Race for AI : Why Europe risks being left behind

As American giants multiply strategic alliances and make colossal investments, worth hundreds of billions of dollars, Europe is struggling to keep pace. Behind this technological frenzy lies a burning question: are we witnessing a bubble or a lasting industrial revolution? Between promises, overvaluations, and a lack of immediate profitability, we decipher the stakes of a race in which Europe already seems to be left behind.

Europe risks being left far behind in the global race for Artificial Intelligence (AI) for three main reasons that create a strategic gap with the United States and China.

Massive Underinvestment and the Scale Gap

The investment gap is the most critical factor holding back the development of European AI.

American companies are investing colossal amounts in AI, often ten times higher than those of European companies.

The European venture capital ecosystem is struggling to raise the hundreds of billions of dollars needed to develop and grow global AI champions, leaving European startups vulnerable to takeovers by American giants.

Europe lags far behind in computing power and access to the advanced chips needed to train large language models (LLMs).

Europe is dependent on imports and cloud computing infrastructure dominated by American players.

Global innovation in AI is driven primarily by American Big Tech companies (Google, Microsoft, Meta, etc.), which reinvest astronomical sums in R&D.

Europe lacks players of this magnitude in the software and digital services sector.

Regulatory and Market Fragmentation

Paradoxically, Europe’s desire to be a pioneer in ethical and trusted AI is creating complexity that is slowing down innovation.

Although the AI ​​Act is a global milestone for AI regulation, some stakeholders believe that its requirements (risk management, transparency, compliance) impose an excessive and complex regulatory burden that is slowing down deployment and rapid experimentation.

Europe lacks a truly harmonized digital single market.

Laws and regulatory interpretations (particularly regarding data and intellectual property) remain fragmented across the 27 member states, creating obstacles to the rapid scaling of AI products and services on the continent.