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In a bare office in downtown San Francisco, European bureaucrats wearing suits and ties cleared their throats and spoke about the glory of European innovation and American investment. They were launching a new Silicon Valley hub that they hoped would get European start-up talent American funding.
在旧金山市中心一间空旷办公室中，一众西装革履的欧洲官员清了清嗓子，开始谈论欧洲创新和美国投资的荣耀。他们打算建立一家全新的硅谷中心，希望让欧洲的创业天才得到美国人的资助。
To celebrate, they snipped a ribbon unfurled across the stage and assembled a foam puzzle showing the European Union and US flags. The audience checked their cellphones.
为了庆祝中心的成立，他们在台上举行了剪彩仪式，并用泡沫拼出了欧盟旗帜和美国国旗。不过观众都在玩自己的手机。
The event, with its long Chamber of Commerce-style speeches, highlights the disconnect between Europe and Silicon Valley. Although Europeans are trying to emulate the U.S. tech industry’s success, they still have much to learn – starting with the need to loosen up, in keeping with the region’s free and easy vibe.
这场充斥着商会式长篇演讲的活动，凸显了欧洲和硅谷之间的脱节。尽管欧洲人试图模仿美国科技界的成功，但他们仍然要学许多东西——首先，他们需要放松自己，还要保持这一行业轻松愉快的氛围。
“If Europe took a selfie, it would be an old lady,” Mauro Battocchi, Italy’s consul general, said on stage.
意大利总领事莫罗·巴托基在台上表示：“如果欧洲来张自拍，那一定是个老太太形象。”
The new tech hub, which formally opened in September, is intended to showcase the best of European innovation at a time when American technology by the likes of Google, Facebook and Apple dominate. The overseas start-ups will need to prove that they have something new to offer Bay Area investors who have plenty of other options to choose from.
这一全新的科技中心于9月正式开放，意图在这个由谷歌（Google）、Facebook和苹果（Apple）统治的时代中展现欧洲最优秀的创新成果。来自海外的初创公司需要向旧金山湾区的投资者证明他们的确有一些新创意，因为投资者还有许多其他选择。
There’s a good reason for the Europeans to look for money in the Bay Area tech scene. In 2013, venture capitalists invested $33 billion in US companies, according to Dow Jones Venture Source. That’s more than four times the amount invested in companies in the entire European Union.
欧洲人有充分的理由寻求旧金山湾区科技界的投资。据道琼斯旗下的市场研究机构Dow Jones Venture Source统计，风险投资家在2013年对美国公司投资了330亿美元。这是欧盟所有企业同期获得投资额的4倍以上。
The gap is even wider in the tech industry. Total venture capital invested in the US tech industry reached $8.67 billion last year compared with just $1.44 billion in Europe.
而在科技界，这一差距甚至更大。去年，美国科技公司获得的风投资金为86.7亿美元，而欧盟的同类公司仅有14.4亿美元。
The new European hub is hosted in a co-working office in downtown San Francisco called Rocketspace, which is already home to incubators for Canada, Brazil and Spain. Start-ups from all over Europe will be invited to work out of the office, get training and participate in events, at no charge.
这个新的欧洲中心设在旧金山市中心一家名为Rocketspace的联合办公室内，那里已经是加拿大、巴西和西班牙公司的孵化中心。来自欧洲各地的初创公司都会受邀前往这里，免费接受培训，参加活动。
In typical bureaucratic fashion, the organization sponsoring the hub has a mouthful of a name: European Institute of Innovation and Technology Information and Communication Technology Labs. The hub, itself, is known by the acronym, EIT ICT Labs, which shows just how desperately the organizers could use help from Silicon Valley’s marketing gurus.
为这家中心提供赞助的机构有着一个极具官僚作风的冗长名字：欧洲创新与科技研究院和通信科技实验室（European Institute of Innovation and Technology Information and Communication Technology Labs）。这个中心自身则使用了一个缩写名称：EITICT实验室，由此可看出组织者多么需要得到硅谷营销专家的帮助。
A number of countries already have start-up incubators in Silicon Valley including Germany, France, Spain, and Italy. They offer services ranging from mentorship, education classes, and networking opportunities. However, EIT ICT Labs says it will distinguish itself by drawing from start-ups all across Europe, and this rather than any other major program offerings seems to be their major selling point.
