Europe wants to be the world leader in using AI for industry, which means using technology to make factories better. Germany is leading this effort, using its great knowledge of manufacturing. While the U.S. and China are ahead in AI for things like phones and apps, European companies see a chance to focus on AI for industrial tasks, like making factories run more smoothly.
For example, Audi uses AI to find and fix problems on cars during production. However, Europe faces some big challenges. Many companies, especially smaller ones, don’t have good data, enough AI experts, or the right computer systems.
Despite these issues, there’s a good chance Europe can succeed because data from factories is often private and not shared, giving them a special edge. Siemens, a big company is trying to build a new type of AI using factory data. The problem is that it’s been hard to get other companies to agree to share their data.
Even though Europe relies on some American technology, its deep knowledge of industry might still help it become a leader in this specific area of AI.
Source: Hesse, M., & Schober, T. (2025, 12 agosto). a-90806d20-4391-4436-bfb8-45c7a6563228. DER SPIEGEL, Hamburg, Germany. https://www.spiegel.de/international/business/know-how-and-expertise-european-companies-hoping-to-take-the-global-lead-in-industrial-ai-a-90806d20-4391-4436-bfb8-45c7a6563228