|
The
project, called IPCEI Next Generation Cloud Infrastructure and
Services (IPCEI CIS), was backed by seven European Union states,
namely: France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands,
Poland, and Spain.
Those countries will provide up to 1.2 billion euros in public
funding, which in turn is expected to unlock 1.4 billion euros
in private investments, the European Commission said.
Didier Reynders, the EU commissioner in charge of competition
policy, said the IPCEI project would create around 1,000 direct
and indirect jobs initially for data scientists or AI
specialists, with a further 5,000 jobs later.
"Our assessment has also shown that the projects are truly
innovative to ensure that public money is used to make our
economy innovative and efficient," he added.
If the project is so successful it generates extra revenue, the
companies will have to return part of the aid.
The first results are expected around the end of 2027.
The European Union's IPCEIs are designed to bring together
research, finances and business to boost EU economic growth and
competitiveness and drive its green and digital transitions.
Since 2018, the Commission has approved six IPCEIs in batteries,
hydrogen and microelectronics and communication technologies.
The European cloud technology project features 19 companies,
including French companies Atos and Orange, Deutsche Telekom and
Germany's SAP, Telecom Italia and Telefonica Espana.
The three biggest players in cloud computing are Amazon,
Microsoft and Google.
($1 = 0.9228 euros)
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Piotr Lipinski; editing by
Philip Blenkinsop and Barbara Lewis)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
