In a landmark move to position Europe as a leader in artificial intelligence, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a substantial €200 billion investment in AI development during her speech at the AI Action Summit in Paris. This ambitious plan aims to foster innovation, build infrastructure, and ensure Europe’s competitive edge in the global AI landscape.
A significant portion of the funding, €20 billion, will be dedicated to creating AI “gigafactories” — specialized facilities designed to enable collaborative development of advanced AI models. These state-of-the-art factories will provide companies with the computing power necessary to train complex AI models, addressing the high demand for supercomputing resources, which has been a growing concern in the industry.
The announcement follows a €109 billion AI investment plan unveiled by French President Emmanuel Macron, signaling France’s commitment to becoming a key player in AI development. Macron’s plan, referred to as the French equivalent of the U.S. “Stargate” initiative, aims to match the scale of AI investment seen in the United States, with OpenAI’s $500 billion commitment being a prominent example.
Von der Leyen expressed a vision of AI as a “force for good and growth,” emphasizing Europe’s approach based on openness, cooperation, and harnessing excellent talent. She stressed that, with the creation of AI gigafactories and collaboration among member states and partners, Europe is taking significant steps to accelerate AI progress.
The €200 billion investment will primarily be funneled through the EU’s InvestAI initiative, leveraging existing funding programs like Digital Europe, Horizon Europe, and InvestEU. The goal is to establish AI gigafactories as public-private partnerships, driving innovation while ensuring trust and ethical development in AI technologies.
These AI gigafactories will use next-generation AI chips, four times more powerful than current facilities, and offer access to large-scale computing resources for smaller companies to enhance their AI capabilities. With the European Commission’s backing, this initiative is poised to make Europe a central hub for AI development, positioning it to rival the United States and China in the growing AI race.
The development of these facilities is just one part of the EU’s broader strategy for boosting technological innovation under the Competitiveness Compass, aimed at reinforcing Europe’s economic and technological growth in key sectors like AI.
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