AMSTERDAM :The Dutch government on Friday pledged 70 million euros ($82 million) for the construction of an artificial intelligence plant in the northern city of Groningen.
The plant, which will be managed by a consortium of Dutch organisations, is intended to become a research hub for the development of AI technologies in applications ranging from agriculture and healthcare, to energy and defence.
The government has also applied for European Union co-financing worth another 70 million euros for the plant, it said in a statement, potentially adding to the 60 million that the Groningen regional administration also plans to contribute.
“Those who do not develop the technology themselves are dependent on others. That is why we are fully committed to a strong, Dutch AI infrastructure”, Minister of Economic Affairs Vincent Karremans said on the government’s website.
Europe is looking to develop its own AI infrastructure, fearing too much reliance on companies from an increasingly isolationist United States is a threat to Europe’s economy and security.
($1 = 0.8533 euros)
