Breakingviews - COMMENTARY: Why Europe could be the real winner of the AI boom

“America innovates, China replicates, Europe regulates” has long been a critique of Europe’s tech gap. Yet this Reuters Breakingviews analysis argues the AI boom could be a more favorable story for Europe than investors assume. The euro zone’s GDP is under 60% of the US level—down from near parity in 2008—and AI leadership is currently American. But Europe’s exposure to the AI boom’s financing structure looks limited: much of the debt used by hyperscalers for AI infrastructure is issued in the US. The author contrasts this with 2007’s property bubble, where European lenders were deeply entangled in US subprime securitisation.