EU launches InvestAI & AI Champions initiatives, scraps AI Liability Directive

The European Union (EU) announced two new artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives while seemingly killing off another at the AI Action Summit in Paris this week.

The EU launched InvestAI and AI Champions, both of which aim to greatly support innovation and development in AI. Meanwhile, European policymakers appeared to bury the controversial AI Liability Directive, proposed legislation designed to protect European citizens against damage caused by AI systems.

Furthermore, the US and UK refused to sign a declaration on “inclusive and sustainable” AI, a blow to hopes for a concerted global approach to developing and regulating the technology.

The developments come amid a sea of dramatic shifts across the global AI landscape as emerging AI technology continues to impact organizations and individuals around the world.

InvestAI mobilizes €200 billion investment in AI

InvestAI, unveiled by Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, is an initiative to mobilize €200 billion for investment in AI, including a new European fund of €20 billion for AI gigafactories. The gigafactories will be specialized in training the most complex and large AI models, which require extensive computing infrastructure for breakthroughs in specific domains such as medicine or science. They will have around 100,000 last-generation AI chips, around four-times more than the AI factories being set up right now, according to the announcement.

“AI will improve our healthcare, spur our research and innovation and boost our competitiveness,” said von der Leyen. “We want AI to be a force for good and for growth. We are doing this through our own European approach – based on openness, cooperation and excellent talent.”

However, this approach needs to be “supercharged,” she added. “This is why, together with our Member States and with our partners, we will mobilize unprecedented capital through InvestAI for European AI gigafactories. 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.”

Henna Virkkunen, EVP for tech sovereignty, security and democracy at the European Commission, called the launch of InvestAI a “historical” moment that will set the foundation for future AI gigafactories. “By putting together our resources, we will enable AI entrepreneurs to innovate and scale up in the most demanding fields of AI. We will be ready to lead the way on AI with the state-of-the-art infrastructure.”

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60+ companies join EU AI Champions Initiative

More than 60 European companies joined forces to form the EU AI Champions Initiative, a new scheme established to accelerate Europe’s AI momentum by coordinating efforts across technology, industry, capital and policy. It frames an ambitious vision for Europe by mobilizing talent and capital, accelerating AI adoption in established industries and shaping competitive European technology companies.

Supporters include startups, technology providers and industry experts. These include Airbus, BNP Paribas, L’Oréal Groupe, Lufthansa, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, SAP, Siemens, Spotify, Volkswagen Group and process intelligence vendor Celonis.

The EU AI Champions Initiative will engage collaboratively and constructively with the European Commission and member state governments to create a AI regulatory framework that unlocks local innovation and global leadership, supporting existing efforts to launch a comprehensive AI strategy for Europe.

“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 defense,” said Jeannette zu Fürstenberg, managing director and head of Europe at General Catalyst.

Europe has all the essentials for a resilient and competitive AI infrastructure: talent, capital and a strong industrial backbone with proprietary distribution and data, she added. “With the commitment of over 60 leading European companies, we must harness these resources to unlock a functional flywheel between technology, capital and policy.”

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European policymakers bury AI Liability Directive

Amid the pomp and ceremony surrounding the InvestAI and EU AI Champions Initiative announcements, the European Commission, somewhat quietly, indicated that it intends to scrap the proposed AI Liability Directive. Buried in annex of its work program for 2025, the European Commission stated it will “assess whether another proposal should be tabled or another type of approach should be chosen.”

In September 2022, the European Commission put forward a proposal for a directive to revise non-contractual civil liability rules in relation to artificial intelligence, alongside an impact assessment. It aimed to ensure that individuals damaged by AI systems are granted the same level of protection as those damaged by other technologies across the EU. It also sought to ease the burden of proof for those claiming compensation for AI-related damages by introducing mechanisms such as evidence disclosure for high-risk AI systems and rebuttable presumptions.

The proposed directive faced a wave of criticism and concerns, chiefly relating to how it would operate in conjunction with the EU AI Act and the Product Liability Directive, which both came into force in 2024. For example, the AI Liability Directive failed to consider certain elements central to the AI Act such as the existence of prohibited AI practices or the need for human oversight on high-risk AI systems.

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