Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis courted tech investment while admitting he lacks answers to many AI policy questions.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis used a San Francisco event on Monday night to promote Greece to roughly 250 founders, investors, and operators. He described his Bay Area trip as part fact-finding mission and part bridge-building effort, and he said he lacks answers to many AI questions that other leaders debate privately.
Mitsotakis earned a master’s degree at Stanford and called the visit a homecoming. He spent the morning touring Tesla and Sequoia Capital, and he planned to attend the U.N. General Assembly in New York this week. Greece will regain developed market status next year from MSCI, and Mitsotakis cited that change as evidence that the economy is doing well.
Greece is paying down debt at a record pace and borrows more cheaply than the United States, though lower eurozone rates explain part of the difference. The country directed much of its roughly €36 billion EU recovery fund into digital infrastructure, including an online portal for government paperwork and a supercomputer in Lavrio that Hewlett Packard Enterprise helped assemble for AI research.
Mitsotakis also listed policy changes for tech companies: Greece has changed stock option taxation, loosened labor laws, and offers returning Greeks far lower taxes for up to seven years. Visa programs are growing, but Mitsotakis said the government still needs work on processing speed. Public universities now spin out startups, and Mitsotakis wants to win back talent.
What matters
- Mitsotakis met 250 founders, investors, and operators in San Francisco on a fact-finding and investment trip.
- Greece offers lower taxes for returning Greeks, stock option changes, and a supercomputer for AI research.
- Mitsotakis heads to the U.N. General Assembly this week after touring Tesla and Sequoia Capital.
Why it matters
Mitsotakis heads to the U.N. General Assembly this week after touring Tesla and Sequoia Capital.
This GenAI News article was prepared in original wording using reporting and materials published by TechCrunch AI. Source reference: https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/22/were-already-fighting-yesterdays-battle-greeces-prime-minister-gets-candid-about-ai/.
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