The European Union has launched OpenEuroLLM, a public-private project that seeks to position Europe in the global race for Artificial Intelligence (AI). With this initiative, the European bloc hopes to compete directly with the United States and China, two powers that have led the development of AI in recent years. However, the budget figures for this European initiative reveal a considerable disadvantage compared to the giants of the sector, which raises serious doubts about its viability and competitiveness in the long term.

An insufficient budget compared to the big technology companies

The initial budget allocated to OpenEuroLLM by the European Union is 52 million euros. Although at first glance it may seem a significant sum, this amount pales in comparison to the resources managed by companies such as OpenAI, Google DeepMind or Anthropic. To put this into perspective, OpenAI spends approximately €52 million in just two days on operational and research costs. This means that the budget of the entire European initiative is equivalent to what OpenAI spends in less than a week.

The big US tech companies have received multi-million euro investments for the development of advanced language models and other AI applications. Microsoft, for example, has injected more than $10 billion into OpenAI, allowing them to develop advanced computing infrastructures and increasingly sophisticated language models. In China, companies such as Tencent, Alibaba and Baidu are also investing huge sums in creating their own models, consolidating their position as leaders in the field of AI.

The challenge of European digital sovereignty

One of the main objectives of OpenEuroLLM is to reduce Europe's dependence on AI technologies developed by the United States and China. Currently, most AI language, software and hardware models come from these two powers, putting the European Union's digital sovereignty at risk.

The European Commissioner for Innovation and Digitalisation has emphasised the importance of developing its own technologies to prevent Europe from being relegated to a secondary role in the digital economy of the future. However, experts say that a lack of investment and the absence of large European technology players in the AI ​​field make this goal difficult.

Technological and structural challenges

Europe faces several additional obstacles in its attempt to compete in the AI ​​industry:

1. Limited computing infrastructure: Large US tech companies have access to supercomputers and massive data centres, something that Europe has not yet developed on the same scale.

2. Talent shortage: Many of Europe's best AI researchers end up working for companies in Silicon Valley or China, where salary and research conditions are much more attractive.

3. Strict regulations: While Europe has led the way in AI, the number of companies that Europe has not yet developed is growing. While technology regulation (such as with the AI ​​Act and GDPR) is a major challenge, these same regulations can slow down the development of proprietary models and create a competitive disadvantage.

4. Lack of private investment: Unlike the US, where private companies such as Microsoft, Google and Meta invest billions in AI, Europe relies heavily on public funding, limiting the exponential growth of the industry.

The future of AI in Europe

Despite these challenges, OpenEuroLLM represents a step in the right direction. The initiative could lay the groundwork for the development of a more robust European AI ecosystem and foster collaborations between universities, startups and governments. Moreover, the EU's focus on ethical and transparent AI could be a key differentiator in the global market.

For Europe to be able to truly compete in the AI ​​sector, investment in research and development will need to be significantly increased, as well as fostering an enabling environment for technological innovation. Only time will tell whether OpenEuroLLM manages to close the gap with the technological superpowers or whether it will remain an insufficient attempt in the global race for Artificial Intelligence.

MCE. Mauricio Eberle

CDO, Sastrería Web