The European Fee this week introduced an AI Continent Motion plan that requires investments in AI and HPC accompanied by a number of AI factories throughout Europe. The EC mentioned 13 of those factories are being deployed at the side of the continent’s supercomputing assets and are meant to assist EU AI startups, trade and researchers in creating AI fashions and purposes.
The fee mentioned its AI Gigafactories “can be large-scale services outfitted with roughly 100,000 state-of-the-art AI chips, 4 instances greater than present AI factories.” Whereas the EC mentioned its intent is to turn into a world chief in AI, additionally they additionally acknowledged that “regardless of the potential of AI, solely 13.5% of firms within the EU have adopted AI.”
Following is the EC’s Motion Plan:
To turn into a world chief in synthetic intelligence (AI) is the target of the AI Continent Motion Plan launched in the present day. As set out by President von der Leyen on the AI Motion Summit in February 2025 in Paris, this formidable initiative is about to remodel Europe’s robust conventional industries and its distinctive expertise pool into highly effective engines of AI innovation and acceleration.
The race for management in AI is much from over. From cutting-edge basis fashions to specialised AI purposes, the AI panorama within the EU is dynamic. It’s pushed by analysis, rising applied sciences and a thriving ecosystem of startups and scaleups. The AI Continent Motion Plan will enhance the European Union’s AI innovation capabilities by means of actions and insurance policies round 5 key pillars:
- Constructing a large-scale AI knowledge and computing infrastructure
The Fee will strengthen Europe’s AI and supercomputing infrastructure with a community of AI Factories. 13 of those factories are already being deployed round Europe’s world-leading supercomputers. They may assist EU AI startups, trade and researchers in creating AI fashions and purposes.
As introduced within the Competitiveness Compass, the EU will even assist arrange AI Gigafactories. These can be large-scale services outfitted with roughly 100,000 state-of-the-art AI chips, 4 instances greater than present AI factories. They may combine huge computing energy and knowledge centres to coach and develop complicated AI fashions at unprecedented scale. The AI Gigafactories will lead the following wave of frontier AI fashions and keep the EU’s strategic autonomy in important industrial sectors and science, requiring private and non-private investments. A name for expression of curiosity for consortia is printed in the present day.
Personal funding in Gigafactories can be additional stimulated by means of the InvestAI, which can mobilise €20 billion funding for as much as 5 AI Gigafactories throughout the Union.
To stimulate personal sector funding in cloud capability and knowledge centres, the Fee will even suggest a Cloud and AI Growth Act. The aim is to no less than triple the EU’s knowledge centre capability within the subsequent 5 to seven years, prioritising extremely sustainable knowledge centres.
- Growing entry to giant and high-quality knowledge
Bolstering AI innovation additionally requires entry to giant volumes of high-quality knowledge. An necessary component of the Motion Plan is the creation of Knowledge Labs, bringing collectively and curating giant, high-quality knowledge volumes from completely different sources in AI Factories. A complete Knowledge Union Technique can be launched in 2025 to create a real inside marketplace for knowledge that may scale up AI options.
- Growing algorithms and fostering AI adoption in strategic EU sectors
Regardless of the potential of AI, solely 13.5% of firms within the EU have adopted AI. To develop tailor-made AI options, enhance their industrial use and full adoption in EU strategic private and non-private sectors, the Fee will launch the Apply AI Technique within the coming months. European AI innovation infrastructure, together with notably the AI Factories and the European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs), will play an necessary position on this Technique.
- Strengthening AI abilities and skills
To satisfy rising demand for AI expertise, the Fee will facilitate worldwide recruitment of extremely expert AI specialists and researchers by means of initiatives such because the Expertise Pool, the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Motion ‘MSCA Select Europe’ and AI fellowships schemes supplied by the upcoming AI Expertise Academy. These actions will contribute to authorized migration pathways for extremely expert non-EU staff within the AI sector and appeal to the most effective European AI researchers and specialists again to Europe. It’ll additionally develop academic and coaching programmes on AI and Generative AI in key sectors, making ready the following era of AI specialists and supporting the upskilling and reskilling of staff.
- Regulatory simplification
The AI Act raises residents’ belief in expertise and gives traders and entrepreneurs with the authorized certainty they should scale up and deploy AI all through Europe. The Fee will even launch the AI Act Service Desk, to assist companies adjust to the AI Act. It’ll function the central level of contact and hub for info and steerage on the AI Act.
With this Motion Plan the Fee opens in the present day two public consultations, working till 4 June 2025, to additional form these AI Continent Motion Plan initiatives.
- A public session inviting all events to share their views on the Cloud and AI Growth Act
- A public session on Apply AI to establish stakeholder priorities, challenges to the uptake of AI, and the relevance of proposed options and coverage approaches—together with extra measures to make sure the sleek and easy utility of the AI Act.
A 3rd public session on Knowledge Union Technique can be launched in Might.
In parallel, the Fee will organise dialogues with trade representatives and the general public sector to assist form the Apply AI Technique. These dialogues, along with the general public consultations, will establish related examples of untapped potential in adopting AI applied sciences in particular sectors, their present integration in enterprise and manufacturing processes, and alternatives for scaling up inside these sectors and the broader financial system.
On 1 August 2024 the AI Act entered into power and tips on prohibited AI practices have been printed on 4 February 2025. On 24 January 2024, the Fee launched a bundle of measures to assist European startups and SMEs within the growth of reliable AI. On 9 July 2024 the amended EuroHPC JU Regulation entered into power, permitting the set-up of AI Factories. On 10 December 2024, seven consortia have been chosen to determine AI Factories, adopted by six extra consortia on 12 March 2025. On the AI Motion Summit in Paris on 11 February 2025, President von der Leyen introduced InvestAI, an initiative to mobilise a €200 billion funding in AI throughout Europe.
