The European Commission and European Investment Fund (EIF) has launched a new investment scheme for artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain in Europe, the organization announced in a Nov. 20 blog post. "With the European Commission, we are launching a dedicated investment scheme that will make EUR 100m available to venture capital funds or other investors that support AI and blockchain-based products and services. Because these are cornerstone investments, we expect a total of EUR 300m to be generated for AI and blockchain from other private investors'crowding in.'" The project will focus on development and growth beyond the research and proof of concept stage. Western Europe is expected to spend $674 million on blockchain technology in 2019, making it the second highest-spending region in the world.