Commission launches ‘Resource for AI Science in Europe’

Last November 3, at the European AI in Science Summit in Copenhagen, organised by the European Commission and the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU, Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen and Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva launched the pilot of RAISE – the Resource for Artificial Intelligence Science in Europe. This new virtual institute is a flagship initiative under the Apply AI Strategy and the European Strategy for Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Science. It will bring together essential resources for developing AI and applying it to drive transformative scientific breakthroughs: from improving cancer treatments to solving environmental issues, improving predictions of the impact of earthquakes, and more. The RAISE pilot will be funded with €107 million under Horizon Europe.

Drawing on the EU’s proven capacity to tackle complex challenges through collective action, RAISE will support the EU’s goals to put science and technology at the heart of its economy, maintaining its leadership in fundamental research, to let innovation serve humanity, and to welcome global talent to Choose Europe. As such, it will contribute to bolstering Europe’s competitiveness, driving it towards a new age of invention and ingenuity, and will reinforce its technological sovereignty.

RAISE by and for scientists

RAISE will be a virtual European institute, pooling and coordinating core AI resources, including computational power, data, talent and research funding across the EU Member States and the private sector, to drive both the development of frontier AI and AI-enabled scientific progress.

Key elements of RAISE are:

• Computational power: Access to AI computational power is important for researchers and startups in Europe. RAISE will secure dedicated access time to AI Gigafactories, through the financial contribution of €600 million from the Horizon Europe programme. RAISE will collaborate with the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) to guarantee availability and ensure priority for EU-funded research projects.

• Data: RAISE will support scientists to identify strategic data gaps and to gather, curate and integrate the datasets needed for AI in science.
• Excellence and skills: RAISE will attract global scientific talent and highly skilled professionals to Choose Europe. This includes €75 million under the RAISE pilot for Networks of Excellence and Doctoral Networks to train, retain and attract the best AI and scientific talent.
• Research funding: the Commission aims to double Horizon Europe’s annual investments in AI to over €3 billion, including doubling funding for AI in science.

The European AI in Science Summitwas also the occasion to present the first step of the RAISE pilot: the Coordination and Support Action for ‘Facilitated cooperation for AI in science,’ funded with €3 million by Horizon Europe. This Action will connect and interlink the AI in science community across Europe, to support the development of RAISE with and for researchers and innovators.

The Summit also marked the launch of a new Action under the European Research Area (ERA) on ‘Facilitating and accelerating the use of AI in science and research in the ERA.’ This ERA Action will support the setup of RAISE by providing a platform for coordination with Member States.

Next Steps

To accommodate the fast-paced changes in innovations and the shifting needs of the AI science ecosystem, RAISE will be built in phases, and will grow as its partners, resources, contributions and needs are evolving. Following the pilot phase launched today, the Commission will work together with the EU Member States, research stakeholders, including higher education institutions, and with the private sector, in view of further developing RAISE under the next long-term EU budget for 2028-2034, and ensuring its long-term sustainability, both in terms of governance and pooled resources.

Background

In October 2025, the Commission launched a European Strategy for AI in Science to reinforce Europe’s technological and scientific leadership, as well as its competitiveness, through harnessing the potential of AI technologies in science and supporting scientists to adopt them for their research. The Strategy contributes to the AI Continent Action Plan, and was presented alongside the Apply AI Strategy that aims at speeding up AI adoption in key business and industrial sectors.

In November 2025, at the European AI in Science Summit 2025, researchers, business leaders, investors and policymakers gathered in Copenhagen, Denmark, to advance Europe’s ambitious and responsible approach to AI in science. The Summit featured contributions from leading experts and thematic workshops on life science, materials science, planet and climate science, society and community, science for AI technologies and policy for AI in Science.

More information: European Commission