EU Unveils €200 Billion InvestAI Initiative Amid Intensifying Global AI Race

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced InvestAI, a $208 billion (€200B) initiative aimed at strengthening Europe’s artificial intelligence sector. Speaking at the AI Action Summit in Paris, von der Leyen outlined plans for a $20.8 billion (€20B) European fund dedicated to AI gigafactories, a move designed to position Europe as a global AI leader.

The announcement comes in response to US President Donald Trump’s January declaration that OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle will invest $500 billion to create Stargate, a new AI company focused on expanding AI infrastructure in the United States. Trump described it as “the largest AI infrastructure project in history,” highlighting the escalating competition between global superpowers in AI development.

Von der Leyen emphasized the transformative impact of AI across industries, stating:
“AI will improve healthcare, drive research and innovation, and boost competitiveness. We want AI to be a force for good and for growth. To achieve this, we will mobilize unprecedented capital through InvestAI, ensuring that AI advancements are accessible to all scientists and businesses, not just the largest players.”

InvestAI will finance the development of four AI gigafactories across the EU, each designed to train highly advanced AI models requiring vast computational resources. These facilities will house 100,000 cutting-edge AI chips, four times the capacity of current AI factories worldwide.

The initiative builds on the European Commission’s existing efforts, which saw the announcement of seven AI factories in December, with five more set to follow. The EU’s €10 billion AI investment, co-financed with Member States, is already the largest public AI investment globally and is expected to unlock over ten times its value in private funding.

With InvestAI, the European Commission aims to establish a collaborative and open AI ecosystem, ensuring that European companies, regardless of size, have access to the computing power necessary to drive innovation and remain competitive on the global stage.