AI helps European companies not have to ‘find their way’ to the US

“AI is not a threat, instead it is a tool for development and improvement, helping to eliminate barriers that cause businesses to leave Europe to come to the US,” Ms. María Benjumea, President and founder of South Summit, said at the South Summit 2026 event, taking place June 3-5 in Madrid, Spain.

Citing figures, she said that in just three years, venture capital investment in AI has increased from 30% to 61% globally, thereby showing that this is not just a normal technology change but a paradigm shift. In that context, she assessed that Europe has enough talent needed to compete in the new period.

However, Ms. Benjumea also warned about the need to remove barriers to help businesses promote business growth, emphasizing the importance of promoting initiatives, such as the 28th Legal Framework (The 28th Regime). This is a new set of rules and legal framework proposed by the European Union (EU) last year to create a common and single legal system for businesses, applicable across the continent.

“A startup born in Spain needs to consider Europe its natural home, not 27 different borders,” said Ms. Benjumea. “The problem is not only to retain companies, but to help them not need to go abroad to develop.”

According to her, South Summit’s commitment to technology development in Europe is demonstrated through AI Forum – a new space in partnership with IE University to build and transform businesses and develop prototypes in just a few hours with the support of AI experts. “AI significantly shortens the gap between an idea and starting construction,” Benjumea said. “AI Forum does not replace criteria or vision, but reduces time, accelerates and turns ideas into reality.”

Mr. Óscar López, Minister of Digital Transformation and Public Services of Spain, assessed that the country currently has the best connectivity in Europe, with more than 96% fiber optic coverage and nearly 94% 5G connections, and is introducing a number of timely policies to support businesses in the AI ​​age.

“That’s why we are the leader in attracting new investments,” Mr. López emphasized.

At South Summit 2026, he also announced a 162 million euro grant for dual-use technologies, with the aim of researching and testing infrastructure in a series of key areas including AI, semiconductors and robotics. “Spain has allocated 1,500 million euros for the AI ​​strategy, being the first country in the EU to monitor and develop open, trustworthy artificial intelligence,” Minister López said. “One million small and medium-sized enterprises and household businesses have received support for digital transformation. New public investment is key to helping Spain be ready to compete in the technology sectors of the future.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Lee Newman, Principal of IE Business School – IE University, emphasized that Spain is facing a great opportunity. “We are on an unprecedented threshold to create value and deploy ideas at scale,” he said. “AI helps small teams operate with the speed, scope and level of influence that only appears in large organizations. With the startup ecosystem, investment and factors that want to promote change, the issue now is no longer whether it can be done or not, but where to go and what goals to pursue.”

South Summit was born in 2012, founded by entrepreneur María Benjumea and IE University in Spain. This year’s event brings together influential leaders in the world’s innovation and startup ecosystem, with more than 600 international speakers, about 4,900 startups, more than 2,000 investors and 20,000 attendees. With the theme “AI Convergence”, the event mainly discussed how artificial intelligence changes how humans perceive the world.