Paris (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced InvestAI, an initiative to channel 200 billion euros in public and private investments into the European artificial intelligence industry.
The launching came as World heads were set to hold formal discussions in Paris on February 11, 2025, on artificial intelligence (AI), aiming for elusive common ground on a technology subject to a global fight for pledged economic benefits.
AI conference, organised by French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian PM Narendra Modi, the assemblage comes hours after Elon Musk reportedly put in a proposal for star developer OpenAI, highlighting AI’s potential to gather energy into a single pair of hands.
What role does Von der Leyen see in AI?
“We aim to mobilise a total of 200 billion euros for AI investments in Europe,”
The European Commission president spoke to a Paris AI summit, stating the EU would assist 50 billion euros with the rest promised by
“providers, investors and industry.”
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen further 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 European approach – based on openness, cooperation and excellent talent. But our approach still needs to be supercharged.”
The AI race is just beginning.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) February 11, 2025
Building on the European AI Champions initiative, I’m glad to announce InvestAI 🇪🇺
We aim to mobilise €200 billion in AI investments in Europe ↓ https://t.co/PaLTUDsVpm
How does the EU Commission boost AI innovation in Europe?
Besides the initiative, the European Commission has been very proactive in developing and implementing policies and initiatives related to artificial intelligence.
In January 2024, the Commission introduced a new AI innovation package aimed at supporting European startups and SMEs in developing trustworthy AI that aligned with EU values. This package will be composed of access to supercomputers for AI startups with privileged access, Horizon Europe and Digital Europe program support, and enhanced generative AI talent in the EU.
