Bergur Thormundsson
Research expert covering technology in the Nordics, AI and smart cities
Artificial intelligence (AI) in Europe - statistics & facts
Despite the continent often being overshadowed by its cross-Atlantic neighbour in the form of the United States, Europe still boasts an exceptionally vibrant technology sector. Europe’s companies and knowledge reservoirs contain enough critical mass of technical know-how to compete with global competitors. This remains true in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), where funding for startups specializing in this high-demand technology stood at more than 1.8 billion U.S. dollars in late 2023. Many of Europe’s major economies are leaders in the exploration and deployment of AI, with developments being, in general, ahead of the global average.
Europe with greater oversight
The European Union finalized its AI regulatory act in 2024, intended to regulate and safeguard the citizens of the union from harmful AI. In this regard, the EU is taking a more forward stance on pre-regulating the multitudes of AI companies found both within its borders and foreign companies hoping to operate in Europe. This contrasts with the United States and, to a lesser degree, the United Kingdom. Both countries have adopted a lighter touch to regulatory practices, with a preference to regulate after issues have arisen.Struggling with startups
Europe does contain some of the largest economies in the world, with both Germany and France in the G7. Despite their size, these economies do not command a dominating presence in the number of AI companies among major economies. Nonetheless, the German and French economies are posed to reap considerable rewards with the early adoption of generative AI. Europe has struggled to keep pace with the United States in terms of AI startups and companies. The largest AI companies are all American. However, in 2023, things took a turn with the emergence of Mistral.ai onto the AI scene. The French startup accumulated a considerable amount of AI funding in 2023 and is likely to grow further as France and other European corporations put their weight behind it.Europe needs a leader
AI development in Europe is behind its competitors in the United States and China, having not produced major tech companies of the caliber of Google or ByteDance. Mistral, France’s must highly valued AI company, could potentially become the European champion, having attracted a significant portion of AI startup funding in 2023. The continent requires a leading company or at least a strong showing of companies to be able to dictate the direction of AI technologies in the years to come.
