European governments and private companies have pledged around €200 billion to invest in artificial intelligence during the AI Action Summit in Paris. This follows earlier events like the AI Safety Summit in the UK and the AI Seoul Summit in South Korea.
On the first day of the Paris Summit, major players in the tech world, led by General Catalyst, announced the EU AI Champions Initiative. This initiative aims to invest €150 billion in AI across Europe over the next five years. They’re pushing for simpler AI regulations, increased infrastructure investment, and a campaign to boost public understanding and trust in AI. Jeannette zu Fürstenburg from General Catalyst emphasized that Europe has a chance to lead in applied AI, enhancing productivity and economic stability.
The initiative has strong backing from companies like Deutsche Bank, the German defense startup Helsing, French AI developer Mistral, and Spotify. European Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen revealed a €50 billion initiative called InvestAI to complement the AI Champions initiative and noted an additional €20 billion earmarked specifically for AI gigafactories, stating that global leadership in AI is still available.
With these moves, the combined commitment from the private sector and the EU marks the largest public-private investment in AI globally. Leading up to the summit, French President Emmanuel Macron highlighted plans to attract €109 billion in private investment for datacenters and AI projects. This includes potential investments from the UAE and Canada, with more anticipated from French companies like Iliad, Orange, and Thales.
On the summit’s second day, the UK government announced an £82.6 million investment in AI research for cancer and drug discovery. They’re also increasing funding for UK researchers participating in the European High-Performance Computing initiative, aiming to enhance collaboration with European counterparts.
Digital Secretary Peter Kyle stressed the importance of using AI for public good and outlined the UK’s plan to support researchers and businesses innovating in AI. The UK government is also encouraging local authorities to apply for AI growth zones, aiming to stimulate economic growth, especially in areas that have faced industrial decline, through building datacenters and vital infrastructure.
