Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says the chipmaker will announce $2 billion in new European investments within about a week, The Next Web reported. He spoke in Paris on the first day of a tour that also takes him to London and Berlin.

"Europe needs to get in the race," Huang said, according to Semafor.

The new money would come on top of $8 billion Nvidia has put into Europe over the past year, The Next Web reported, citing Bloomberg.

In Paris, Huang also named funding for four French startups, The Next Web said. They are Doctolib, a medical booking service, along with Genesis AI, Pigment and Entalpic.

The sums are small for Nvidia, The Next Web noted. The company was worth about $5.7 trillion this month.

Huang pushed open-source AI models as a way for Europe to catch up, The Next Web reported. He said such models cost less to run and can be shaped for local languages and for each country's control over its own technology.

The outlet pointed out that open models still need chips to run, and Nvidia sells those chips.

Europe trails the United States and China in building top AI systems, Semafor reported. The US has produced 59 notable AI models and China 35, while France and the UK have produced one each, the outlet said, citing the Stanford AI Index.

There are signs that AI is helping some European economies, Semafor said. The International Monetary Fund's chief economist said AI-related exports and investment have given "some countries a cushion" amid world turmoil, especially the UK, Semafor reported.

The announcement will probably come in Berlin, The Next Web said. Nvidia's GTC conference runs there from Oct. 20 to 22.

What we know: Huang says Nvidia will soon announce $2 billion in European investments and has backed four French startups.
What we don't: Which other companies will get the money, and exactly when the plan will be announced.