European Union Launches New Blockchain and AI Fund To Avoid Falling Behind US And China

The European Union (EU) and its commission have set up a new fund that will be dedicated to providing capital for artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain projects in the region.

According to the reports, the EU donated around $100 million EUR to the fund and private investors are expected to bring up at least $300 million EUR. National banks will be able to invest in the fund, too. Some reports indicate that, in the future, the venture capital initiative could raise up to $2 billion EUR using the InvestEU Programme.

One of the main goals of the new project is to address something that is considered a flaw in the EU. While a lot of money was used in projects, large scale projects simply did not receive enough attention in the region.

Right now, the EU is already spending a lot on blockchain technology. During the year, the union spent around $674 million USD, mostly on proof of concept projects. The United States, however, is the biggest spender in the area, with over $1.1 million USD spent on the technology. China is the second-largest spender, with $319 million USD. No country in the EU has overcome that mark.

The European Investment Fund, the organization behind the venture capital project, has affirmed that the creation of the fund will certainly help the investor community in the EU. According to them, innovative technologies such as blockchain and AI are great investments and now, with the involvement of national banks, the investments in the area can be even bigger.