{"id":7129,"date":"2026-06-01T11:17:58","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T15:17:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/opcenter\/?p=7129"},"modified":"2026-06-01T11:18:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T15:18:00","slug":"europes-ai-sovereignty-can-be-won-through-manufacturing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/opcenter\/europes-ai-sovereignty-can-be-won-through-manufacturing\/","title":{"rendered":"Europe\u2019s AI sovereignty can be won through manufacturing\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At the\u00a0AI Meet-Up XL:\u00a0Towards Europe\u2019s Full Stack AI Sovereignty<\/em><\/a>\u00a0at the\u00a0High Tech Campus\u00a0Eindhoven\u00a0with\u00a0Bernardo Kastru (founder and CEO of\u00a0Euclyd<\/a>),\u00a0Bram Verhoef (co-founder & VP\u00a0Axelera AI<\/a>) and Ralf Zoetekouw\u00a0(Founder & CEO\u00a0Datacation<\/a>),\u00a0one message stood out clearly:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Europe has not <\/em>lost the AI race.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

That statement came from Bernardo Kastrup and it was one of the strongest moments of the evening.\u00a0\u00a0
In a global AI landscape dominated by US\u00a0hyperscalers\u00a0and growing geopolitical dependencies, his argument was refreshingly pragmatic: Europe still has world-class engineering talent, semiconductor\u00a0expertise, industrial infrastructure, and deep research capabilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Europe lacks is not technical capability. It lacks speed, industrialization, and confidence.\u00a0
I found this perspective particularly relevant because the AI sovereignty discussion is often reduced to consumer-facing foundation models and applications. But the real strategic challenge is much broader.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI leadership increasingly depends on semiconductor manufacturing, compute infrastructure, energy efficiency, robotics, and the ability to industrialize innovation at scale. That is where Europe still has a unique position.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bernardo believes we don\u2019t necessarily need the latest process nodes to remain competitive in the AI race. Instead, Europe can focus on larger chips and chiplet-based architectures that can be manufactured on more mature, cost-effective, and less supply-constrained technologies, rather than relying exclusively on the latest and most advanced nodes (e.g., 2 nm).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the resulting form factors may be larger, Bernardo argued that Europe does not need to win on every front. In applications such as consumer electronics, where size, power efficiency, and form factor are often critical differentiators, leading-edge nodes may remain essential. However, in strategic domains such as defense, datacenters, industrial systems, and AI infrastructure, the requirements can be different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His point was that AI sovereignty is not about competing everywhere; it is about identifying where Europe can create the greatest strategic advantage. By focusing on areas where performance, resilience, security, and manufacturing excellence matter more than achieving the absolute smallest geometry, Europe can build meaningful AI sovereignty while leveraging the industrial strengths that already exist across its semiconductor ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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AI sovereignty starts with industrial competitiveness<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the strongest themes throughout the event was that Europe should stop trying to replicate Silicon Valley. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Europe\u2019s strength has never primarily been consumer platforms. It has been\u00a0industrial\u00a0technology.\u00a0From semiconductors and photonics to automation, robotics, and precision engineering, Europe\u00a0remains\u00a0deeply embedded in the foundation of the global technology ecosystem.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was highlighted by Bram through three strategic domains where AI sovereignty matters most: <\/p>\n\n\n\n