A powerful European alliance has launched OpenEuroLLM, an ambitious initiative to develop open-source large language models (LLMs) that reflect European values while competing with American and Chinese AI giants.
The €52 million project brings together over 20 leading European research institutions, companies, and high-performance computing centers. Led by computational linguist Jan Hajič from Charles University and Peter Sarlin of Silo AI, the alliance aims to create multilingual AI models for commercial, industrial, and public sector applications.
Major tech players like German AI pioneer Aleph Alpha, Finland's supercomputing leader CSC, and French Generative AI company Lights On have joined forces under the OpenEuroLLM banner. The European Commission has thrown its weight behind the initiative, making it potentially their largest AI project to date.
The project stands out for its commitment to complete transparency - all models, software, data, and evaluation methods will be openly accessible. This approach aligns with European values of democracy and community engagement while preserving linguistic and cultural diversity across the continent.
"The initiative's strength lies in leading AI organizations working together," notes Peter Sarlin. "This concentrated approach is exactly what Europe needs to build open European AI models enabling innovation at scale."
Beyond financial backing, OpenEuroLLM has received the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) seal, highlighting its role in strengthening Europe's digital sovereignty. The project gains additional muscle from access to extensive computing resources valued beyond the initial budget.
As global tech giants race ahead with AI developments, OpenEuroLLM emerges as Europe's strategic response to reduce dependence on foreign AI technologies. By creating foundation models that can be fine-tuned for specific industries and public administration, the project aims to empower European businesses and organizations with AI solutions tailored to their needs.
The initiative builds on expertise from previous European AI projects and benefits from partnerships with open-source communities like LAION and OpenML. This collaborative foundation positions OpenEuroLLM to accelerate AI innovation while maintaining European standards of ethics and transparency.