In Europe, the debate about AI often centres on tools. I see an infrastructure topic: chips, data centres, energy, cloud. Whoever owns them decides price, rules and availability.
In 2003 I sat in carrier negotiations in Kuala Lumpur. US and Asian companies carved up mobile infrastructure while European firms argued about standards. The conversation has stayed the same. The stakes are higher.
What this means for your company
This applies to the family business as much as to the SME, the start-up and the scale-up. Every AI application runs on computing power and models that someone operates. If that provider sits outside Europe, its prices, its terms and its locations apply. That can be the right choice. Then the dependency belongs in the approval like any other. Beforehand, I check where the data is processed, whether the provider can be replaced and what a change in its terms would cost.
What policy has to deliver
I see four requirements: strategic capital that reaches industry, SMEs, start-ups and scale-ups. Procurement that gives European companies a chance to grow. AI infrastructure as a strategic asset, a European Airbus for compute. And competition policy that protects markets before they are permanently captured. The AI Act sets a framework for trustworthy AI. It does not replace our own capacity in hardware, cloud and compute.
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Source: own assessment, first published on LinkedIn.