Austria has proposed that the European Union consider the possibility of hosting the company Anthropic within the EU. This initiative stems from European nations’ desire to strengthen their own technological independence, particularly in light of U.S. restrictions on foreign access to the company’s most advanced AI models.
The proposal was put forward by Austria’s State Secretary for Digitalization, Alexander Pröll, in a letter to Henna Virkkunen, the Executive Vice President of the European Commission. According to him, EU member states should discuss creating conditions for Anthropic that include legal certainty, market access, capital, and a value system aligned with the company’s principles.
This initiative reflects the broader ambition of the European Union to reduce its reliance on U.S. and Chinese technologies while simultaneously developing its own AI solutions. According to Bloomberg, the EU is already in talks with the U.S. side after the U.S. administration restricted foreign citizens’ access to Anthropic’s latest models. Subsequently, the U.S. government lifted the blockade.
Earlier reports also indicated that the United States proposed that the European Union join a partnership in the field of artificial intelligence to ensure the resilience of semiconductor supply chains amid growing global competition.
Austria emphasizes that hosting a company of Anthropic’s caliber in Europe should not replace European developers but rather serve as an additional factor for attracting talent, retaining investments, and shaping technological standards within the EU.
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