Lagarde warned that Europe is lagging behind the US in AI investment and model development, with euro area households holding about €440 billion in US tech firms. She emphasized that Europe cannot simply import AI but must build part of it domestically to ensure data sovereignty and capture growth benefits. ECB staff estimate AI-related borrowing accounted for about a quarter of euro area firm credit growth in Q1, and euro area firms will dedicate around 10% of total investment to AI in 2026. Last year, US hyperscalers issued over $100 billion in bonds, accounting for nearly a tenth of new euro bond issuance by non-financial companies.