This week’s episode of WisBusiness: the Podcast is with Doug Kelly, CEO of the American Edge Project.
This bipartisan group promotes the national technology sector, with a focus on competitiveness at the global level. It’s made up of a coalition of domestic organizations including the National Small Business Association, the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, Technology Councils of North America, Meta and others.
“America’s innovators play a critical role in the success of our country, and we have to beat China in this tech race that we’re in with them, otherwise it’s really going to be a threat to our national security, our economy, and ultimately, American values,” Kelly said.
He argues the United States’ former dominance in global manufacturing was undercut by “short sighted policy decisions that really handed that manufacturing edge” to China.
“Now when I look at lawmakers talking about technology, they want to pass some of the same type of shortsighted measures that are going to undermine our technology sectors as they did with manufacturing,” he said. “The difference is, technology isn’t just another sector … It’s the very backbone of our national security, our economy.”
Kelly shares some examples of policies the group is targeting with its messaging, noting efforts to stiffen regulations on the tech sector in Europe are “keeping them about 20% to 40% behind America” in venture capital activity and other measures of economic growth and innovation.
“Europe would be a tragic mistake in terms of importing regulations, because they have fundamentally crippled their ability to innovate in Europe … of the top 10 largest tech companies in the world, most are American, the rest are Chinese and there are zero of them who are European,” he said.
He also highlights the impact of up-and-coming technology hubs across the country, referencing Milwaukee as an example.
“Milwaukee just announced its 300th VC deal to help accelerate innovation and create new products to market,” he said. “That’s the sixth fastest growing one in the country. So you’ve got a real kind of gem there when it comes to innovation.”
The discussion also touches on the potential of AI, as well as its relevance in global tech competition. See a recent blog post from Kelly on this topic.
Listen to the podcast below, sponsored by UW-Madison:
