The European Union is set to mobilize a total of 200 billion euros for artificial intelligence (AI) development, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Tuesday during the AI Action Summit in Paris.
Von der Leyen said the EU would be supplementing the previously announced 150 billion euros in investor funding with an additional 50 billion euros through the new InvestAI initiative.
As part of the initiative, 20 billion euros will be channleed into the construction of four new AI giga-factories, adding to the seven already announced last year. The aim, she said, is to position the EU as a global leader in next-generation AI by promoting open, collaborative innovation and ensuring access to vital resources, which will in turn pave the way for breakthroughs in medicine, science, and other critical sectors.
Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Paris for the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit. Photo: Dimitris Papamitsos/Eurokinissi
Greece is among seven countries selected by the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (Europe) to establish and operate one of the first AI factories in Europe. The facility will help build an ecosystem for training advanced AI models and developing and exporting AI solutions.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis attended the summit in Paris on Monday, joining French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who co-chaired the two-day event.
“The AI race is just beginning. Building on the European AI Champions initiative, I’m proud to announce InvestAI. Our goal is to mobilize €200 billion in AI investments across Europe,” said Von der Leyen.
She went on to add that the race for AI leadership has yet to be claimed by either China or the U.S.
Addressing the summit, von der Leyen described InvestAI as “the world’s largest public-private partnership for the development of trustworthy AI”, adding that it will also give start-ups and small businesses equal access to resources once available only to industry giants.
