🇪🇺 EU subsidies are such a massive waste
In Portugal for example, I noticed most construction companies from window frames, glass railing, door, balcony doors etc. have a sign in the footer of their website that say they received EU funding
You can search their EU funding ID and the reason for funding is always some silly bs like
"Project title: Research on how to improve glass railings
Project description: Ensure the company’s competitiveness by strengthening its internal competencies to be competitive in the demanding external market, investing in innovation in management processes, distribution, logistics, and work organization practices, as well as in relationships with the external environment"
And they always get about €250,000 to €500,000
I even have family who received these subsidies, they got one because they were running a company in a "disadvantaged neighborhood" and had to write a 10 page document and instantly got €250,000, they laughed hysterically cause they definitely didn't need that money, but why not get it if you can, right? Free money!
The EU spends hundreds of billions of euros every year from European taxpayer's money on these subsidies that just go nowhere
Top LLM models sources of funding:
- OpenAI, private investment
- Claude, private investment
- DeepSeek, private investment
- Meta AI, private investment
- Gemini, private investment
Meanwhile, the 🇪🇺 EU:
- "Let's build an LLM with government funding"
Makes no sense
Instead, the EU should immediately repeal the EU Artificial Intelligence Act that literally bans most AI companies from operating within the EU
If Europe wants to be competitive in AI (or tech in general), the answer isn't spending more European taxpayer's money
The answer is removing the ridiculous regulations that prevent Europeans from building AI and tech companies right now