The European Commission (EC) took the wraps off a sweeping new package outlining measures to boost the continent’s ambitions around semiconductors, AI, cloud and open source, as part of a bid to strengthen the bloc’s digital autonomy.

EC stated measures in the four areas will help Europe “become an AI continent”, established as a leader in research, development and adoption of AI.

It hopes the package will fast track ambitions around technology sovereignty and protect European digital independence, as part of a long-standing goal to reduce reliance on the US and Asia.

Starting with chips, the EC said it wants to secure the semiconductor base for Europe’s AI ambitions through the Chips Act 2.0, which is designed to speed up permitting, deepen cooperation with “like-minded partners” and introduce a new excellence label for Europe’s semiconductor regions.

It is an update of the original Chips Act, in force since 2023, which represented Europe’s response to vulnerabilities in the semiconductor supply chain.

Secondly, a new Cloud and AI Development Act is designed to aid the buildout of new data centres, streamline conditions for deploying facilities across the European Union (EU) and introduce a single EU-wide framework to assess cloud and AI sovereignty. The wider aim is to triple the region’s data centre capacity in the next five to seven years.

Through open source, the EC wants to strengthen digital autonomy, scaling up alternatives in priority areas, invest in skills, startups and digital infrastructure while support greater use of open source in public administration.

Finally, the EC put the focus on digitalising Europe’s energy system, pledging to define a roadmap in the sector to ensure data centres are integrated, while building sovereign and secure AI models.

Technological sovereignty
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the commission, said Europe “cannot afford to depend on others for the technologies that keep our hospitals running, our energy grids stable and our services secure”.

“This is about protecting our citizens, defending our interests and making our own choices. Europe has the talent, the research excellence, the industrial base and the Single Market. Together, we must turn these strengths into technological sovereignty.”

Before the package is put into force, the proposal will be negotiated by the European Parliament and Council of the EU. The commission will also launch a consultation process with member states.

Investment will be made through existing grants until 2028, while future funding is to be confirmed in the next EU budget. The EC has previously estimated a combined public-private investment of €120 billion by 2035 to rejuvenate the continent’s chip industry.

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Research company Sensor Tower estimated OpenAI’s ChatGPT crossed 1 billion monthly active users (MAUs) on its app in May 2026, becoming the fastest in history to reach the number.

In its State of Mobile Report 2026, Sensor Tower found ChatGPT beat the pace set by other popular apps including Google Maps, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube in hitting the 1 billion threshold, a milestone coming three years after launch.

The number represents a win for OpenAI in the battle for AI chatbot supremacy, with ChatGPT competing with the likes of Anthropic’s Claude and X’s Grok.

In April, OpenAI revealed it hit 900 million weekly active users as of December 2025 and API usage is more than 15 billion tokens per minute. However, it has not revealed official statistics for 2026.

Claude is coming
Sensor Tower noted Claude is beginning to gain traction. As of the second quarter of 2026, Anthropic’s offering hit 56 million MAUs for its app, representing growth of 640% year-on-year. This compared to 62% growth for ChatGPT.

Sensor Tower also noted US users of ChatGPT who installed Claude in the first three months of 2026 used the former app 5% less a month after installation, compared to the average use in the prior eight months.

“Claude’s growth could be driven by significant model advancements in the past year, or rising consumer sentiment after the announcement of OpenAI’s partnership with the Department of War in Q1 2026,” Sensor Tower stated.

Anthropic filed for a US initial public offering this week, with OpenAI expected to follow imminently.

Sensor Tower found Elon Musk’s Grok had 50 million app MAUs.

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Telefonica reached a deal to buy back rural backhaul provider LineoX after selling the business to investment group Asterion Industrial Partners more than six years ago.

Telefonica stated LineoX operates one of Spain’s leading rural microwave link networks, providing critical backhauling infrastructure for mobile connectivity, particularly in rural and less densely populated areas.

Asterion acquired the “underlying portfolio” of microwave radio links from Telefonica in 2020 through a carve out transaction and has operated the business as an independent infrastructure platform.

It has also been integrated within a broader wholesale telecoms group alongside Axion, spanning radio links, towers, broadcasting and fibre transport.

Telefonica, which did not reveal the value of the transaction, stated it has remained a partner and anchor client of LineoX since the sale, reflecting a commitment to network performance, service continuity and reliability.

Borja Ochoa, CEO of Telefonica Spain added the deal to acquire the unit is fully aligned with its strategy.

“Our focus is to rigorously strengthen control over the capabilities that are critical to our network, our resilience and our long-term leadership, so that we can provide more and better services to our customer.”

He added LineoX is a highly relevant platform for rural connectivity in Spain, and its integration will reinforce its ability to continue investing in the evolution of its infrastructure.

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Telstra teamed up with Google to bolster digital infrastructure across Australia and Asia-Pacific, using a combination of fibre and subsea network integration to tap into growing demands for AI technology.

