Tech giants and startups join forces to demand simpler EU rules on AI and data
As the AI Summit took place in Paris on Monday, it signs up for an initiative to help around 60 European companies, from incumbent industrial giants to AI startups (including French LLM maker Mistral), establish Europe as AI leaders I did. However, the fact that they felt the need to sign up all underscores the widely held view that Europe is not as close to AI leaders in the current situation.
‘EU AI Champions InitiativeIt will be announced at Elise as part of ‘ AI Action Summit in ParisIt was hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron. The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will also be taking part in the discussion. Heads of states from various European governments, including Germany, Poland and Ireland, will also be present, but not the United States or the United Kingdom.
Perhaps intuitively, this initiative is led by the European division of US VCs. Common CatalystsEurope’s approach to AI is overly complicated and driven by the idea that regulations drag them in.
Jeannette Zu Fürstenberg, European Managing Director and Principal for General Catalyst, told TechCrunch that established companies and startups have come together because they are “leaning towards AI adoption.”
“This is a huge opportunity for the European high-tech ecosystem,” she continued. “We want to accelerate the functional ‘flywheel’ between innovators, startups and AI adopters. ”
She has been involved with the committee “in a structural process about how we can decouple” and says, “There is a lot of conflict right now. Data governance law, Vertical concrete regulations, as well as the telephone company industry and banking sector, There is a document And the overall horizontality of it. It is not standardized. ”
The EU president streamlined the rules of the bloc to promote AI innovation Stated mission of her second missionEuropean innovation laws are planned. She wants to include measures to reduce the deficit for AI developers.
“For example, in the banking industry and financial services sector, there are three different regulatory bodies that often contradict each other. It slows down the actual adoption of AI,” ZuFürstenberg argued.
When asked if she thinks the EU champions are effectively criticizing the bloc, she said: Many of the conflicts we are experiencing today are not intended. That’s why we connect people in the field with regulators. ”
In a statement of support, Arthur Mensch, co-founder and CEO of Mistral AI, wrote: The time for discussion and small pilots is over. It is important that European policymakers, industry leaders and startups fully utilize the possibilities of AI. ”
Christophe Fouquet, president and CEO of Chipmaker ASML, also provided a canned comment, writing: The EU AI Champions initiative represents an important step in uniting industry leaders to ensure Europe remains at the forefront of AI-led progress. ”
In another statement, Robin Rombach, co-founder of Black Forest Labs, added: We believe in Europe’s ability to remain a global leader in AI, and support initiatives that accelerate Europe’s efforts in open innovation and cutting-edge technology. ”
As part of that initiative, general catalysts A report titled “An ambitious agenda of European AI” has been published This suggests that the adoption of generator AI could increase annual productivity in Europe by up to 3% by 2030.
Commenting on TechCrunch to Steve Schlenker, a partner at DN Capital in London, he said, “The success of AI strategies in Europe is not about regulations for regulation, but rather that the average EU citizen can improve their lives. It’s about making sure you’re watching.”
Ziv Reichert, a partner at Phoenix Court, is also home to LocalGlobe and Latitude Funds. As an early stage investor, I am increasingly worried that these conversations have founders and startups left.