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SAP CEO Christian Klein, pictured on May 16, 2024, says he would support a $500 billion Stargate Europe.
Alex Grimm | Getty Images News | Getty Images
US President Donald Trump recently announced the Stargate Project — investing $500 billion in American AI infrastructure — should be a “breakthrough” for Europe, according to the CEO of one of the region’s biggest tech companies.
Asked Thursday about the project, which is backed by OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle and led by the Trump administration, SAP CEO Christian Klein said it should set an example for Europe.
“It’s the right behavior, and it’s also about making the government more productive,” he said. “Look at Europe, we always complain about regulations around too many AI actions… It’s a great model for Europe.”
Klein added that he would “fully support” the Stargate Project for Europe.
“We do business with all public sectors around the world, of course we would welcome that in Europe,” he told CNBC’s Karen Tso and Steve Sedgwick. “Europe needs it the most, from my point of view.”
Klein, who has been CEO of German software developer SAP since 2019, argued that the main obstacle to starting a Stargate-type project in Europe is not that access to capital in the region is more limited than in the United States. the states
“It’s not a lack of funding either; in Europe, it’s a matter of who owns it,” he argued. “Actually, who gives the order to say that we digitize Europe, we digitize our agencies, and we are not doing it in silos, we are doing it as a union.”
He said countries are focusing on AI development instead of looking at how markets can collaborate to develop the technology.
“Think about startups: we’re a big multinational tech company, we can do it. But small startups need a market to scale, and it’s not a union.”
“My hope is that … what happened in the United States is definitely a wake-up call. We have to see the evidence, but I hope that Europe can come together now and form a unity in digitalization, which is very important,” Klein added.
“When you look at our industries, we have manufacturing, automotive, chemicals, we need to apply AI to make them more competitive. We need more courage, more will, more courage.”
He said the onus is on politicians and businesses, and lawmakers need to build the right frameworks for businesses to drive AI transformation and implement the technology.
