European leaders have signed up to an initiative aimed at helping Europe establish itself as a leader in artificial intelligence (AI). The EU AI Champions Initiative, unveiled during the AI Action Summit in Paris, brings together 60 companies, including large industrial giants and startups. France’s Mistral, which makes language models, is also part of the group.
The initiative comes after years of criticism that Europe is struggling to keep pace with other regions in terms of AI development. A report by General Catalyst suggests that adopting generative AI could boost productivity in Europe by up to 3% by 2030.
Industry leaders believe that current regulations are stifling innovation, and they want to work with the EU Commission to simplify rules and foster growth. “It’s a huge opportunity for the European tech ecosystem,” said Jeannette zu Fürstenberg, managing director of General Catalyst in Europe. The initiative aims to create a ‘flywheel’ between innovators, startups, and adopters of AI.
European Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen has stated that streamlining regulations is key to fostering innovation. “There are three different regulatory entities often in conflict with each other,” she said. “That’s slowing down the actual adoption of AI.”
The initiative has been welcomed by industry leaders, including those from chipmaker ASML and Black Forest Labs, which develops frontier AI foundation models. The group believes that cutting-edge AI combined with Europe’s innovation ecosystem will drive progress.
A key goal of the initiative is to support startups and ensure they are not left behind in conversations about AI development. “Founders and startups are being left behind,” said Ziv Reichert, partner at Phoenix Court.
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/10/tech-giants-and-startups-join-forces-to-call-for-simpler-eu-rules-on-ai-data