● EU AI Champions Initiative has been established to accelerate Europe’s AI momentum by
coordinating efforts across technology, industry, capital, and policy
● Frames an ambitious vision for Europe by mobilizing talent and capital, accelerating AI adoption in
established industries, and thereby shaping competitive European technology companies
● Supporters include startups, technology providers, and incumbents, such as Airbus, ASML, Axa, Black
Forest Labs, BNP Paribas, CMA CGM, Cradle, Dassault Systèmes, Dataiku, Deutsche Bank, EDF, E.ON,
Exor, Flix, Helsing, Infineon, L’Oréal Groupe, Lufthansa, Mercedes-Benz, Mistral AI, On, Orange Group,
Photoroom, Porsche, Publicis, Saab AB, SAP, Siemens, Spotify, Tom Tom, TotalEnergies, United
Internet, Volkswagen Group, Wallenberg Investments, ZF and many more
● Initiative will be unveiled at the AI Action Summit in Paris, hosted by French President Emmanuel
Macron, immediately followed by dialogue between participating companies and the President of
the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the Heads of State and Government of Austria,
Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland,
Netherlands, Latvia, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Sweden on necessary action items
● More than 20 international key capital allocators have earmarked €150 billion for AI-related
opportunities in Europe over the next five years, highlighting the significant potential for AI
transformation in the region
● Report “An Ambitious Agenda for European AI” by General Catalyst delivers strategic blueprint for
Europe’s path to AI leadership, indicating that Generative AI will supercharge the European economy
in multiple meaningful ways by 2030
Paris, February 10th, 2025 – Today marks the launch of the ‘EU AI Champions Initiative’, a groundbreaking,
long-term effort uniting more than 60 leading European companies ranging from startups to established
incumbents, all determined to establish Europe as a global leader in Artificial Intelligence (AI), advancing AI development and application. The initiative will be unveiled at the Élysée as part of the AI Action Summit in Paris, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, and will be discussed with the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the Heads of State and Government of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Sweden.
This is the first time that European leaders from across countries, industry, technology, and policy unite to
create a functional flywheel to accelerate Europe’s leadership in AI – by framing a positive, ambitious vision for Europe, mobilizing talent and capital and thereby accelerating AI adoption across the European industry. All participating companies are united by the conviction that presenting a cohesive market opportunity to the entrepreneurial ecosystem will create self-reinforcing mechanisms of building new technology companies and enhancing global leadership positions of Europe’s established industries, together driving economic growth and social prosperity in Europe.
In order to fully enable the creation and adoption of AI in Europe, the initiative also seeks to engage
collaboratively and constructively with the European Commission and member state governments to create a drastically simplified AI regulatory framework that unlocks local innovation and global leadership, supporting existing efforts to launch a comprehensive AI Strategy for Europe. The first discussion on necessary action items with a select group of CEOs and the above mentioned politicians will take place immediately following the unveiling of the initiative as part of the AI Action Summit in Paris. The following day, technology executives from participating companies will convene to begin strategizing on accelerating AI adoption and fostering a local ecosystem of AI infrastructure, aimed at enhancing value capture across the continent.
“By seizing this 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, especially in key sectors like manufacturing, energy, healthcare and defence,” said Jeannette zu Fürstenberg, Managing Director and Head of Europe at General Catalyst, who has been entrusted with coordinating the groundwork for the EU AI Champions Initiative to establish the foundational elements needed for a productive dialogue at the AI Action Summit and beyond. “Europe has all the essentials for a resilient and competitive AI infrastructure: talent, capital, and a strong industrial backbone with proprietary distribution and data. With the commitment of over 60 leading European companies, we must harness these resources to unlock a functional flywheel between technology, capital, and policy,” she added.
Christophe Fouquet, President & CEO, ASML, commented: “At ASML, we believe that cutting-edge AI,
combined with Europe’s world-class innovation ecosystem, will drive the next era of technological progress. The EU AI Champions Initiative represents an important step in uniting industry leaders to ensure Europe remains at the forefront of AI-driven advancements. By fostering collaboration between technology, industry, and policymakers, we can unlock unprecedented opportunities for economic growth, competitiveness, and global leadership.”
Robin Rombach, Co-Founder, Black Forest Labs, said: “As a German-headquartered startup creating
frontier AI foundation models, Black Forest Labs has demonstrated that Europe is a global leader in the
development of frontier AI technology. We believe in Europe’s ability to continue to be a global leader in AI and support initiatives that accelerate European efforts in open innovation and cutting-edge technology.”
