Von der Leyen in Turin: “Europe Must Lead the AI Race and Keep Talent at Home”
#UrsulavonderLeyen #EuropeanUnion #EUInnovation
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivered a highly charged keynote speech in Turin, Italy, at the Italian Tech Week, calling for Europe to transform itself into a global hub for artificial intelligence and technology.
Speaking before Italy’s leading entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators, von der Leyen highlighted both the achievements and shortcomings of Europe’s tech sector. She praised Italian startup successes such as Kong, now valued at $2 billion, but warned that too many European talents are forced to leave the continent to thrive.
Von der Leyen outlined three main obstacles: lack of risk capital, fragmentation of the EU single market, and slow adoption of new technologies. She stressed that Europe has no shortage of savings—€1.4 trillion in household wealth—but lags behind the United States in risk investment. To address this, the Commission will launch a multi-billion “Scale-Up Europe Fund” to support AI, quantum, and cleantech companies.
The Commission will also present legislation next year for a “28th regime”, a single framework to simplify rules for startups across all 27 EU member states, making scaling up as easy as in the United States.
On technology adoption, von der Leyen announced a new “AI First” strategy, urging both governments and businesses to prioritize artificial intelligence in every challenge. She cited examples from healthcare, where AI can accelerate cancer diagnosis and drug discovery, and confirmed plans for a European network of AI-powered medical screening centers.
Turning to the automotive sector, she called for the creation of European test cities for self-driving cars, stressing that Europe must not fall behind the U.S. and China. “The future of cars and the cars of the future must be produced here in Europe,” she declared.
Von der Leyen also recalled Europe’s past success in supercomputing, noting that the EU rose from just one global top-ten supercomputer to four today, including two in Italy, proving Europe can beat the odds when united.
Closing her speech, she rejected skepticism that Europe is doomed to lag in AI: “We will spare no effort to make Europe an AI continent. We will spare no effort to make you choose Europe. Because this is the great mission of our times. Long live Europe.”
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