Steve Case: America was built by entrepreneurs. Here’s how we keep that edge for the next 250 years

Two-hundred and fifty years ago, America was a startup. And a fragile one at that.

There was no guarantee that the American experiment would survive. But from the beginning, America distinguished itself by embracing risk-takers, innovators, and entrepreneurs who were willing to challenge convention in pursuit of a better future. That entrepreneurial spirit became our competitive advantage.

The story of America is, in many ways, the story of entrepreneurs who came to this country seeking opportunity and who, through grit, hard work, and creativity, built companies, cities, and entire industries. Our country did not become the world’s leading economy by luck. We created an environment where entrepreneurs could flourish and where people with bold ideas could create value, generate jobs, spur innovation, and strengthen communities.

As we approach America’s 250th anniversary, the question is whether we are still committed to that entrepreneurial vision and whether we are prepared to extend it to the next century of innovation.

I believe America can absolutely lead the next century. But doing so will require recognizing three important realities.

First, talent is evenly distributed across the country, even if opportunity is not.

For the last several decades, the innovation economy has become increasingly concentrated in a handful of coastal cities that have attracted a disproportionate share of capital, talent, and attention. According to the National Venture Capital Association and PitchBook, last year, approximately 75% of venture capital went to just three states: New York, Massachusetts, and California. Those ecosystems produced extraordinary companies and transformed the global economy. But the concentration of capital also created a cycle where the same kinds of people in the same places were funded for the same kinds of ideas.

Over the last decade, through Revolution’s Rise of the Rest initiative, I have traveled thousands of miles by bus meeting entrepreneurs in cities across the country. I grew up in Hawaii, far away from America’s traditional centers of power and finance, so perhaps I have always viewed innovation through a wider lens. Again and again, I have seen talented founders building important companies in places that many investors too often overlook. These include companies Revolution has backed such as Tempus, the AI-enabled healthcare technology company advancing precision medicine and helping personalize cancer care in Chicago; Hermeus, the Atlanta-based developer of hypersonic and high-Mach aircraft supporting U.S. national security; CAVA, the technology-enabled Mediterranean restaurant brand founded and headquartered in Washington, D.C.; and Anduril, a defense technology company building advanced autonomous systems and AI-powered software in San Diego, demonstrating that even within California, innovation is not synonymous with the Bay Area.

These entrepreneurs are not building outside Silicon Valley or New York by accident. Many are making deliberate decisions to start and scale companies in places that provide unique cultures, local expertise, strong universities, industry ecosystems, and more affordable environments to grow businesses.

Second, the next wave of innovation will favor a broader America.

For much of the internet era, innovation centered on consumer software and digital platforms. But the next era of innovation will touch every part of our economy. Artificial intelligence, robotics, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, energy, agriculture, healthcare, transportation, and financial services will all be transformed in the years ahead.

While the latest wave of AI has largely been centered in Silicon Valley, the next phase is likely to be more geographically distributed. As the focus shifts from general-purpose AI models to industry-specific applications and vertical AI emerges as a major force, new opportunities will be created in places with deep domain expertise in healthcare, food and agriculture, manufacturing, energy, and other sectors. The most transformative companies are often built closest to the problems they seek to solve. It is harder to understand the challenges facing agriculture if your entire network exists inside a tech bubble. The companies transforming manufacturing may grow in cities that still know how to make things. The startups reinventing healthcare may emerge near world-class medical centers and research universities spread across the country.

Success in new ventures today increasingly depends on partnerships with government, industry, and communities. That broader collaboration creates opportunities for more regions to become centers of innovation.

Third, supporting entrepreneurship everywhere is essential to America’s economic future and global competitiveness.

One of the lessons of the last decade is that America cannot continue to be a country where a few areas prosper wildly while large parts of the country feel left behind. If too many people conclude that the innovation economy only benefits a narrow group of companies and regions, trust in both capitalism and technology will continue to erode.

At the same time, the rest of the world is becoming more competitive. Countries around the globe are investing aggressively in entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, and talent attraction. China often dominates the conversation, but countries like India, Israel, South Korea, Sweden, and others are investing aggressively in innovation. America’s entrepreneurial edge cannot be taken for granted.

That is why supporting startups and high-growth companies in more places must become a national priority. We need to increase access to capital for entrepreneurs across the country. We need stronger connections between startups, universities, corporations, and local governments. We need policies that continue attracting talented entrepreneurs from around the world. And we need to nurture environments where both success and failure are embraced because risk-taking has always been central to innovation.

The good news is that the building blocks for new centers of innovation already exist in cities across the country. If nurtured and supported, these emerging ecosystems can become engines of economic growth, job creation, and community revitalization.

The most important lesson from America’s first 250 years is that renewal has always come from people willing to build something new. The next American century will be shaped by artificial intelligence and other transformative technologies. But ultimately, our success will depend on whether we continue to create an environment where entrepreneurs everywhere have the opportunity to build, innovate, and contribute.

The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.

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