%.
  • The US has a “go big or go home” mentality- with the largest tech companies 20x the size of EU’s – creating a cycle of exits, investment and ambition.

 

Tech acceleration: US Founders are worried 
  • 39% of US founders are “very concerned” about the rapid pace of tech advancements vs just 15% of EU.
  • The US’s intense competition and relentless innovation create more pressure to stay ahead.

 

Optimism: The American edge
  • US founders rated their optimism 9/10 on average vs EU founders at 8/10.
  • US founders consistently reported “perfect 10” scores on access to capital, talent, ecosystem – rarely seem amongst EU pragmatists.
  • The report notes that US confidence may itself be a driver of outcomes. “Cultural confidence” can be just as important as ecosystem.

 

While the US leads on scale, speed and optimism, EU excels in resilience, cross-border collaboration and measured growth. But the most successful founders? Those who can bridge both worlds – leveraging US scale and risk appetite with EU adaptability and long-term thinking.

 

 

Are you a MedTech company looking to hire? Submit your vacancy and a recruitment consultant that specialises in your field will be in touch shortly.

Alternatively, Register your CV with us today to schedule a confidential discussion about your career prospects.

Or, take a look at our Executive Search page to dive into the latest startup, funding or talent attraction data.