USA 2021
INTERVIEW
BARON LOBSTEIN, Economic Section Chief, U.S. Embassy to Serbia
THERE’S NOTHING MORE CONTAGIOUS THAN SUCCESS When more technology companies understand that Serbia possesses a rich pool of intelligent and creative technology talent, and that the government is sincerely interested in boosting the growth of the sector in Serbia, then success will feed on success, and the number of new investments and new startup ventures will grow at an increasing rate.
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ew York-based video game company Take-Two Interactive recently acquired privatelyheld Serbian mobile games developer Nordeus, marking the latest of several Serbian startups or innovative companies to have been acquired by U.S. giants. We took the opportunity to explore the new venues of growth of the Serbian innovative industries, and to discuss the U.S. support to them, with Baron Lobstein, Economic Section Chief, U.S. Embassy to Serbia. Are examples like Nordeus rare, or could we talk about a pronounced interest in exploring the Serbian startup market among U.S. investors? Take-Two’s acquisition of Nordeus is simply the latest example in a growing wave of interest in the Serbian market. We have other examples in the past, like 3Lateral and Frame. And we should certainly expect more in the future. Since I arrived in Serbia nearly two years ago, I have been inspired by Serbia’s progress in creating a nurturing environment for the digital economy. It is especially encouraging that the private sector has taken on the responsibility of pressing for improvements in laws and regulations to facilitate new investment in technology firms. I recently discussed this issue with the CEO of Nordeus, Branko Milutinović. He explained the critical role of the Digital
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