Billionaire Peter Thiel argues European tech founders are too risk-averse, cashing out early instead of pursuing global scale. He contrasts this with Silicon Valley’s embrace of failure, citing Mark Zuckerberg’s rejection of a $1 billion Facebook offer. Venture capital data shows the US significantly outpaces Europe in funding and large investment funds, highlighting a persistent gap.

Billionaire investor Peter Thiel has delivered a blunt verdict on European tech ambitions: the continent will never produce a world-conquering tech giant because its founders are too scared of winning big.Speaking on the All-In Podcast, the PayPal co-founder dismissed his firm’s European investments as little more than “junkets”—pleasant trips that yield little in the way of breakthrough companies. “It’s a nice place to go on vacation as an investor,” Thiel remarked. “It’s a very strange thing that so much of it—the US is somehow still the country where people do new things.”

Thiel says European founders cash out too early instead of chasing global scale

The core of Thiel’s argument centres on a cultural gap. In Silicon Valley, he explained, there’s a “pornography of failure” where founders openly discuss their stumbles as badges of honour. That mindset, he believes, breeds the kind of risk tolerance needed to build empires.Europe, by contrast, rewards playing it safe. “In the social democratic European societies, it’s acceptable to be moderately successful, it’s not acceptable to be wildly successful,” Thiel said. “If you have a successful company that’s starting to grow, it will get short-circuited, and you’ll sell the company.”

The Facebook offer Zuckerberg rejected in 10 minutes

Thiel illustrated his point with a story from Facebook’s early days. In 2006, Yahoo offered $1 billion to acquire the two-year-old startup. As a board member, Thiel admitted he and another investor were tempted. Mark Zuckerberg wasn’t.“Mark started the board meeting—’this is a pro forma thing, we’re just going to talk about this for 10 minutes. Obviously we’re not taking it,'” Thiel recalled. That refusal to cash out, he argued, is what separates trillion-dollar platforms from modest exits.

Data backs the gap: US captured 64% of global VC funding in 2025

The numbers tell a similar story. In 2025, US startups attracted $274 billion in venture capital—64% of the global total. Europe managed $85.3 billion, roughly 20%. More telling: the US boasts over 50 funds exceeding $5 billion. Europe has zero.Thiel’s prescription for European founders? Stop checking out early. “In Europe, the answer is to check out sooner rather than later and go back to the decade-long vacation that people are on in Europe,” he quipped. Whether that’s fair critique or Silicon Valley arrogance depends on which side of the Atlantic you’re standing.