Regulatory leadership, however, does not automatically translate into market dominance. The long-term strength of Europe’s AI ecosystem will depend on whether its governance framework can be matched by scalable investment, the retention and attraction of top-tier talent, and the effective creation of a genuinely unified market for data and innovation.

Europe enters this phase with notable strengths. It benefits from a deep and diversified industrial base, particularly in safety-critical sectors such as healthcare, finance and advanced manufacturing. The region is also recognised globally for its research leadership in AI ethics, explainability and risk governance. Early exposure to the AI Act offers European companies a potential first-mover advantage, positioning them as credible global suppliers of responsible, transparent and secure AI systems.

These advantages, however, are offset by persistent structural weaknesses. Europe’s AI ecosystem remains fragmented along national lines, complicating scale-up and cross-border deployment. A chronic shortage of late-stage venture capital continues to limit the ability of European startups to grow into global competitors. This funding gap, combined with the outward migration of skilled AI professionals to North America and parts of Asia, poses a significant challenge to Europe’s long-term competitiveness. At the same time, reliance on external providers for critical layers of the AI technology stack exposes the region to strategic vulnerabilities and systemic risks.

The outlook is therefore one of conditional opportunity rather than guaranteed success. For Europe to capitalise on its regulatory lead, governance must function as a catalyst for innovation while safeguarding fundamental rights, rather than as a bureaucratic constraint. Achieving this balance will require a more holistic strategy that goes beyond legislation alone.

Key priorities include mobilising capital at scale to close the growth-stage funding gap, simplifying and supporting compliance for small and medium-sized enterprises, and making sustained investments in the computing and data infrastructure that underpins modern AI. High-performance computing, interoperable and unified data spaces, and accessible shared resources will be essential foundations for future innovation.

Equally important is the need to retain and attract AI talent through targeted research funding, competitive incentives and clear career pathways. Europe’s cultural and linguistic diversity also represents an underexploited asset, particularly in the design of AI models suited to multilingual and multicultural contexts. International cooperation will play a central role, with partnerships among like-minded global actors helping to advance shared standards, research agendas and innovation outcomes.

If these priorities are executed effectively, Europe has an opportunity to align its ethical values with industrial capability. In doing so, it could consolidate a distinctive position in the global AI landscape — not simply as the world’s most comprehensive regulator, but as the leading hub for trustworthy, competitive and values-based AI.

If you are interested in etami, keep in mind that BDVA’s Task Forces meet regularly, discussing the latest updates from the ecosystem, collaborating on publications and organising events. Check out BDVA’s activities and make sure to stay tuned!

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Its launch comes at a pivotal moment for the sector. The global virtual worlds market, valued at €27 billion in 2022, is forecast to exceed €800 billion by 2030, underscoring both the scale of opportunity and the need for coordinated investment.

The European Partnership for Virtual Worlds will support advances in research, innovation, standardisation and skills development, while fostering the uptake of virtual world technologies across multiple application domains. A core objective is to reinforce Europe’s technological autonomy and ensure that future developments respect EU values and fundamental rights. The partnership will be supported by €200 million in EU funding under Horizon Europe for 2025–2027, to be matched by at least €200 million from Virtual Worlds Association members. Together, these investments aim to strengthen Europe’s innovation ecosystem and secure a competitive and values-driven position in the global digital landscape.

Find out more

BDVA is looking forward to collaborating closely with the VW Association, establishing strong links between data, AI and Virtual Worlds. Our association is also part of OPENVERSE, a Coordination and Support Action (CSA), funded under Horizon Europe programme, rooted in the ambition to elevate the EU landscape, responding to the global tech competition and fostering technological sovereignty. BDVA is helping to connect Europe’s Virtual Worlds ecosystem, having a very active role in the OPENVERSE Community Hub, a dynamic and inclusive network of stakeholders operating at the intersection of Virtual Worlds and Web 4.0, grounded in European values and supported by a framework of ethics and trust.

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The Data Union Strategy is aimed at increasing the availability of data for artificial intelligence (AI), simplifying EU data regulations and reinforcing Europe’s position in international data flows. AI is visibly transforming economies across sectors, providing new solutions and opportunities for businesses and citizens alike. To remain competitive on the global stage, the EU says it must ensure AI has access to high-quality data. The Data Union Strategy seeks to unlock the potential of European data and complete the Single Market for data, in line with President von der Leyen’s priorities.

