Framing the AI Advantage
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a decisive factor in global tech competitiveness. Around the world, companies and governments are racing to harness AI’s potential for economic leadership. According to the 2025 VivaTech Confidence Barometer, an international survey of tech executives, business leaders have “solid confidence” in emerging technologies, giving a global tech confidence score of 87 out of 100. Crucially, 65% of respondents identified AI as the technology most likely to impact their business in the coming years, making it the top tech priority for 2025.
This far outpaces other priorities like cybersecurity (41%) or cloud computing (39%). In the words of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, “First movers will be rewarded, and the global race is already on… Our future competitiveness depends on AI adoption in our daily businesses”. Across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe, stakeholders are doubling down on AI to secure their position in this new competitive landscape.
AI Leads the 2025 Tech Agenda
Businesses worldwide are placing AI at the forefront of their growth strategies. The 2025 VivaTech Barometer data shows an overwhelming 85% of companies plan to increase investment in AI in the next 12 months. This investment enthusiasm comes as no surprise, 100% of surveyed executives believe adopting new technologies yields tangible benefits like higher productivity and lower operational costs. AI is seen as the prime example of such technology-driven gains. In fact, every surveyed firm intends to boost investment in at least one emerging tech area in the near term, and AI clearly tops that list.
“Everybody is racing to adopt artificial intelligence,” observes Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, a VivaTech 2025 speaker, noting that adoption is “incredibly fast” among both tech developers and consumer-facing companies. This rapid uptake of AI tools from advanced data analytics to generative AI underscores a key global innovation trend: AI is no longer experimental, but mission-critical. Business leaders are treating AI as a strategic imperative for competitiveness, not just an IT initiative. The result is a worldwide wave of AI adoption that is reshaping industries at an unprecedented pace.
To put AI’s dominance in perspective, the 2025 VivaTech Confidence Barometer finds AI is considered the most impactful emerging technology by nearly two-thirds of executives (65%), far ahead of the second-ranked priority. This indicates a clear consensus that mastering AI is essential for success. Whether it’s deploying machine learning to improve operations or leveraging AI-driven products to create new revenue streams, companies are betting on AI to secure their future. “In 2025, we need to be relentlessly focused on unlocking the benefits of this technology and solve real user problems,” Google CEO Sundar Pichai reminded his team, a sentiment echoing across boardrooms globally. From Silicon Valley to European tech hubs, AI tops the agenda as the key to innovation, efficiency, and competitive advantage in 2025.
US vs. Europe: A Confidence Gap
When it comes to confidence in tech leadership, a transatlantic gap is evident. According to the 2025 VivaTech Confidence Barometer, American executives are the most bullish, with 92% believing their country is at the forefront of international tech competitiveness. European executives offer a more mixed view. The UK leads in Europe, with 81% of British CEOs confident in their nation’s tech leadership. Confidence elsewhere varies significantly: France and Germany show solid confidence (76%), Spain follows at 70%, while Italy trails with only 64%. The chart below visualises how tech executives across key markets perceive their country’s position in global tech leadership, highlighting the confidence divide between the US, UK, and wider Europe.
Source note: 2025 VivaTech Confidence Barometer. Figures represent % of executives who believe their country is a global tech competitiveness leader.
These perceptions have shifted upward compared to a year prior. For instance, US and UK confidence scores rose by several points, yet Europe’s internal divide remains stark. The survey highlights that France and the UK are moving “confidently ahead”, while Italy and Spain “lag far behind” in tech confidence. Such differences may stem from varying levels of tech investment, digital infrastructure, and policy support across countries. They also reflect the self-assessment of tech leaders: executives in powerhouse economies like the U.S. tend to see themselves as innovators driving the global tech agenda, whereas those in slower-adopting markets acknowledge a need to catch up.
Notably, Britain stands out as a European bright spot. The UK not only matches its American counterparts in optimism but is also Europe’s leader in AI investment. Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently proclaimed, “Britain will be one of the great AI superpowers,” noting the UK is already the European leader for AI investment. Indeed, by some measures (such as AI funding and patents), the UK now ranks third globally, behind only the US and China. This pro-innovation momentum helps explain why British tech executives are relatively confident. Their companies benefit from a vibrant AI startup ecosystem, strong research institutions, and government initiatives aiming to make the UK an AI hub. Europe as a whole, however, is still finding its stride. As Thierry Breton stated at VivaTech 2024, ‘AI regulation was, in digital terms, what the euro was for the economy: an infrastructure’. In summary, the US currently exudes the highest tech confidence, the UK is close on its heels, and Europe at large is pushing forward unevenly with clear leaders and laggards within.