Stef van Grieken, Co-founder & CEO, Cradle, said: “The last major technological transitions such as mobile, social and cloud created completely novel markets. But AI represents something different – it’s transforming existing industries that are at the core of Europe’s prosperity. The pharmaceutical and biotech sectors, where Europe has historically been a global leader, are prime examples. At Cradle, we’re seeing AI dramatically reduce the cost and time of R&D for everything from new medicines, diagnostics to sustainable foods and chemicals. The EU AI Champions Initiative comes at a crucial moment – if we don’t act decisively now, we risk losing our competitive edge in these vital sectors that impact both human and planetary health. Europe has the scientific talent, the industrial base, and the regulatory experience to lead this transformation – but only if we move quickly and decisively to support innovation while maintaining appropriate safeguards.”
Pascal Daloz, CEO, Dassault Systèmes, said: “At Dassault Systèmes, we are proud to participate in the EU AI Champions Initiative, as we firmly believe that artificial intelligence represents a strategic lever to shape the future of industry and society. As pioneers in Virtual Worlds for Real Life, we are committed to working with European leaders to promote sustainable innovation contributing to the transition to a generative economy.”
Christian Sewing, CEO, Deutsche Bank, commented: “As we stand on the brink of a technological
revolution, the application of AI at scale in Europe’s world leading industries represents one of the greatest opportunities for Europe to live up to its potential. However, a fundamental and bold shift must occur now in how we collaborate and create a shared vision for what we want Europe to become – including setting the right investment environment by promoting the Savings and Investment Union. At Deutsche Bank, we believe this initiative can accelerate AI adoption in a responsible and secure way for the benefit of a competitive and esilient European economy.”
Gundbert Scherf, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Helsing, said: “The AI race is far from being over, it has only just
begun. We must urgently raise our ambition for AI and use Europe’s potential in technology and talent, capital and entrepreneurialism. We believe AI leadership is core to sovereignty and a strong Europe. We’ll work with Mistral to deliver that for Europe and its allies in defence.”
Arthur Mensch, Co-Founder & CEO, Mistral AI, said: “The EU AI Champions Initiative comes at a pivotal
moment for corporate leaders to position Europe at the forefront of AI and transform our economy. The time for debate and small-scale pilots is over. It is now crucial for European policymakers, industry leaders, and startups to fully harness AI’s potential.”
Christel Heydemann, CEO, Orange Group, commented: “AI holds tremendous potential to foster innovation and growth across industries in Europe. By clarifying current AI regulations and simplifying our complex regulatory landscape, we can strengthen our roles as users, critical infrastructure providers, and data distributors. The EU AI Champion Initiative seeks to engage in constructive dialogue with the European Commission and other policymakers to create a clearer, more supportive AI framework that enables effective innovation. This collaboration will not only drive competitiveness but also enhance health outcomes and improve the everyday experiences of all citizens. A united effort from European businesses and policymakers will be crucial in harnessing AI for the benefit of everyone.”
International Investors Earmarked €150 Billion for AI in Europe When Europe succeeds in creating a transparent and targeted, competition-driven AI framework with viable investment opportunities, more than 20 international key capital allocators, including Balderton, Blackstone, VC, DST Global, EQT, General Catalyst, Insight, KKR, Lightspeed, and Warburg Pincus, stand ready to spend €150 billion new capital and previously raised funds for AI-related opportunities in Europe over the next five years. These investments span a wide range of sectors, including AI technology companies, businesses applying AI to enhance their operations, and the critical infrastructure that supports AI, such as energy and data centers. The capital highlights the immense potential for AI transformation in the region and will attract even more talent and capital, accelerating AI adoption across European industries.
A Report on How to Re-Write the Playbook
As part of its commitment, General Catalyst published the report “An Ambitious Agenda for European AI”. This report features the power of collaboration with manifold European case studies, outlines recommendations for a comprehensive European AI strategy, consolidating insights from industry leaders, and providing actionable recommendations kfor policymakers and businesses.
While the adoption of Generative AI could boost Europe’s annual productivity by up to 3% by 2030, the report reveals actionable insights with several “lighthouse examples” showcasing AI’s transformative power:
● Novo Nordisk scientists enhance therapeutic discovery, while minimising experimental rounds,
using Cradle’s AI-based and user-friendly software that easily scales organisation wide. This
partnership accelerates innovation by reducing discovery and development timelines while
improving the safety and efficacy of therapeutics for patients.
● Loft Orbital and Helsing are redefining defence intelligence by creating an AI-powered
multi-sensor ISR constellation, delivering a 10x increase in the speed of military operations by 2026.
