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Black Forest Labs chief executive Robin Rombach says Europe needs to treat AI as an opportunity as well as a risk, arguing that frontier labs need capital and computing power to compete with the US and China. He also backs open-weight models as a way to improve transparency and safety, while warning against leaving a consequential technology in the hands of a few companies.

In an interview with AFP, Rombach described Europe’s financing culture as a barrier to building frontier technology quickly. Zach Meyers of Brussels-based think tank CERRE echoed the concern, saying access to capital was a major obstacle to AI growth and innovation in Europe.

Rombach’s arguments are a founder’s case for faster, more open development, not proof that open weights alone make AI safer.

Sources and evidence

• AI startup urges optimism from Europe despite safety fears – afp.com: AFP reports that Black Forest Labs chief executive Robin Rombach argues Europe needs a more opportunity-focused approach to AI and better access to capital and computing power for frontier labs; CERRE’s Zach Meyers also identifies access to capital as a barrier to European AI growth.

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