Innovation Trends and Adoption Patterns
Despite regional differences in confidence, the overarching pattern is that AI adoption is accelerating across all markets. The 2025 VivaTech Barometer reveals that 91% of companies (across North America and Europe) intend to increase investment in at least one emerging tech field in the near term, underscoring a widespread commitment to innovation. And the priority among these technologies is unmistakable: businesses everywhere point to AI as the prime driver of change.
From automation in manufacturing to AI-driven analytics in finance, adoption is moving from pilot projects to full deployment. “The latest AI models have caused demand to surge,” notes Nvidia’s Huang, whose company has seen exploding interest in AI infrastructure. This surge is not limited to any one region, it’s a global wave. For example, cloud providers in the US are rolling out AI services to enterprises at record speed, while European firms are integrating AI to streamline supply chains and customer experiences. The pattern is clear: organizations that invest early and deeply in AI capabilities are gaining a competitive edge, forcing others to follow suit or risk falling behind.
Within Europe, there are pockets of rapid advancement alongside areas of slower uptake. The 2025 VivaTech international survey indicates that 87% of US executives and 82% of UK executives feel their companies are at the forefront of adopting new tech, a strong self-assessment of being early adopters. French executives are a bit more cautious, with 71% seeing their firms as leading in tech adoption (though France made notable progress, up over 10 points from a year earlier). In contrast, only 44% of Italian business leaders believe their companies are tech adoption leaders, reflecting Italy’s struggles to implement innovation at the same pace. (Spain and Germany were not explicitly quantified here, but hover around the international average of 76% adoption leadership.)
These figures illustrate how the AI revolution is progressing at an uneven cadence: the US and UK are riding a fast current of adoption, parts of Western Europe are moving steadily, and some markets are drifting slower. Such patterns often correlate with investment levels and ecosystem maturity; for instance, higher venture funding for AI, stronger tech talent pools, and supportive regulations can fuel quicker adoption.
Another global trend is the recognition that technology alone isn’t enough. Human capital and collaboration are critical to sustain competitiveness. When asked about factors ensuring their company’s tech competitiveness, executives across regions most often cited having highly qualified talent (45%), followed by continuous R&D investment (44%) and a strong international reputation (43%). In other words, innovation is as much about people and partnerships as about tools.
The US and France particularly highlighted the importance of international collaboration to boost competitiveness. This speaks to a trend of cross-border innovation networks: American and European firms alike are partnering on research, sharing AI best practices, and co-developing standards to stay ahead. The global nature of AI advancement means no single country or company can go it alone. Even as nations compete, they also cooperate in areas like AI safety and talent development.
Balancing Optimism with Caution
Enthusiasm for AI’s potential remains high, yet business leaders acknowledge challenges that accompany its widespread adoption. According to the 2025 VivaTech Confidence Barometer, 77% of global executives express concern over data privacy breaches and the proliferation of misinformation or "fake news" driven by AI.
Environmental impacts of emerging technologies also concern 70% of business leaders surveyed, highlighting broad awareness of potential drawbacks. Notably, worries about privacy differ significantly by region, highest in the US (83%) and Spain (90%), and comparatively lower in Germany (59%) and Italy (67%). This variation likely reflects distinct cultural attitudes and regulatory frameworks, including Europe’s robust GDPR protections. In response, 9 out of 10 companies are proactively implementing measures to inform and reassure stakeholders about new technologies, such as employee training, customer education programs, and ethical guidelines. Despite these concerns, executives overwhelmingly view technology as a tool for addressing major global challenges rather than merely a source of risk. Over 90% see innovation as crucial to resolving societal issues, such as educational disparities and misinformation. Specifically, leaders highlight AI’s potential to improve education (cited by 45%) and combat misinformation (42%), underscoring AI's broader societal benefits. The data paints a clear picture of this duality, anxiety over risks paired with confidence in AI’s promise. The chart below illustrates the top concerns and aspirations cited by global executives in the 2025 VivaTech Confidence Barometer.
