21世纪经济报道记者 赖镇桃报道
Wall Street has entered a frenzied “money-magnet” mode. On Friday, both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at record highs, driven by a wave of optimism at the start of a blockbuster earnings season.
Capital is pouring into U.S. equities and Silicon Valley tech firms, with investor confidence running high. Just days ago, the White House unveiled its “AI Action Plan” in a bid to cement America’s lead in the global AI race.
But can the U.S. really maintain its dominance in AI and the broader tech landscape?
In an exclusive interview with 21st Century Business Herald, Paddy Cosgrave — founder and CEO of Web Summit, Europe’s largest tech conference — questioned whether Silicon Valley’s “tech superiority” is truly sustainable. The rise of DeepSeek, he argued, signals a shift toward open-source models as the real future of AI. His view echoes a recent JPMorgan report on OpenAI, which also warned that no generative AI firm is likely to hold a lasting competitive edge in the foundation model space.
Meanwhile, China’s tech sector — spanning AI, humanoid robotics, and EVs — is also undergoing waves of reshuffling. When asked what advice he had for entrepreneurs, Cosgrave emphasized the importance of vibrant ecosystems over individual effort. Markets with robust competition, he said, offer far more promise than those dominated by a few tech giants.
As a well-known figure in Ireland’s tech scene, Cosgrave previously served as an ambassador to the European Innovation Council under the European Commission. He has long observed the dynamics of innovation and global tech rivalry.
Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Dublin, Web Summit hosts major global tech conferences in cities such as Doha, Rio de Janeiro, Vancouver, and Lisbon. Over the past decade, the event has attracted over one million attendees — from tech leaders like Elon Musk, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, and “Godfather of AI” Geoffrey Hinton, to political figures such as former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.
