Against the backdrop of increasing global competition in AI, the EU has officially announced an unprecedented artificial intelligence investment plan. Today at the AI Action Summit in Paris, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen formally unveiled a grand initiative called 'Invest AI', showcasing the EU's strong determination in global AI competition. This investment plan, with a total scale of €200 billion, notably includes a dedicated €20 billion European Fund for the construction of AI gigafactories. This decision marks the EU's official entry into large-scale AI development.

Recently, the UAE and France reached a significant agreement to jointly construct a grand AI park. This project will include a powerful data center, expected to have computing capabilities of up to one gigawatt, marking another important investment in Europe’s artificial intelligence sector. The agreement was signed in the presence of French President Emmanuel Macron and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Image source note: Image generated by AI, image licensed by Midjourney according to the agreement, this AI park

Recently, artificial intelligence development company OpenAI announced that it will allow some European customers to store and process data related to their interactions with the chatbot within the European Union, rather than storing the data in the United States or elsewhere. This move highlights the profound impact of EU regulations on large digital platforms and AI developers concerning data usage. Image source note: The image is generated by AI, and the image licensing provider Midjourney has paid fees for companies and educational institutions to use the chatbot.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Arthur Mensch, co-founder and CEO of the renowned French AI startup Mistral, stated that the company is fully committed to achieving its goal of an initial public offering (IPO). Founded in 2023 by researchers from tech giants like Google DeepMind and Meta, Mistral has rapidly risen in just two years, releasing a series of open-source AI models and launching chatbot-like technology.

Generative AI is creating significant opportunities for the European economy, with projections suggesting that this technology could add as much as $575 billion in value over the next five years. This data comes from the latest report by the McKinsey Global Institute, which provides an in-depth analysis of the full value chain of AI in Europe. The report highlights that if generative AI solutions are effectively adopted and scaled, Europe has much to gain. Note: Image generated by AI, image licensed by Midjourney. The report mentions that the value of generative AI primarily comes from...

Recently, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's alliance with Trump and his significant denial of European values have raised a troubling question: Should European organizations continue to use Meta's AI models? Not long ago, Meta criticized the EU for blocking its use of European user data to train AI models, claiming this data is crucial for localizing technology. However, Zuckerberg's recent statements are at odds with these values, as he announced plans to cooperate with the Trump administration to oppose so-called external governance.

In the context of intensifying global competition in artificial intelligence (AI), Skype co-founder Niklas Zennström is optimistic about Europe's future. He believes that despite the dominance of the United States in this field, Europe can still find its own path to survival and development by developing applications based on AI models. Image credit: Image generated by AI, image authorized by service provider Midjourney. Zennström pointed out that AI has already become essential in various industries.

Despite the overall risk investment trend in Europe stabilizing, the vigorous development of AI startups may be overlooked. According to data from venture capital firms Balderton Capital and Dealroom, this year 25% of venture capital in Europe (approximately $13.7 billion) has flowed into AI startups, compared to just 15% four years ago. This has led to the emergence of several new unicorns, such as Poolside and Wayve. James Wise, a general partner at Balderton Capital, stated that...

Europe's most valuable artificial intelligence startup, Mistral, is actively expanding its operations in the United States to compete for AI talent with rivals in Silicon Valley. The Paris-based company is establishing a new office in Palo Alto, California, and is seeking to hire engineers, scientists, and sales teams to drive its growth in the U.S. market. According to insiders, one of Mistral's co-founders, Guillaume Lample, is also involved.

Vienna-based AI governance and compliance solutions provider Daiki GmbH today announced the completion of a €1.5 million seed funding round. The funds will be used to support the company's expansion into the European market and product development, marking a significant step for Daiki in promoting the responsible deployment of AI by European enterprises. Daiki offers SaaS compliance solutions tailored to the EU AI Act and ISO standards, including ISO 13485 certification for medical device manufacturers. The product, developed by a multidisciplinary team of experts, includes integrated documentation and quality management.

Recently, the sales performance of Meta's smart glasses, launched in collaboration with Ray-Ban, has been impressive in Europe. In some stores, Meta's smart glasses have even surpassed traditional Ray-Ban sales prior to the launch of AI features. According to the latest report, the smart glasses named Ray-Ban Meta have become the best-selling product in 60% of Ray-Ban stores. This information comes from the CFO of EssilorLuxottica.

Recently, Deloitte conducted a survey from June 28 to August 12, 2024, among 30,252 consumers and employees in Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and the UK. The results reveal that 44% of respondents have used generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI), 22% have not used it but are familiar with it, while 34% feel unfamiliar or uncertain about generative AI tools. Approximately one-third are users from the AI generation.

In the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, an international research team is paving the way for the development of AI language models in Europe. They have launched a project called MOSEL (Massive Open-source compliant Speech data for European Languages), creating a comprehensive open-source voice dataset for the 24 official languages of the European Union. This initiative aims to promote the development of open AI language models in Europe, challenging the current dominance of English.

Recently, the European Commission released the list of the first over 100 signatories of the AI Pact, including companies like Amazon, Microsoft, OpenAI, Palantir, Samsung, SAP, Salesforce, Snap, Airbus, Porsche, Lenovo, and Qualcomm. Both Apple and Meta are not on the list. Image source note: Image generated by AI, image licensed by service provider Midjourney. The AI Pact aims to encourage companies to publish guidelines for the handling and deployment of artificial intelligence.

AMD announced that it has officially completed the acquisition of Silo AI, one of Europe's largest private artificial intelligence laboratories. The transaction is valued at approximately $665 million, equivalent to around 4.77 billion yuan based on the latest exchange rate, and AMD will pay the entire amount in cash.