Oleg Stavitsky doesn't mince his words when asked where he thinks Europe's artificial intelligence (AI) sector is headed.
"Ultimately, the EU will fall behind even more," the CEO of AI-powered music app Endel tells DW. "Regulations will stifle local development and 'Big Tech' will eventually find its way to the EU. Regulations and bureaucracy are strangling innovation in the EU. It's that simple."
For now, regulation appears to be keeping some parts of US "Big Tech" out. Recent moves by tech giants such as Apple and Meta to withhold some of their most advanced AI models from the European market have raised questions about current conditions for AI-centered firms in the bloc.
Apple announced in June it would delay the release of three new AI-driven features to EU users due to uncertainty over how the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) could affect them.
Around the same time, Meta said it would not be launching its advanced Llama AI model in the EU, citing "the unpredictable nature of the European regulatory environment."
It's not the first time leading US AI developers have aired strong reservations about the EU's regulatory approach. Last year, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said of the European Commission'sthen-forthcoming AI Act: "We will try to comply, but if we can't comply we will cease operating."
Over the last few years, the EU has introduced a raft of legislation aimed at regulating the digital economy in the member states.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force in 2018, the Digital Markets Act in 2022, and the Data Act in 2023 while in 2024, two more major pieces of legislation take effect: the Artificial........