Shaping Europe’s leadership in artificial intelligence with the AI continent action plan

Main actions of the AI continent action plan

Building on the launch of the InvestAI initiative that will mobilise €200 billion for investment in AI In the EU, the AI continent action plan aims to enhance our AI capabilities, by promoting initiatives around five key areas.

Building a large-scale AI computing infrastructure

Advanced AI models need investment, infrastructure and collaboration. Our plan will bring the necessary elements together to help European businesses excel in AI by

• setting up at least 19 AI factories across Europe, using our world-leading supercomputing network. These factories will support startups, industry, and researchers to develop cutting-edge AI models and applications
• establishing up to 5 AI gigafactories, large-scale facilities with massive computing power and data centres. They will enable the training of complex AI models at an unprecedented scale. This initiative requires both public and private investment and will secure EU leadership in frontier AI
• the InvestAI facility that aims to mobilise €20 billion, to drive private investment in gigafactories
• proposing the cloud and AI development act that will boost private investment in cloud and data centres. The goal is to at least triple the EU’s data centre capacity within the next five to seven years, prioritising sustainable data centres.
   

Increasing access to high-quality data

Large, high-quality datasets are essential to develop and train advanced AI models. We will create the conditions for a single market for data through

• the data union strategy, which will foster a true internal market for data, enabling the scaling up of AI development across the EU
• data labs within AI factories to gather and organise high-quality data from diverse sources. This will give researchers and developers the tools they need to innovate.

Promoting AI in strategic sectors

Currently, only 13.5% of EU companies use AI. To bridge this gap the Commission launched the apply AI strategy. This strategy is

• boosting AI adoption, particularly among SMEs and small mid-caps
• facilitating AI integration to enhance the competitiveness of strategic industries
• unlocking the broader societal benefits of AI
• bolstering EU capabilities and achieving excellence in frontier AI.

Strengthening AI skills and talents

To meet the increasing demand for AI talent, we will 

• educate and train the next generation of AI experts based in the EU
• incentivise European AI talent to stay and to return to the EU
• attract and retain skilled AI talent from non-EU countries, including researchers. 

Simplifying the implementation of the AI act

The Commission is supporting companies and EU countries in the implementation of the AI Act. To this end, it has already published guidelines on prohibited AI practices and is helping to develop  codes of practice. The AI Act Service Desk serves as a central hub, providing relevant information to help stakeholders determine whether they fall under specific legal obligations.