UK’s ARIA joins CommonAI with €18 million grant to strengthen AI compute delivery
European tech innovation is witnessing a significant surge in investment, particularly within the artificial intelligence (AI) sector and its foundational infrastructure. Recent funding rounds highlight a concerted effort to build out Europe's digital sovereignty by bolstering its capacity in AI compute and data management, directly challenging the dominance of non-European hyperscalers. This trend underscores a strategic shift towards fostering indigenous AI capabilities across the continent. Large-scale investments are powering the development of crucial AI infrastructure. The UK's Nscale has secured a substantial €936 million to expand its international AI data centre capacity, while Finland's DataCrunch raised €55 million in Series A funding to bolster its European AI cloud infrastructure. These initiatives are critical for providing the computational power necessary for advanced AI research and deployment, aiming to reduce reliance on external providers. Beyond core infrastructure, significant capital is flowing into companies developing specialized AI application layers and data solutions. London-based SurrealDB garnered an additional €19 million to scale its multi-model database tailored for AI applications, and Stanhope AI raised €6.7 million to advance adaptive AI for robotics and defense. Additionally, German startup Blockbrain secured €17.5 million to develop enterprise-grade AI agents, collectively demonstrating a robust ecosystem support for AI innovation from its foundations to its applications.
Curated and translated by Europe Digital for our multilingual European audience.
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