The global race for artificial intelligence (AI) is heating up, prompting the European Union to ramp up its investment in this cutting-edge fieldAs the competition intensifies, Europe is keen to carve out a favorable position for itself in the evolving landscape of AI technology and innovation.

On February 11, during an AI Action Summit held in Paris, President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled the "InvestAI Plan". This initiative involves the commitment of a staggering €200 billion (roughly $206 billion) towards AI investments over the next few yearsIn her keynote address, von der Leyen articulated her vision:

“The goal of the EU is to ensure that every company, not just the large ones, has access to the computing power they need.”

She also added, “The largest public investment in AI worldwide will unlock more than ten times the amount in private investments.”

A substantial portion of this initiative, specifically €20 billion, is earmarked for the creation of AI super factories — a strategic move designed to facilitate the training of the largest and most complex AI models in the worldThe funding for the InvestAI Plan will derive, in part, from ongoing EU funding projects, such as the Digital Europe Program, the Horizon Europe initiative, and InvestEU, with the ultimate aim of leveraging up to €200 billion in investments.

“The InvestAI Plan” is a collaborative effort supported by both the EU and private investorsVon der Leyen noted, “The EU will provide €50 billion (around $51 billion) in funding, with an additional €150 billion (approximately $154 billion) pledged by suppliers, investors, and private sector contributors.”

Before this, European AI was often seen as unable to keep pace with the US; yet with Mistral AI’s triumph in launching Le Chat, which recently snagged the number one spot among free apps in France, developers across Europe are celebrating this significant milestone.

Le Chat, developed by Mistral AI, boasts remarkable speed, generating an impressive 1,000 tokens per second — 13 times faster than the popular ChatGPTSignificantly, it offers real-time internet access and produces high-quality images, outperforming even DALL·E 3. Mistral AI, established just over a year ago, has already reached a valuation of $6.2 billion, positioning itself as a frontrunner in the European AI landscape.

Just before the AI summit, French President Emmanuel Macron also announced a groundbreaking investment plan of €109 billion (around $112 billion) to establish a European version of the “Gateway to the Stars”, aimed at advancing AI development throughout France in the coming yearsThe initiative has already identified 35 potential locations within France to focus on building AI infrastructureMacron emphasized the necessity for France and Europe to hold a central role in the ongoing AI revolution.

Moreover, the recent arrival of China's low-cost AI model, DeepSeek, has sent shockwaves across the industry, demonstrating that impressive AI systems can be built without substantial financial backing.

Henna Virkkunen, the EU's Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, expressed the EU's commitment to bolstering Europe’s resilient startup community in the AI sector, which often struggles to gain access to vital computing resources:

“Within a year, our computational capability on supercomputers will be five times what it is now, but of course, further investment is still necessary.”

Von der Leyen underscored the importance of focusing on a distinct approach to AI development in Europe, which encompasses a commitment to technology, the integration of AI in complex applications, leveraging rich industrial manufacturing data, and fostering a talent pool that draws from diverse countries and industries.

It is noteworthy that von der Leyen’s announcements build on a commitment made last December to invest €2 billion in the construction of seven AI-optimized supercomputers, which will be made accessible to startups for AI model training

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