In a LinkedIn post, Schmit, who was CEO and chairman of the  technology giant for 14 years, said: “Europe is at a crossroads in the global AI race and right now it’s choosing to stand still. Europe is still missing the strategic framework necessary to compete in the AI era. 

Schmidt argued that without immediate and large-scale investment on computing infrastructure and open-source models, “the continent risks a future of technological dependence”.

“The global landscape is bifurcating. In the US, the leading labs are moving toward closed-source, proprietary models,” he stated.

Meanwhile, China has embraced an “open-weight” strategy, making their models highly accessible for global adoption, he claims.

According to Schmidt, Europe must develop its own open-source alternatives to avoid strategic vulnerability. “If Europe doesn’t build its own open-source alternatives, it will be forced to either purchase American licenses or become reliant on Chinese infrastructure,” he stated. 

“That is not a recipe for European sovereignty,” Schmidt warned.

Instead, he revealed Europe’s challenge is not a shortage of talent but a lack of resources and infrastructure to support it. “Europe possesses extraordinary talent, with many of the world’s best technical minds coming from hubs like Paris, London, and Berlin. 

“But, talent without hardware and affordable energy is like a high-performance engine without fuel. To compete, Europe must address its energy pricing and build the massive data centres required for the next generation of AI models.”

Schmidt also criticised what he sees as an overemphasis on regulation rather than long-term capacity building. “As we move past the era of ‘AI pilots’ and into the era of AI infrastructure, it’s time for Europe to stop regulating the present and start investing in the future”

“The question is whether European leaders will act with the conviction required to fund their own path or simply watch as the future is built elsewhere,” he concluded.

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