The strategy is expected to benefit businesses, researchers, consumers and finally, societal development. Companies, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), will gain simpler and more cost-effective access to datasets and lower compliance costs. Researchers will have access to high-quality data to train AI systems, while consumers could see new services and innovations emerge more quickly.

The EU has set out three priority areas under the strategy:

Scaling up access to data for AI – The Commission plans to launch and invest in data labs as a key resource to bridge data and AI ecosystems, and to scale-up data spaces prioritising sectors of public interest including a defence data space, with around €100 million in EU investment. High-value datasets, digitised cultural objects, synthetic data, data quality and EU data production will also be promoted.

Streamlining data rules – Modernising EU data laws via the Data Act aims to reduce compliance costs and simplify processes. Companies will be supported through model contracts, standard clauses for cloud computing and a dedicated legal helpdesk.

Safeguarding EU data sovereignty – The strategy seeks to protect Europe’s digital assets while ensuring secure, fair cross-border data flows. Guidelines will be issued to assess the treatment of EU data abroad and tools will be developed to prevent data localisation, leaks, or misuse of sensitive non-personal data.

Many of the priorities, principles and recommendations highlighted by the European Commission reflect the insights from BDVA community projects, papers, strategic documents, as well as recent activities in workshops, Task Force activities and most certainly from our events, such as the recently concluded EBDVF 2025. Numerous BDVA members are also deeply involved in the DataLabs initiative, which has been a major focus for many over the past several months. As a reference to the strategic documents, you are invited to explore BDVA’s input to the European Data Union Strategy, BDVA’s response to the AI Continent Action Plan: Towards a European AI-data value ecosystem and other relevant community papers such as Elevating Data Quality A Paradigm Shift for Data Spaces and AI Needs, AI Factories and the data challenge: access, acquisition and usage of data. Connection to data spaces, as well as the upcoming “AI-ready Data products” paper (teaser in our blogs) or the latest healthcare TF paper Synthetic Data in Healthcare paper (as synthetic data is another BDVA-related topic addressed in this strategy).

The Data Union Strategy reinforces the value of collective efforts and reaffirms the importance of BDVA’s long-term commitment to fostering a trustworthy, innovative and competitive European data and AI ecosystem. It also further consolidates our role as a key interlocutor, as the next phase of implementation unfolds.

BDVA hereby thanks all of its members for their continued engagement, expertise, and valuable contributions, as their work has helped to shape the strategy and will be essential as we now move forward to help realise its ambitions together.

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The newly announced AI Factory Antennas are being established to extend and enhance the services provided by the existing EuroHPC AI Factories.

The European Union will invest approximately €55 million in the AI Factory Antennas, with matching contributions from the EuroHPC JU participating states.

Each Antenna will collaborate closely with its corresponding AI Factory to foster the ongoing development of national AI ecosystems. They will provide access to AI-optimised supercomputing resources for research, innovation, and industrial applications across a variety of sectors. Additionally, the AI Factory Antennas may offer smaller-scale AI computing capabilities to support the fine-tuning, testing, and validation of AI applications.

The creation of these AI Factory Antennas marks a significant milestone in expanding the reach and impact of the AI Factories initiative. They will help to ensure broader access to high-performance AI infrastructure and contribute to Europe’s ambition to advance artificial intelligence research and innovation.

Find out more about the AI Factories Antennas!

The Big Data Value Association (BDVA) is one of the three participating private partners of the EuroHPC JU, alongside the European Technology Platform for High Performance Computing (ETP4HPC) and the European Quantum Industry Consortium (QuIC).

BDVA, as it represents the Data and AI ecosystem, welcomes the development that the AI Antennas will bring to the European Data and AI industry, supporting the societal growth and prosperity. This news comes in the context of the two recently unveiled European Commission strategies designed to accelerate the adoption of AI, the Apply AI Strategy and the AI in Science Strategy.

