ABSTRACT
Much speculation is going on surrounding predictions of what nanotechnology entrepreneurship will look like in the near future. Several conclusions may be drawn from the analysis of R & D funding and of patent trends as seen in chapter 6. One is that nanotechnology R&D is a global activity that involves three teams of players: the Americas, Asia, and Europe. Apart from them, the other regions of the world are for the moment only outsiders. In the group of three, globalization is felt not only in the exchanges of researchers coming from various parts of the world, but perhaps even more so in the fact that each region monitors carefully what the others are doing and responds accordingly in order to enhance its position. So although there are still important structural differences between approaches, there is an evolution toward a global integration of priorities and, to a certain extent, of road maps. This points to a globalization of the major areas of development for nanotechnology entrepreneurship.
