Jeannette zu Fürstenberg, General Catalyst's head of Europe, said at the VivaTech X Bloomberg Awards in Paris (June 18, 2026) that Europe risks triggering the largest involuntary transfer of wealth to the US unless it builds its own AI future.
June 18, 2026 · VivaTech, Paris
"The largest involuntary transfer of wealth" — Europe's warning on AI
General Catalyst's Jeannette zu Fürstenberg argues that unless Europe builds its own AI future, the returns — VC gains, IP and jobs — risk flowing to the United States. Her answer: mobilize European capital, models and industry behind a sovereign AI strategy.
110+
firms in the EU AI Champions Initiative
$3T+
combined market value of members
3.7M+
jobs represented across members
18
industry-AI partnerships announced
The money on the table
Private and public AI investment frameworks compared — same unit (€ billion).
€200B
InvestAI target
€150B private + €50B public
~€20B
EUAICI mobilized
private-led, to date
€20B
AI gigafactories
up to 5 sites · ~100k chips each
Why the wealth flows out
European startups raise and exit through US venture capital — so VC gains, IP and jobs land on the American side.
Capital, talent and models concentrate in the US
Europe faces regulatory and market fragmentation
Returns — gains, IP, jobs — flow to the US
Strengths of European models
High data sovereignty and regulatory compliance
Practical value in manufacturing and defense
Access to large enterprise customers via partnerships
Persistent criticism
Lag US models in scale and performance
Develop slowly amid funding and compute shortages
Limited public information on developer use cases
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