Reporter’s Notebook: Europe’s Sovereign AI Push Needs Customers As Well As Capital
Crunchbase News Research Lead Gené Teare moderated panels and spoke with leaders building Europe and the Middle East’s AI ecosystems at HumanX in Amsterdam. Here we share a snippet of her conversation with Axelera AI CEO Fabrizio Del Maffeo and AI71 CPTO Mehdi Ghissassi.
Europe’s AI startups have secured $23 billion in funding during the first half of 2026, representing a 130% year-over-year increase and accounting for 55% of the region’s venture capital. This rapid funding growth poses an important question about how countries can capture the economic value of the technology while retaining control over their data.
Axelera AI’s Fabrizio Del Maffeo and AI71’s Mehdi Ghissassi, who spoke at the HumanX Amsterdam conference, argued that governments and large businesses also need to purchase what these startups are building, a critical piece that has yet to emerge. Both executives emphasized the importance of specialized chips and applications for AI sovereignty, rather than attempting to control the entire AI stack.
Written by urgent.news from Crunchbase News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
