Europe risks falling behind US, China on AI data centre build-up, Nokia CEO says

Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark issued a stark warning on Thursday, stating that Europe lacks the necessary infrastructure to scale up AI data centres and is not investing enough to prevent businesses from migrating to China and the United States. In comments reported by Reuters, Lundmark highlighted that while major technology companies are expected to pour hundreds of billions of dollars into AI-related infrastructure this year, Europe has been lagging due to a combination of regulatory hurdles and energy constraints. The CEO emphasized that without urgent action, the region risks losing its competitive edge in the global AI race.

Lundmark's remarks underscore a growing concern among European tech leaders that the continent's fragmented energy policies and complex regulations are stifling the rapid build-out of data centres essential for training and running advanced AI models. He called for coordinated investment and policy reform to create a more attractive environment for AI infrastructure development. The warning comes as the US and China accelerate their own AI infrastructure spending, with massive data centre projects underway to support the computational demands of next-generation AI systems. For European businesses and policymakers, the message is clear: failure to act now could cement a long-term technological and economic disadvantage.