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These countries will establish new AI-optimised systems equipped with AI Factories, further enhancing Europe’s AI infrastructure. The Spanish site will also feature an experimental platform, providing state-of-the-art facilities for developing and testing innovative AI models and applications, while fostering collaboration across Europe.

Each AI Factory will operate as a national one-stop shop, offering European AI start-ups, SMEs and researchers comprehensive support to develop AI-ready data and gain access to AI-optimised high-performance computing (HPC) resources, training and technical expertise.

This expansion strengthens Europe’s position as a global leader in artificial intelligence and ensures that AI solutions can be developed, tested and scaled within a digitally sovereign European ecosystem.

As a result of the third cut-off on 30 June 2025, under the EUROHPC-2024-CEI-AI-02 call, the EuroHPC JU Governing Board has approved the selection of six new AI Factories. So far, 19 sites across Europe have been selected to host AI Factories. 

Find out more about the AI Factories here

In December 2024, seven countries were selected to host Europe’s initial AI Factories in Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain and Sweden. In March 2025, the EuroHPC JU selected six additional AI Factories in Austria, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Poland and Slovenia.

To equip Europe with a cutting-edge supercomputing infrastructure, the EuroHPC JU has already procured 11 supercomputers, distributed across Europe. Three of these EuroHPC supercomputers are now ranked among the world’s top 10 most powerful supercomputers: JUPITER in Germany, Europe’s first exascale supercomputer (4th place) along with LUMI in Finland (9th place), Leonardo in Italy (10th place).

The Big Data Value Association (BDVA) is one of the three participating private partners of the EuroHPC JU, alongside the European Technology Platform for High Performance Computing (ETP4HPC) and the European Quantum Industry Consortium (QuIC).

BDVA, as it represents the Data and AI ecosystem, welcomes the additional 6 AI Factories, which will have a positive impact across European industry and society. This news comes in the context of the two recently unveiled European Commission strategies designed to accelerate the adoption of AI, the Apply AI Strategy and the AI in Science Strategy.

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The announcement comes in the context of a world competition to harness the transformative potential of AI, as it is transforming how businesses operate, reshaping public services, and revolutionising science. Through these strategies, the Commission is advancing its AI Continent Action Plan, which seeks to consolidate EU’s technological leadership while ensuring that innovation remains transparent and aligned with European values, making our continent a global leader in trustworthy AI.

Europe’s progress in digital infrastructure has been significant in recent years, as six years ago Europe had only two supercomputers among the global top ten, while today that number has doubled, reaching 4, and work is underway to set up at least 4 to 5 gigafactories. Building on its strong technological base, skilled workforce and tradition in collaborative research, the EU is now seeking to deepen AI integration across key sectors and scientific disciplines.

Apply AI Strategy: driving adoption across industry and public services

The Apply AI Strategy focuses on expanding the use of AI in strategic industries and public sectors such as healthcare, energy, manufacturing, mobility, construction, agri-food, defence and communications. It also places a strong emphasis on supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), helping them incorporate AI into their daily operations and production processes.

Among its key actions, the strategy will establish AI-powered screening centres in the healthcare sector and promote the development of cutting-edge AI models tailored to areas including manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and environmental management. Around €1 billion is being mobilised to support these initiatives, with future efforts expected to extend to sectors such as finance, tourism and e-commerce.

The strategy promotes an AI first policy, so more companies consider AI as a part of the solution to tackle challenges.This will unlock societal benefits, as it will encourage organisations to consider AI solutions as a central part of their innovation and problem-solving processes. By doing so, the Commission hopes to improve efficiency and accessibility in public services.

To tackle broader challenges, the strategy also focuses on linking infrastructure, data and testing facilities to speed up time-to-market for AI innovations. It aims to prepare Europe’s workforce to be “AI ready” across sectors and includes the creation of a Frontier AI initiative to foster collaboration among leading AI researchers and developers.  The renewal and deployment of the network of European Digital Innovation Hubs, transformed into Experience Centres for AI, will give companies privileged access to the EU AI innovation ecosystem.

To coordinate these efforts, the Commission is launching the Apply AI Alliance, a new forum bringing together representatives from industry, academia, public institutions and civil society. An AI Observatory will monitor AI trends and assess their impact across different sectors. In parallel, the newly established AI Act Service Desk will help ensure smooth implementation of the EU’s pioneering AI Act.

