EU Commissioner at RISE for European AI Initiative
Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen visited RISE to discuss Europe's AI factory initiative, emphasizing that AI is a critical technology where the EU must have its own capabilities.
Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, visited RISE to discuss Europe’s investment in AI factories. The visit highlighted Sweden’s role in the broader European AI ecosystem.
European AI Factory Initiative
The EU is establishing 13 AI factories across Europe to strengthen computational capacity and reduce dependency on non-European technology providers.
Virkkunen stated: “It was very gratifying to hear that startups and researchers here in Sweden are so positive to the initiative.”
The Case for European AI Capabilities
The Commissioner emphasized the strategic importance of the initiative: “AI is a critical technology where we must have our own capabilities within the EU—so that we are not completely dependent on third-party countries.”
This perspective reflects growing awareness that AI infrastructure represents critical national and regional capability.
RISE’s Role
RISE and Linkoping University operate Sweden’s AI factory MIMER, which provides researchers and companies access to supercomputing resources for developing advanced AI models.
Virkkunen highlighted RISE’s position in the innovation ecosystem: “RISE works primarily in this gap, between research and industry.”
Discussion Topics
Key themes from the visit included:
- Strengthening Swedish technological capacity
- Supporting businesses and the public sector in AI adoption
- Training researchers to use the infrastructure effectively
- Building connections between academic research and industrial application
Broader Impact
The visit underscored how European investment in AI infrastructure creates opportunities for Swedish organizations while contributing to broader goals of digital sovereignty and technological self-sufficiency.
