????在舊金山市中心一間空曠辦公室中，一眾西裝革履的歐洲官員清了清嗓子，開始談論歐洲創新和美國投資的榮耀。他們打算建立一家全新的硅谷中心，希望讓歐洲的創業天才得到美國人的資助。

????為了慶祝中心的成立，他們在臺上舉行了剪彩儀式，并用泡沫拼出了歐盟旗幟和美國國旗。不過觀眾都在玩自己的手機。

????這場充斥著商會式長篇演講的活動，凸顯了歐洲和硅谷之間的脫節。盡管歐洲人試圖模仿美國科技界的成功，但他們仍然要學許多東西——首先，他們需要放松自己，還要保持這一行業輕松愉快的氛圍。

????意大利總領事莫羅·巴托基在臺上表示：“如果歐洲來張自拍，那一定是個老太太形象。”

????這一全新的科技中心于9月正式開放，意圖在這個由谷歌（Google）、Facebook和蘋果（Apple）統治的時代中展現歐洲最優秀的創新成果。來自海外的初創公司需要向舊金山灣區的投資者證明他們的確有一些新創意，因為投資者還有許多其他選擇。

????歐洲人有充分的理由尋求舊金山灣區科技界的投資。據道瓊斯旗下的市場研究機構Dow Jones Venture Source統計，風險投資家在2013年對美國公司投資了330億美元。這是歐盟所有企業同期獲得投資額的4倍以上。

????而在科技界，這一差距甚至更大。去年，美國科技公司獲得的風投資金為86.7億美元，而歐盟的同類公司僅有14.4億美元。

????這個新的歐洲中心設在舊金山市中心一家名為Rocketspace的聯合辦公室內，那里已經是加拿大、巴西和西班牙公司的孵化中心。來自歐洲各地的初創公司都會受邀前往這里，免費接受培訓，參加活動。

????為這家中心提供贊助的機構有著一個極具官僚作風的冗長名字：歐洲創新與科技研究院和通信科技實驗室（European Institute of Innovation and Technology Information and Communication Technology Labs）。這個中心自身則使用了一個縮寫名稱：EITICT實驗室，由此可看出組織者多么需要得到硅谷營銷專家的幫助。

????包括德國、法國、西班牙和意大利在內的許多國家都已經在硅谷設立了孵化中心，提供導師、培訓課程和社交機會等服務。然而，EIT ICT實驗室表示他們將從所有歐洲初創公司中挑選最合適的推銷對象。這一點，而不是提供某種重要服務，似乎是他們的主要賣點。

????該中心的硅谷顧問保羅·坎貝爾表示：“我們可以優中選優，從而進一步簡化篩選過程。”

????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.

????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.

????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.

????“If Europe took a selfie, it would be an old lady,” Mauro Battocchi, Italy’s consul general, said on stage.

????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.

????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.

????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.

????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.

????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.

????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.

????“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.