InvestAI: An EU initiative to mobilise 200 Billion € in Artificial Intelligence

On 11 February, at the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit in Paris, the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the launch of InvestAI, a major initiative aimed at mobilising €200 billion in AI investment.  

President von der Leyen has welcomed a major boost in AI investment with the launch of the European AI Champions Initiative, which unites 60 top European companies, including Airbus, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, L’Oréal, Lufthansa, Mercedes, Orange, Philips, SAP, Siemens, Spotify, Telekom, Total Energies and Volkswagen Group, with a total private investment of €150 billion to drive AI innovation and development across the continent. Adding to this momentum, the EU has introduced the InvestAI initiative, pledging an additional €50 billion to strengthen AI capabilities. This includes a €20 billion European fund dedicated to the AI gigafactories, aimed at enhancing the region’s computational power for developing large-scale AI models. With this combined €200 billion meant to mobilise investment, the EU is positioning itself as a global leader in AI, fostering technological sovereignty and innovation. 

The AI gigafactories represent a crucial step toward positioning Europe as a key player in the AI market.  According to the EC, the AI gigafactories will represent the world’s largest public-private partnership for the development of trustworthy AI. The AI gigafactories are aligned with Europe’s open, cooperative innovation model, ensuring that companies of all sizes can access high-performance computing to drive AI advancements. 

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that “AI will improve our healthcare, spur our research and innovation and boost our competitiveness. We want AI to be a force for good and for growth. We are doing this through our own European approach – based on openness, cooperation and excellent talent. But our approach still needs to be supercharged. This is why, together with our Member States and with our partners, we will mobilise unprecedented capital through InvestAI for European AI gigafactories.” 

As an industry-driven association focused on Data innovation and Industrial AI, BDVA welcomes the visibility that this initiative gives to the private investment plans in AI from European companies and the collaborative effort, along with the ambition to mobilise additional public funding to boost competitiveness, innovation and scientific progress with AI in Europe. This will position Europe at the forefront of Trustworthy AI.

BDVA is a private member of the EuroHPC JU, representing data and Industrial AI communities.

Find out more by consulting the European Commission’s press release at this link.