Nokia CEO Warns Europe Risks Falling Behind in AI Race

Nokia CEO Justin Hotard warned that Europe is risking a loss of competitiveness in the artificial intelligence race due to a lack of sufficient infrastructure and data center investment. While the European Union has worked to establish AI gigafactories, Hotard stated that the current pace of investment is likely inadequate to keep pace with the United States and China.

Hotard noted that critical gaps in connectivity and data center capacity may force developers and businesses to migrate to regions with better infrastructure. These challenges are compounded by regulatory hurdles and energy constraints. For instance, Amazon reported that delays in obtaining power grid connections have hindered its efforts to expand data center capacity across Europe.

Despite the regional infrastructure deficit, Nokia continues to grow its own AI and cloud business, which now accounts for 8% of the company's total group sales.