Training AI models requires vast amounts of computer power and data storage capacity.
Microsoft dispatched its president, Brad Smith, to Brussels to unveil the plans. He struck a conciliatory tone at a time when the U.S. administration and other U.S. tech executives have launched a full-frontal attack on some of the EU’s tech rulebooks.
“We understand that European laws apply to our business practices in Europe, just as local laws apply to local practices in the United States,” Smith said in a blog post, referring to European competition law and the EU’s new digital competition rulebook, the Digital Markets Act.
Smith added that Microsoft wants to be a “voice of reason,” promoting “stable” ties across the Atlantic.
Microsoft’s pitch could be on a collision course with a growing movement pushing for a European tech infrastructure, and growing calls by European governments to build a sovereign cloud.