Dîner-débat Finance & IA | Keynote 3 : AI Value Opportunities for Business, par Theodoros Evgeniou, Professor, INSEAD
Le dîner-débat organisé par la DFCG et son groupe Transformation digitale et Intelligence artificielle s’est déroulé le mardi 3 mars 2026 à la Maison des Polytechniciens, à Paris.
Portant sur le thème « Une IA concrète pour les directions financières », il a réuni une centaine de CFO d’entreprises.
Keynote 3 : AI Value Opportunities for Business,
par Theodoros Evgeniou, Professor, INSEAD
During a keynote focused on the future of artificial intelligence, Theodoros Evgeniou highlighted why Europe— despite having missed previous technological revolutions, now has a unique window of opportunity to lead the next wave of AI innovation. As the world shifts from software-driven AI to “physical AI”, combining robotics, industrial technologies, and scientific breakthroughs, European enterprises and CFOs must embrace urgency, ambition and disruptive mindsets to stay competitive.
Europe Missed the Previous Innovation Waves – But the Next One Is Different
Over the past 50 years, the major technology revolutions—personal computing, the Internet, cloud, big data, and now generative AI—were almost entirely dominated by the United States, and more recently China. Europe played only a marginal role. But the speaker emphasized that the next frontier of AI will not be purely digital. The emerging wave—physical AI—spans industrial automation, robotics, biology, materials science, chemicals, medical devices, and advanced manufacturing. Unlike software ecosystems dominated by Silicon Valley, this new era aligns with Europe’s historic strengths.
Industrial Power and Academic Excellence Give Europe a Head Start
Two key facts illustrate Europe’s advantage:
- 17% of global industrial production originates in Europe—far ahead of the U.S. in several key sectors.
- 22% of global AI research citations come from European academics, more than the U.S. (19%).
In talent and industrial know‑how, the speaker insisted, Europe is not behind—far from it. The barriers are not capability, but mindset, financing, and speed.
The Real Gap : Risk Capital and Corporate Agility
Europe lacks the depth of U.S. venture capital and struggles with slow decision‑making inside large companies. As innovation becomes increasingly B2B rather than digital B2C:
- Client adoption speed becomes as important as investor funding.
- Enterprises must accelerate their procurement cycles, experimentation, and ability to work with startups.
The speaker stressed that “there is no better money than client money,” urging European corporates to become faster customers of innovation.
A Visible Difference in Ambition and Urgency Worldwide
Drawing on insights from more than 2,500 executives trained in AI at INSEAD, the speaker observed profound differences across regions:
Some parts of the world, especially the Gulf countries, display exceptional ambition, urgency, and execution speed. Europe, by contrast, lags in its willingness to experiment, invest boldly, and adopt disruptive technologies.
What CEOs (and CFOs) Must Do Now
The keynote identified non‑delegable responsibilities for leaders in the AI era:
- Set a high level of ambition.
- Embrace uncertainty and experimentation, with real innovation budgets.
- Fix data foundations.
- Ensure AI becomes systemic, embedded across the organisation—not a side initiative.
For CFOs specifically, the message was clear: They must balance efficiency with disruption, allocate capital for experimentation, and prepare the organisation for massive shifts in industrial value creation.
A Once-in-a-Century Opportunity for Europe
As physical AI reshapes global industry, this is a unique historical moment: Just as the industrial giants of the 19th–20th centuries were born during the first industrial revolution, the next generation of European leaders can emerge from today’s transformation. With its industrial base, scientific excellence, and engineering talent, Europe is positioned to lead—if it acts fast enough.
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