The partnership will see Google work with Telstra on its fibre backbone Aura network, securing inter-city dark fibre capacity, and target new opportunities “along some of Australia’s key connectivity corridors”. The increase in capacity is intended to give more Australian businesses and households the opportunity to connect faster and more securely to the rest of the world.

The Aura network is described by Telstra as the “backbone of Australia’s digital future”, run by its InfraCo division, providing ultrafast connectivity between cities and remote regions. The operator has already laid 8,000km of the network, which will increase to 14,000km when complete.

Connectivity hub
On the subsea side, Telstra will join Google’s Pacific Connect and Australia Connect initiatives to use subsea fibre pairs on the Tabua, Proa and Bulikula subsea systems, which provide the country with links to Japan, the Pacific Islands and the US, reinforcing the nation’s potential as a connectivity hub.

Through the integration of terrestrial and subsea, the duo touted benefits to security and resilience, as they can remove single points of network failure.

Telstra said it partnered with Google to further advance the technology giant’s AI capabilities in Australia, while enabling the operator to deliver “diverse and secure subsea pathways” to ensure networks are equipped to handle the growing demands of AI applications and workloads.

Telstra added underlying infrastructure must evolve to securely and reliably support data flows not only within Australia but across key international corridors.

Steve Worrall, CEO of Telstra Digital Infrastructure said “the partnership is about enhancing our national capability and ensuring that Australia remains seamlessly connected to the global economy”. 

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Liberty Global appointed Stephen van Rooyen (pictured) to take charge of its newly formed telecoms company Ziggo Group, which will combine VodafoneZiggo in the Netherlands with Telenet in Belgium.

Liberty Global stated van Rooyen, who is the current CEO of VodafoneZiggo, will take control of the joint entity on 1 September, ahead of planned listing of the company in Amsterdam in 2027.

The executive was credited by Liberty Global for leading “a turnaround at VodafoneZiggo over the past 18 months”, leaning on extensive European telecoms and media leadership experience.

He previously spent more than 17 years at Sky, serving as CEO of Sky UK & Ireland and CCO of Sky Group.

As part of preparations for the new entity, Liberty Global also named Jany Fruytier from its Swiss operator Sunrise as CFO. Fruytier has held the equivalent position at Sunrise since 2020, playing a key role in the growth and listing of listing of the business.

Liberty Global struck a deal to buy the 50% stake in VodafoneZiggo it did not own from Vodafone Group earlier this year.

It then declared it would set up Ziggo Group, which would own 100% of VodafoneZiggo and Telenet. As part of the buyout transaction, Vodafone took a 10% stake in Ziggo Group.

The joint entity will have 13 million customers, generating €6.6 billion in revenue.

Expertise and experience
Alongside his responsibilities at Ziggo Group, van Rooyen will retain his role at VodafoneZiggo.

Mike Fries, Liberty Global chairman and CEO said van Rooyen’s experience and Fruytier’s expertise gives it the right platform to deliver on the planned listing.

“Together, they will lead two highly complementary businesses, and we see significant opportunities in what these two strong brands can achieve together,” he said.

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SoftBank Group committed to an investment of up to €75 billion to bolster AI data centre infrastructure in France, with the first phase of the project set to deliver 3.1GW of capacity.

SoftBank announced the investment at the 2026 Choose France summit, hosted by President Emmanuel Macron, marking the Japanese company’s largest AI infrastructure investments in Europe.

It has committed an initial €45 billion investment in the Hauts-de-France region, providing 3.1GW of capacity to data centres in Dunkirk, Bosquel and Bouchain. SoftBank will also develop additional sites, “reinforcing the country’s role as a leading European hub for next-generation digital infrastructure”.

For the Dunkirk deployment, SoftBank partnered with Schneider Electric to accelerate its buildout, while developing a large-scale industrial production cluster.

The cluster at the Port of Dunkirk will be a “key industrial pillar” for the company’s AI infrastructure programme in France, including the build out of two facilities. One will be operated by SoftBank to manufacture enclosures, while the other will be operated by Schneider Electric to integrate data centre power modules.

The duo explained the partnership will combine SoftBank’s robotics and automation capabilities with Schneider’s industrial expertise and local supply chain network to support the deployment of next-generation AI data centres at scale.

The industrial cluster is also designed to support Dunkirk’s ambition to become a leading hub for robotics, advanced manufacturing and industrial innovation.

Masayoshi Son, chairman and CEO of SoftBank, said AI is entering a new era and countries that build infrastructure for this transformation “will shape the future of technology, industry and society”.

“SoftBank is proud to make this major commitment to France. With its industrial capabilities, talent base and national ambition, France is uniquely positioned to become a leading AI infrastructure hub in Europe.”

The company said it will also work with SB Energy and other strategic partners to deliver the projects.

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