AI in Science Strategy: strengthening Europe’s research

Alongside Apply AI, the AI in Science Strategy aims to put Europe at the forefront of AI-driven research and scientific excellence. At its heart is the Resource for AI Science in Europe (RAISE) – a virtual institute designed to coordinate AI resources and facilitate their use in scientific discovery across the continent.

The Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) will play a central role in both strategies, providing technical expertise, conducting sectoral studies and delivering a new report examining the impact of AI on scientific methods and research practices.

Together, these two strategies represent a significant step towards Europe’s ambition of becoming a world leader in trustworthy AI, a model of innovation that balances technological progress with ethical responsibility. The Commission’s initiatives are set to redefine how AI supports Europe’s economy, science and society and it is expected that by the end of October, to present a Data Union Strategy.

BDVA Task Forces: supporting European AI industry and research

BDVA, through its many Task Forces, such as Task Force GenAI, Task Force Policy and Societal or etami, are prepared to support in making Europe a global leader in AI. etami, the BDVA Task Force for Trustworthy AI creates processes and tools to enable ethical, trustworthy and legal AI. etami translates European and global principles for ethical AI into actionable and measurable guidelines, tools and methods.

TF Gen AI / Foundation Models is currently identifing and analysing real-world applications of GenAI across industries, understanding how to assess its impact, scalability and business potential, developing strategies to facilitate industrial stakeholders on leveraging GenAI, providing a framework for guidance and training to empower businesses, SMEs, and public institutions to adopt GenAI responsibly and efficiently as well as handling the AI literacy requirements in the AI Act, as it aims at facilitating the adoption of GenAI by companies.

Task Force Policy, Societal and Regulation contributes to BDVA by addressing not only technological developments, but also identifying a number of topics that are policy-related, legal, or societal and linked to such technological developments.

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Data is one of Europe’s most valuable economic assets, central to the ambitions of the European Data Union strategy. The European Data Union strategy is designed to strengthen data sovereignty, foster trust and ensure a fair distribution of the value created by data, which are key ingredients to scaling up AI effectively across the EU.

In this context, the European Data Spaces Awards have been launched with the objective of promoting the best-in-class European data sharing initiatives. The awards will put the spotlight on the achievements of leading initiatives that exemplify excellence in data sharing, providing visibility and guidance for others while encouraging a stronger and improved data community. Organised by the Data Spaces Support Centre (DSSC) in collaboration with the European Commission, the awards are closely tied to the Maturity Model for Common European Data Spaces, reinforcing shared principles and long-term goals.

The 2025 edition will feature two categories, offering applicants from across the ecosystem the chance to showcase their impact:

Category 1: Excellence in end-user engagement and financial sustainability

This category recognises data spaces that demonstrate strong user focus and a viable long-term financial model. Download the application form here.

Category 2: Most innovative emerging data space

This category celebrates promising new initiatives that bring fresh ideas and impactful innovation to the data space ecosystem.

Key dates for applicants include:

• Application period: 23 September – 7 November 2025
• Nominee announcement: 17 December 2025
• Awards ceremony: 10 February 2026, during the Data Spaces Symposium 2026 (DSS 2026)

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The guidelines address questions related to the obligations: 

• What is a General-purpose AI model?
• Who is considered a “provider” of a general-purpose AI model, and when does “placing on the market” occur?
• What are the conditions for the applicability of certain exemptions from the obligations?
• What is the effect of becoming a signatory of the General-Purpose AI Code of Practice? 

With the ongoing public debate on the meaning of specific provisions of the AI Act, the clarity provided by the Guidelines on the scope of obligations for providers of general-purpose AI models under the AI Act will help many members of our Association understand whether they are subject to these obligations and to what extent, thereby ensuring full compliance with the upcoming legal regime. 

The document should be read in conjunction with the voluntary General-Purpose AI Code of Practice, which was published on 10 July 2025. Both documents aim to ensure that the AI models placed on the EU market are meeting the required safety, transparency and copyright obligations, so that trustworthy AI is fostered in Europe. 

