Europe holds under 2 gigawatts of AI computing capacity, a figure far below what the continent requires, former Vodafone chief executive Vittorio Colao told a closed press session Friday at Wave by Vento in Turin.
The admission came on the final day of the event, where Colao framed the stakes bluntly. Europe already surrendered the first digital revolution, he said. Losing a second one would prove unforgivable.
Colao, who led Vodafone from 2008 to 2018 and later served as Italy’s minister for technological innovation under Mario Draghi, acknowledged that European investment in computing infrastructure has begun. Yet the pace remains inadequate, even if the technical talent exists.
The real obstacle sits in government policy, he argued. Young companies face administrative and labour-law complexity across Italy, Germany and France. Colao pointed to a digital health venture he advises, which operates successfully in France, differently in Germany, and needs yet another model for the UK and Italy.
That fragmentation, he said, reflects the failure of Europe’s so-called 28th regime for corporate law. No member state offered to harmonise labour, tax or administrative rules, so the initiative stalled at company registration. He dismissed the result as “un topolino,” a tiny mouse.
Colao also urged opening public procurement to smaller firms, with dedicated contract quotas. He rejected governments acting as venture capitalists, though he accepted state-backed funds of funds and public money for strategic sectors like chips and energy.
On capital markets, he dismissed the idea that Europe can retain high-growth firms without a genuine single capital market. Euronext and the German and Swiss exchanges combined cannot match American market depth, he noted. “We can write yet another report,” he said. “But it’s time to start doing.”
He sees progress on investor risk appetite. Founders in Sweden already recycle wealth into new ventures. Pension funds still need regulatory changes before entering venture capital.
For founders, Colao looks for obsession with customers and product quality early in a company’s life. Clean, detailed revenue reporting matters too.
On cybersecurity, he called for closer cooperation, citing reaction speed as critical. The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre leads the field, while Europe’s cyber authorities need more resources.
