A word from HSBC Innovation Banking The European innovation economy has had a reset which we believe will be a positive for the long- term. The macro environment has driven uncertainty and investor caution, and led to a shift in how we do business across the innovation and venture landscape. We are now in a period of thoughtful company-building with investors and management teams identifying sustainable growth opportunities with the capacity to generate pro昀椀t and have meaningful global impact. Despite the slowdown, we should be optimistic about the European tech ecosystem in 2024. There are nearly 3,900 growth-stage tech companies with the potential to become the next generation of global category leaders, and that number is set to double in the next 昀椀ve years. As the report will show, the key to delivering on this potential and ensuring Europe becomes the next tech superpower is improving access to capital, broadening our expertise in key sub-sectors and continuing to foster innovation hubs Going into 2024 we have some tailwinds in that the bench of active European investors is diversifying and expanding, and they remain committed to investing through market cycles. Driving 79% of the total capital invested in European startups at the early stage, our domestic investors have proven to be the bedrock of the startup ecosystem: early-stage investment has shown signi昀椀cant stability in the past 昀椀ve quarters, which should encourage entrepreneurs starting out now. 13 | A word from...