包括德国、法国、西班牙和意大利在内的许多国家都已经在硅谷设立了孵化中心，提供导师、培训课程和社交机会等服务。然而，EIT ICT实验室表示他们将从所有欧洲初创公司中挑选最合适的推销对象。这一点，而不是提供某种重要服务，似乎是他们的主要卖点。
“We can pick the best of the best and make the selection process more streamlined,” says Paul Campbell, the Silicon Valley advisor for the hub.
该中心的硅谷顾问保罗·坎贝尔表示：“我们可以优中选优，从而进一步简化筛选过程。”
Yet, others aren’t quite sure of that will be enough of a distinction.
然而，其他人并不确定这是否足以成为区别。
“It’s hard to say if this is another European outpost,” said Bernd Girod, associate dean of online learning at Stanford University and who also teaches electrical engineering. “It could be big if they get some excellent smart people. They have the money to succeeded, but money is not all that success takes.”
斯坦福大学（Stanford University）在线学习副院长兼电气工程教授贝恩德·吉罗德表示：“很难说这是否将成为欧洲的另一个前哨站。如果他们能够招揽到一些充满智慧的杰出人士，就能发展壮大。他们拥有获得成功所需的资金，但光有钱并不能确保成功。”
EIT ICT has a 2014 budget of $300 million Euros ($381 million), but won’t discuss its specific investment in the San Francisco hub. So far they have leased four desks for European start-ups to use but haven’t specified how they intend to choose the start-ups or who will fill the desks.
EIT ICT在2014年的预算达到3亿欧元（合3.81亿美元），但还没有开始讨论他们将如何在旧金山中心展开具体的投资。到目前为止，他们只是借来了4张桌子供欧洲的初创公司使用，但还没明确究竟要如何选择初创公司，或是让哪些公司来使用这些桌子。
“We need to show that we’re a strong ecosystem to invest in,” Willem Jonker, the CEO of the European group, said in his speech at the event.
欧洲集团(European Group)首席执行官威廉·琼克在会议上发言表示：“我们需要证明自己有着强大的生态体系，是合适的投资目标。”
However, the event’s formality made attendees skeptical of EIT ICT Labs’ ability to bridge the cultural gap between Europe and Silicon Valley. During the speeches and panels, most of the entrepreneurs mingled at the bar where, their chatter making it difficult to hear the speakers.
然而，这次会议的形式让参与者们怀疑EIT ICT是否有能力跨越欧洲和硅谷的文化鸿沟。在发言和座谈期间，大多数企业家坐在一边聊天，嘈杂的声音让人们很难听清发言人究竟在说什么。
“We’re quite embarrassed,” said Dr. Anne Bruinvels who came to pitch her Dutch start-up Px Healthcare which uses cancer patients’ data to create personalized treatment plans. “We believe that Europe is far more dynamic than how it was represented today. I hope they are open to listening to feedback. With our input they could possibly create a lot of impact. Without it, it could fail and that would be a terrible waste of the investment.”
与会者安妮·布鲁因韦尔斯来自荷兰初创公司Px Healthcare，特地前来展示该公司借助癌症患者数据进行个性化治疗的方案。她表示：“我们非常尴尬。我们认为欧洲要远比今天这场活动给人的印象更加生机勃勃。我希望他们抱着开放的心态倾听反馈意见。有了我们的参与，中心也许能产生很大的影响力。如果没什么影响，这个中心可能会失败，那会极大地浪费投资。”
Yet despite the lackluster enthusiasm for the speeches, the energy perked up during the pitching session. Start-ups were given a few minutes to present their business ideas to a board of judges who gave them feedback,American Idolstyle. And, like onAmerican Idol, attendees cheered whenever someone made a particularly good pitch.
不过尽管人们对发言了无兴趣，但在展示环节上他们还是充满热情。初创公司拥有几分钟时间来展示他们的商业理念，评委会则会予以反馈，这是真人秀节目“美国偶像”（American Idol）的形式。同“美国偶像”一样，只要有人表现得十分精彩，与会者都会发出欢呼。
“I love the vibe in San Francisco,” said Glenn Bilby, an Australian based in Sweden who came to pitch his start-up, Quick Posture, a tool that lets doctors diagnosis a patient’s movement and posture problems. “It feels like anything is possible. This must succeed.”
澳大利亚人格伦·毕尔比借此展示了他在瑞典新创的公司Quick Posture，这是一个帮助医生诊断病人运动和姿势问题的工具。他表示：“我喜欢旧金山的气氛。这里让人觉得一切皆有可能。这个孵化器一定能成功。”
And perhaps, if the agency manages to lose the tie and roll up its sleeves, it will.
如果这个中心能够松开领带，卷起袖子大干一场，也许它真的会成功吧。
