A lot of money will go into Semantic Web research, linguistic research and stuff like that. I’m convinced that this is not done only for Germany or France but that everybody interested in this kind of technology will benefit.

However, from my own background as a contributor in a public funded EU project I’m concerned that such big projects usually do not deliver enough for the money. I would also like to see much smaller projects with a strong focus instead of such big projects trying to solve everything.

Regards,

Sebastian

re comment 22:

I am not “seriously arguing that French/ German relations have always been perfect since WW2″. Because they have not. But there is other shades of gray than concluding that “Like just about everything in the history of Europe, France and Germany disagree”.

Re “tarrifs, subsidies etc etc”. Of course, there are and have been arguments about these topics (since large sums of money is involved). But there have been arguments also between France, Germany and England, Poland, Greece and essentially everyone else int he EU. Would you say they all _always disagree_? (at least these countries brought the EU to its current state so there must be something they agree on).

As some other commenters I think that this whole argument should not be conducted on TC. I would prefer posts without side sentences about politics .

Cheers
Michael

…

I so much hate our politics here in Europe. They will never get it.

In 2, 3 years or so nobody will use these services but they will still sell it as success and say that we are so super innovative.

I don’t like Bush, but still count me as US politics supporter…

how about fire services? do you want your fire department run by a private company? WELL we cannot come to YOUR place, it is too far and our insurance will not pay, if we go into that neighborhood, people might burn our cars, when we get there (something actually being said about the perfectly nice neighborhood I live in).
So, there are some jobs that are better done by government than by private companies. the blanket statement doesn’t wash (public!!!! transport is another one. Roads. Basically everything that would not be affordable by an individual to have to pay for (healthcare is another one)…
On the other hand, have you ever worked for a company like IBM, or Shell, or Siemens (like one of the guy’s here) they actually have a bureaucracy much worse than any government. Bureaucracy comes with size. That does not mean they cannot produce innovative products (look at car manufactories that are huge (VW or Toyota) and they still manage to develop new products, innovative technology and thriving industries.
For some products it is better to have a large infrastructure that supports a business development, rather than a small start up. a lot of big companies have the facilities to have ten start up’s inside their company at the same time – with a much better infrastructure support than any start up could ever dream (have you ever started a company – apart from self exploitation to the grandest scale – the equipment you are having is not always the latest and best. you just haven’t got he money…
So at the end of this rant.
Government subsidies are being given for a huge variety of reasons. Some are political, some are economical – all have their advantages and disadvantages, but simply to dismiss something, because it received government subsidies shows only the lack of knowledge on the side of the person that makes that statement.

I was running a startup for several years before I decided to join one of the companies involved in Theseus. I do not regret that decision.

Most technology companies will rely on venture capital to grow. In my experience, some venture capitalists are far worse than government bureaucrats.

They are also bureaucratic, they constantly interfeere with the management of the company, they make one stupid decision after another, and then when you finally start to be successfull, they screw you…

Some of these are even managing government money. Ever heard about in-Q-te(http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/may2005/tc20050510_4072_tc_210.htm) which is the venture capital harm of the CIA and which has been investing millions of tax payer’s money in semantic search technology companies for several years? The amount of Theseus is peanuts compared to this and I have no heard your complains about how US tax payer money have distorted the competition…

One should also mention that 50% of the funding for this program comes from the companies themselves. Depending on the size of the company that participates to the Theseus program, it may in fact be more than 50% of the total budget (I believe large companies contribute 65%).

The concept that US is a free market and that companies do not receive money from the government is a myth. Havent you heard of SBIRE which is nothing else but tax payer dollars awarded to US startups through government agencies like NASA, the department of defense and others?

At least in Europe, the process to receive funding is open and transparent. Bids are published, the process is known, and the companies that receive the support are funding 50% of the total budget. I wish I could say the same thing for US programs that fund companies with tax payers’ money…

Until the EU eliminates 4-6wk vacations and overly generous social svcs, Europeans by and large, just wont have the drive nor incentive to compet w/their scrappier and more resourceful US counterparts.

My weekend is saved now. I broke out laughing reading this. Hey, Eric at Google, I would suggest to reward all employees at Google with a 2-month Nepal-Tibet trekking. They would not miss anything.
Siemens will absolutely make sure that Theseus (oh, this German humanistic “Bildungs” approach; read the feuilletons in weekend newspapers: heavy and deep) will not go anywhere. SAP? How long will it still be a German company?!

$165 million. Gosh, that buys a lot of stamps.

“is aiming to develop “the world’s most advanced multimedia search engine for the next-generation Internet.” will received a cash injection”

‘will received’??

Other than that, $165 million is nice pocket change. I don’t think that will buy their way into Google’s world though.

I first read the story on TechCrunch, which has a particularly Silicon Valley-ish interpretation of it. From an AP report,
The European Union on Thursday authorized Germany to give $165 million for research on Internet search-engine technologies that c…

EU Google Competitor Gets $165 million Kick Start:Theseus, a German based project that is aiming to develop the world’s most advanced multimedia search engine for the next-generation Internet will received…

I live in London, and the people who are wasting my taxpayer’s money are not the public companies – interestingly enough, it is the private companies. How they manage to get a hold of my taxes, well, you have to ask the government.

As for the comment between France and Germany – lol. What do they kids learn at school, that history starts in the 19th Century? That Germany equates to Prussia? Come on, find your passport, get on a plane to Europe and enroll for a term in History 101.

It’s the end for Google!

So sad for them!

What now, maybe mighty Venezuela will also develop such a killer search engine?

TechCrounch keep having great articles. It’s a source of inspiration for my little blog:) So here’s another choosed article for today, from Duncan Riley
Theseus, a German based project that is aiming to develop “the world’s most advance…