Ten initial LEO satellites from Loft, equipped with diverse cameras and RF sensors, will leverage
Helsing’s on-orbit AI processing for real-time identification and classification of global military assets,
complementing sovereign assets. With high reactivity, short revisit periods, and low latency, the
system will enable tactical use of space assets.
● SAP and Mistral AI are reinventing enterprise software together to power Europe’s future
human-agentic workforce. By integrating Mistral AI’s models in SAP’s trusted and secure
environment, global enterprises can work safely with their proprietary data to codify their
industry-specific processes into frontier models. This not only enhances the functionality of core
SAP applications, but also critically amplifies their customer’s competitive advantage by scaling their
market-leading domain expertise.
These examples show that the secret sauce for Europe lies in collaboration on all levels: Within industries,
greater data sharing and joint innovation frameworks are essential to unlocking growth, while cross-industry partnerships can unlock necessary AI infrastructure investments and generate groundbreaking solutions that transcend traditional boundaries. Equally vital is fostering synergies between incumbents with scale and resources and startups bringing agility and cutting-edge innovation.
Call to Action for a targeted, competition-driven AI framework
Europe must stimulate the synergy between technology, capital, and policy by establishing a targeted,
competition-driven AI framework. Findings from over 60 interviews with the private sector show there is an urgent need to simplify regulations to support growth while mitigating potential risks. Instead of introducing new regulatory layers, the emphasis should be on harmonization, legal clarity, and eliminating internal barriers that impede AI scaling. The report outlines six concrete policy recommendations:
● Unified approach to regulatory clarity and compliance: Streamlining and simplifying more than
100 tech-focused laws across the EU must be key.
● Data harmonization and secure data sharing: Establish a secure, innovation-friendly data
environment with harmonized governance and compliance rules to enable effective data sharing
and collaboration.
● AI investment and adoption acceleration program: Reduce bureaucratic burdens and implement
risk-absorbing measures to facilitate financing for AI companies, linking AI investment to financial
market reforms.
● AI infrastructure to power the AI strategy: Foster broad inter- and intra-industry collaboration to
develop common architectures and specifications for energy management, data center design, and
network connectivity, supported by public-private partnerships.
● AI campaign to empower public understanding and skills development: Launch an EU-wide
educational campaign to build trust in AI and improve skills, focusing on the safety and benefits of
EU-made AI products and emphasizing practical advantages across various sectors.
About the ‘EU AI Champions Initiative’
About the ‘EU AI Champions Initiative’
The EU AI Champions Initiative brings together more than 60 ambitious businesses committed to
establishing Europe as a global leader in AI development and application. The initiative aims to frame a
positive shared vision for Europe by mobilizing talent and capital, accelerating AI adoption in established
industries, and increasing European companies’ competitiveness. Led by General Catalyst, our mission is to foster a resilient partnership between incumbents and technology providers to unlock Europe’s full potential in AI.
The EU AI Champions Initiative was established in partnership with Adyen, Airbus, Airbus Defence & Space, Alan, Artemis Holding, ASML, Autone, Axa, Black Forest Labs, Bonnier Group, BNP Paribas, Celonis, CMA CGM, Cradle, Dassault Systèmes, Dataiku, Deel, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Telekom, E.ON, EDF, ElevenLabs, Ethon AI, Exor, Flix, Franke Group, GetYourGuide, Giesecke & Devrient, Helsing, Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, Infineon, Kering, L’Oréal Groupe, Langdock, Loft Orbital, Loh Gruppe, Lufthansa, Mercedes-Benz, Mistral AI, N26, Novo Nordisk, On, Orange Group, Owkin, Parloa, Pelico, Personio, Philips, Photoroom, Pigment, Porsche, Publicis, Ravensburger, Robco, SAAB AB, SAP, Schwarz, Shift Technology, Siemens AG, Siemens Energy, Spotify, Supercell, Sword, Tom Tom, TotalEnergies, United Internet, Volkswagen Group, Wallenberg Investments, and ZF.
It will be unveiled at the AI Action Summit in Paris, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, and will be discussed with the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the Heads of State and Government of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Sweden.
For more information and instructions on how to join us, please visit the following link: aichampions.eu
Contact Information
Prof. Dr. Christa Pfeffer
General Catalyst (GC)
Phone: +49 160 90 83 34 23
[email protected]
Tanja Dorr
FGS Global
Phone: +49 160 99 27 19 75
[email protected]
Henry Schmees
FGS Global
Phone: +49 160 53 62 868
[email protected]
Source : EU AI Champions Initiative
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