Laurent - stock.adobe.comNewsAI Action Summit: European AI investment ramps upA number of private companies and European governments have announced large-scale investments in artificial intelligence during the two-day AI Action Summit in ParisBySebastian Klovig Skelton,Data & ethics editorPublished: 11 Feb 2025 14:45 European governments and private companies have committed around 200bn to artificial intelligence (AI)-related investments, including datacentres and gigafactories, over the course of the AI Action Summit in Paris.It follows the inaugural AI Safety Summit hosted by the UK government at Bletchley Park in November 2023, and theAI Seoul Summit inSouth Korea in May 2024.During the first day of the Paris Summit, dozens of major corporations and startups led by venture capital firm General Catalyst launched the EU AI Champions Initiative, to invest 150bn in European AI over the next five years.It has already called for simplified AI regulation in Europe, greater investment in infrastructure, and a public campaign to improve peoples understanding and trust of the technology. By seizing the moment, working with greater intention and embracing deep collaboration, Europe can seize a generational opportunity by leading in applied AI, integrating it into our industrial base to boost productivity, resilience and economic sovereignty, said Jeannette zu Frstenburg, managing director and head of Europe at General Catalyst.Backers of the initiative include Deutsche Bank, German defence startup Helsing, French AI developer Mistral, and Swedish music-streaming giant Spotify.Speaking on the first day of the Summit, European CommissionerUrsula von der LeyenWe aim to mobilise a total of 200bn for AI investments in Europe, she said. 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.Read more about AI investmentSaudi puts $15bn into AI as experts debate next steps: The kingdoms Leap 2025 tech show is the backdrop for huge investment, plus debate over the future of artificial intelligence as a productivity tool but which can also potentially undermine human society.UK government unveils AI-fuelled industrial strategy: Labour plans to implement the 50 recommendations set out by entrepreneur Matt Clifford to boost the use of AI in the UK.Elon Musk distances himself from Trumps Stargate AI mission: Just a few days into the Donald Trump presidency and there appears to be a disagreement brewing around funding of OpenAI and the Stargate Project.In total, the combined investment from private companies and the EU makes it the largest public-private investment in the world.In the run-up to the summit, French president Emmanuel Macron announced the country would attract 109bn worth of private investment in datacentres and AI projects in the coming years, including up to 50bn from the United Arab Emirates for a datacentre, and a further 20bn investment in AI infrastructure from Canadas Brookfield Corporation. Further investments are expected from French companies Iliad SA, Orange SA and Thales SA.On the second day of the summit, the UK government announced its own investment into AI research for cancer and drug discovery, which will be worth 82.6m.The UK government also announced it would expand its involvement in the European High-Performance Computing (EuroHPC) Joint Undertaking, by committing a further 7.8m to funding UK researchers and businesses participation. It claimed the investment would enable British AI and computing researchers to work unobstructed with their European peers.The focus of this summit has been on how we can put AI to work in the public interest, and todays announcements are living proof of how the UK is leading that charge through our plan for change, said digital secretary Peter Kyle. Weve already set out a bold new blueprint for AI which will help to spark a decade of national renewal, and key to that plan is supporting our expert researchers and businesses with the support they need to drive forward their game-changing innovations.Today, we open new avenues for them to do exactly that building bridges with our international partners so the entire global community can share in the boundless opportunities of AI-powered progress and backing new innovative companies applying AI to tackle real-world challenges.As part of its AI opportunities action plan, the UK government is also encouraging local authorities to put in bids for AI growth zones, which it has claimed will boost local and regional economic growth opportunities, particularly in deindustrialised areas of the country, through the construction of datacentres and other key infrastructure.In The Current Issue:Digging into the CMAs provisional take on AWS and Microsofts hold on UK cloud marketInterview: Digital tech fuels AutoTraders drive into the futureDownload Current IssueYour three point plan for Safer Internet Day When IT Meets Politics"Just throw more bandwidth at it" - Yeah right... 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