EU unveils €307m program to boost AI and robotics R&D

This €307 million package is modest next to U.S. and Chinese industrial moves, but it illustrates how the EU is trying to operationalise its talk about “digital sovereignty” into concrete grant programs. More than two‑thirds of the money will go into secure AI systems, advanced data services and related quantum and photonics technologies, while a second tranche explicitly targets next‑generation AI agents and robotics.

For the race to AGI, the impact is less about absolute euros and more about signal: Brussels wants European labs and startups to build foundational capabilities, not just compliance layers on top of U.S. APIs. By tying funding to initiatives like the “Open Internet Stack,” the EU is also nudging grantees toward interoperable, open‑source‑friendly architectures that reduce dependence on a handful of foreign cloud and model providers.

If these calls attract strong consortia, they can help keep European research talent and IP from drifting entirely toward U.S. or Chinese platforms. But the timelines and bureaucracy of Horizon Europe mean this is a medium‑term lever. The key question is whether funded projects can transition from grant‑backed pilots to commercially competitive offerings fast enough to matter in a market where frontier models and infra are scaling quarterly.