11th February | Paris | At the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit in Paris, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the launch of InvestAI. This initiative aims to mobilise €200 billion for AI investment, including a €20 billion European fund for AI gigafactories. These gigafactories will support the collaborative development of complex AI models, helping Europe become a leader in AI.
Key Highlights of InvestAI:
- Major Financial Investment: InvestAI will gather €200 billion, with significant contributions from both the EU and private investors. This substantial investment highlights Europe’s dedication to advancing AI technology.
- AI Gigafactories: The EU plans to fund four AI gigafactories across Europe with the €20 billion fund. These facilities will train the most complex AI models, requiring advanced computing infrastructure. Each gigafactory will be equipped with around 100,000 state-of-the-art AI chips, quadrupling the capacity of current AI factories.
- Largest Public-Private Partnership: InvestAI will create the world’s largest public-private partnership for developing trustworthy AI. The gigafactories will follow the European model of open, cooperative innovation, focusing on complex industrial and mission-critical applications. This will ensure that even smaller companies can access large-scale computing power.
- Diverse Funding Structure: The initiative will feature a layered fund with different risk and return profiles. The EU budget will help mitigate risks for other investors. Initial funding will come from existing EU programmes, such as the Digital Europe Programme, Horizon Europe, and InvestEU. Member States can also contribute from their Cohesion funds.
- Expanding AI Infrastructure: In December, the Commission announced the first seven AI factories and plans to announce five more soon. The existing support for AI factories, totaling €10 billion and co-financed by the EU and Member States, is the largest public AI investment in the world. This funding will unlock over ten times more private investment, giving startups and industries access to supercomputers.
Original remark “Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “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. This unique public-private partnership, akin to a CERN for AI, will enable all our scientists and companies – not just the biggest – to develop the most advanced very large models needed to make Europe an AI continent.”
President of the European Investment Bank, Nadia Calviño, emphasized the collaboration, stating, “Together with the EU Commission, the EIB Group is stepping up support for Artificial Intelligence, a key driver of innovation and productivity in Europe.”
InvestAI aims to drive Europe to the forefront of AI development, fostering a competitive and sustainable AI ecosystem.
Source: European Commission, Press Release on | EU launches InvestAI initiative.
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