BDVA, especially Task Force GenAI, Task Force Policy and Societal and etami, took an active role in shaping those documents. In multiple rounds of consultations on the Code of Practice and the Guidelines, we shared with the Commission our members’ views and concerns related to the soon-enforceable AI Act. While those consultations are over at this time, it does not mean that the individuals from our Association cannot continue the engagement in shaping the European AI-related actions. Until 14 September, the Commission is seeking experts for the AI Scientific Panel, which during a 2 years long term will be supporting the implementation and enforcement of the AI Act. To learn more about opportunities, visit the website here.  

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BDVA advocates for the development of “AI-data value ecosystems” (as outlined in its response to the AI Continent Action Plan) to better align data and AI strategies and value chains. In this context, BDVA sees Data Labs as a foundational framework for accelerating the development of these ecosystems, by enabling the convergence of AI and data at the “last mile”, therefore serving as a reference model to learn from and to extend this convergence across the entire AI lifecycle. To advance this vision, BDVA proposes fostering dialogue with AI Factories.

While acknowledging the importance of AI and broader digital advancements, BDVA reasserts that data remains the cornerstone of innovation, competitiveness and public value creation. As such, updated policies and investments in data (data sharing ecosystems, data platforms, data technology and services, data research and innovation, data companies and data skills) are essential not only to support AI and digital strategies in the current context of strategic autonomy, but also critical as engines of economical and societal value in their own.

In addition to the above-mentioned high-level recommendations, the BDVA community suggests a set of actionable recommendations linked to these three objectives identified by the European Commission can be summarised as follows:

I) Scale-up data use and availability (with a strong focus on data for AI):

• Invest in AI-ready data tools, frameworks, benchmarks and standards.
• Use Data Labs as a framework to accelerate the convergence of AI and data ecosystems.
• Boost new industrial collaboration models for the creation of vertical foundation models.
• Continue and consolidate public and private investments to achieve sustainable, scalable and interoperable data spaces and data sharing ecosystems.
• Establish a European coordination body to achieve convergence on the current fragmented efforts in setting up data spaces.
• Introduce incentives for data producers and data intermediaries.
• Grow the ecosystem of new data companies in Europe.
• Establish data innovation hubs in all regions of Europe.
• Invest in synthetic data.

II) Simplification:

• Apply a holistic approach to data and digital legislation.
• Develop automated compliance solutions (RegTech) and new paradigms in regulation for automation.
• Address legal barriers for research and innovation transfer to market

III) International data strategy: 

• Develop and support international standards and protocols.
• Contribute to the definition of global data governance principles.
• Invest in collaborative research and innovation, launch pilot projects and support referential lighthouse projects (e.g., International Manufacturing-X).

You can find the whole text here.

Call to Action. Role of BDVA 

BDVA is a European non-profit association with over 250 members from industry (including SMEs, startups and large companies), research, academia and the public sector, all united by a mission to create value for society and industry through data and AI innovation. The AI Continent Action Plan and the European Data Strategy are central to BDVA’s mission and objectives. As a private member of the EuroHPC JU, a founding member and strong contributor to the AI, Data and Robotics Partnership in HE and a strong player in the data spaces ecosystem of projects and activities, BDVA actively contributes to achieving all foreseen objectives of the European Data Union Strategy.

This position paper reflects the consolidated input of the BDVA community, gathered through targeted workshops, discussions of the Board of Directors, task forces and expert consultations.

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Other relevant aspects highlighted in the paper are the industry co-leadership, the need in the overall AI lifecycle considering the important factor of timing, and the need to stress clarity, simplification and sustainability not only in regulation but also in implementation instruments. 

The paper offers a community perspective to all 5 pillars of the strategy, giving a particular emphasis on the Data for AI pillar.

BDVA is a European non-profit association with over 250 members from industry (including SMEs, startups, and large companies), research, academia, and the public sector, all united by a mission to create value for society and industry through data and AI innovation. The AI Continent Action Plan and the European Data Strategy are central to BDVA’s mission and objectives  

BDVA stands ready to support the European Commission, Joint Undertakings, Member States, and other partners in turning this ambitious plan into tangible outcomes. Strong, structured collaboration with community-driven initiatives like BDVA will be essential to ensuring impact on the ground.

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