InvestAI: EU Invests €200 Billion in AI Development

• EU’s AI Investment: The EU has introduced InvestAI, an initiative to mobilize €200 billion for AI investment, with €20 billion earmarked for AI gigafactories. This funding aims to create the largest public-private partnership for trustworthy AI development. The investment will support collaborative development of complex AI models and provide companies, including smaller ones, with access to large-scale computing power. The EU’s InvestAI fund will finance four future AI gigafactories across the EU, specializing in training the most complex, very large AI models. These gigafactories will have around 100,000 last-generation AI chips, four times more than current facilities, enabling breakthroughs in domains such as medicine and science.
• French AI Investment: French President Emmanuel Macron announced a €109 billion investment plan for AI projects in France. This investment is compared to the US’s $500 billion Stargate program by OpenAI. Macron’s plan aims to boost France’s AI capabilities and competitiveness in the global market.
• US AI Investment: The US, under President Donald Trump, has formed a joint venture with Stargate, OpenAI, Oracle, and Softbank to invest in AI infrastructure. The venture will deploy $100 billion immediately and increase investment to $500 billion over four years. This initiative aims to strengthen the US’s position in the global AI race.
• AI Gigafactories: The EU plans to establish AI gigafactories with around 100,000 last-generation AI chips, four times more than current facilities. These gigafactories will enable companies to access large-scale computing power for AI model training. The EU has already announced seven initial AI factories and will soon announce five more. The gigafactories funded through InvestAI will be the largest public-private partnership in the world for the development of trustworthy AI. They will serve the European model of cooperative, open innovation, with a focus on complex industrial and mission-critical applications. The goal is that every company, not only the biggest players, can access large-scale computing power to build the future.
• Funding Sources: The EU’s InvestAI funding will come from existing digital component programs such as the Digital Europe Programme, Horizon Europe, and InvestEU. EU member states can also contribute by committing investment from earmarked cohesion funds. The funding will be a mix of grants and equity, serving as a pilot case for strategic technologies in the EU’s Competitiveness Compass. The Commission’s initial funding for InvestAI will come from existing EU funding programs which have a digital component, such as the Digital Europe Programme, Horizon Europe, and InvestEU. Member States can also contribute by programming funds from their Cohesion envelopes. Funding of AI gigafactories with a mix of grants and equity will serve as one of the pilot cases for strategic technologies announced in the Competitiveness Compass.
• Collaborative Development: The EU’s approach to AI emphasizes openness, cooperation, and talent excellence. The InvestAI initiative aims to supercharge the EU’s AI strategy by mobilizing unprecedented capital and fostering collaboration among member states and partners. The EU’s InvestAI initiative is akin to a CERN for AI, enabling all scientists and companies, not just the biggest, to develop the most advanced AI models needed to make Europe an AI continent.
• Additional EU Initiatives: The EU is taking multiple actions to support AI innovation. This includes financial support through Horizon Europe and the Digital Europe Programme dedicated to generative AI, initiatives to strengthen the EU’s generative AI talent pool, encouragement of public and private investments in AI start-ups and scale-ups, development of Common European Data Spaces, and the ‘GenAI4EU’ initiative to support novel use cases and emerging applications in various industrial ecosystems. The Commission will also set up a European AI Research Council and launch an ‘Apply AI’ initiative to drive industrial adoption of AI in key sectors.

Why This Matters: The EU’s substantial investment in AI highlights the region’s commitment to becoming a global leader in AI development. By focusing on collaborative development and trustworthy AI, the EU aims to ensure that AI is a force for good and growth. This investment will have significant implications for the global AI landscape, as it will enable the EU to compete with other major players like the US and China. The EU’s approach emphasizes openness, cooperation, and talent excellence, aiming to make Europe an AI continent through unprecedented capital mobilization and collaboration among member states and partners.