EU AI Investment Includes Gigafactories, InvestAI Fund

The European Union has announced a substantial investment of €200 billion ($206 billion) into artificial intelligence to compete with the US and China, as conveyed by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the AI Action Summit in Paris. This amount includes an additional €50 billion on top of €150 billion already pledged by private investors under the European AI Champions Initiative. The funding will support the development of 'gigafactories' and seeks to ensure Europe becomes a leader in industrial and mission-critical AI applications. Despite criticisms from US Vice President JD Vance regarding the EU's regulatory approach, von der Leyen emphasized the ongoing AI race and Europe's commitment to trustworthy AI innovation. The EU's efforts also include the €20 billion InvestAI fund, aiming to unlock further investment from EU governments and private sectors, thereby enhancing AI infrastructure across the continent. This initiative follows other significant investments, such as France’s €109 billion AI plan, paralleling similar US efforts like the $500 billion 'Stargate' AI data center project.