This optimism drives the concept of the "AI advantage", the belief that organizations deploying AI effectively and responsibly will secure not just economic gains but also contribute positively to society. As Dragos Tudorache at VivaTech 2024 emphasised, “If you're a democracy and care about your people and societal risks, you need a rulebook because general principles have not been effectively applied in the past”. This balanced perspective is guiding global leaders, prompting them to pursue aggressive innovation while establishing appropriate safeguards for sustainable and trusted AI adoption.
The AI Advantage in a Global Market: Current Outlook
Data from the 2025 Confidence Barometer paints a picture of a world in which AI is both the great equalizer and the great differentiator. On one hand, virtually all companies recognize they must embrace AI and emerging tech to stay competitive internationally. On the other hand, the speed and success of that embrace vary by region, creating clear front-runners and challengers. The United States enters 2025 with notable confidence and momentum in AI, leveraging its vast tech industry and investment capacity. Europe, collectively, is determined not to be left behind the UK, and leading EU economies are driving ahead with AI initiatives, even as some neighbors struggle to keep pace. This dynamic is fueling healthy competition that could spur innovation further. As Ursula von der Leyen’s remarks imply, a responsible race for AI leadership can yield benefits for all, setting standards that ensure AI systems are safe, inclusive, and aligned with human values, even as they propel growth.
For the global tech audience, the key takeaway is that AI has transitioned from an emerging trend to an essential cornerstone of tech competitiveness. Organizations with a strong AI strategy backed by investments in talent, R&D, and partnerships are poised to outperform. Governments too are crafting policies to become AI hubs, whether it’s the US investing in AI research or the UK’s plan to be an “AI superpower” with pro-innovation regulation. In this worldwide push, collaboration and knowledge-sharing remain important. The Confidence Barometer data suggests that while competition is fierce, there is a broad consensus on the fundamentals needed for success: innovation, skills, and trust. Business leaders across continents are learning from each other’s successes and failures in AI deployment.
In 2025 and beyond, the “AI advantage” will be a defining factor separating tech leaders from laggards. Those who capitalize on AI’s power, and do so responsibly, will set the pace in the global market. As we’ve seen, most are not waiting around. The coming year will likely see even greater AI integration into products and operations worldwide. For tech professionals and policymakers alike, staying informed of these trends is crucial. The indicators below summarize how the US, UK, and Europe stack up on key AI competitiveness metrics from the latest VivaTech Barometer, highlighting where each stands in this new era of technological opportunity.
Comparative AI Competitiveness Indicators (2025)
To illustrate the current landscape of AI leadership, the chart below highlights key indicators from the 2025 VivaTech Confidence Barometer. It compares executive sentiment across the United States, United Kingdom, and major European economies on four dimensions: perceived national tech competitiveness, company-level tech adoption, planned AI investment, and AI's strategic priority.
Each data point reflects the percentage of executives who responded affirmatively to specific survey statements relating to these themes. As shown, the United States and United Kingdom consistently lead in confidence and adoption, while continental Europe presents a more varied picture.
(Source: 2025 VivaTech Confidence Barometer. Figures represent % of executives responding affirmatively to survey statements regarding competitiveness, adoption, and AI strategy.) (Note: AI Investment and AI Priority values are consistent across all countries (85% and 65% respectively) and are not labelled for visual clarity.)
The AI Moment: Decisions That Will Define a Decade
The AI advantage is reshaping tech competitiveness on a global scale. In 2025, success in the technology sector is increasingly synonymous with success in AI. The United States and the United Kingdom have surged ahead, backed by strong confidence and sustained investment in artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, Europe’s trajectory, though uneven, demonstrates a clear determination to innovate. Across global markets, companies are prioritizing AI to boost productivity, unlock new capabilities, and protect their competitive edge. This universal focus, captured by 65% of executives naming AI the top tech priority, signals the dawn of a new digital era, one where adaptive, AI-driven organizations will lead the global market.
For businesses and governments alike, the challenge is no longer whether to embrace AI, but how to implement it effectively and ethically. Those that succeed will not only secure commercial advantage, but they will also help shape the future of innovation. The race is on, and the world is watching. The leaders of tomorrow are being forged by the decisions being made on AI today.
