A European Central Bank (ECB) blog post has revealed that businesses across the eurozone expect to rely “overwhelmingly” on their own resources to finance their use of AI.

In a Friday post, economists at the ECB shared the results of its latest Survey on the Access to Finance of Enterprises (SAFE), which found that 72 per cent of businesses in the region that plan to invest in AI expect to do so using internal funds such as cash flow or retained earnings.

The ECB surveyed around 5,000 firms about their plans to invest in cutting-edge tech within the next 12 months, including AI technologies, specialists, and data infrastructure.

AI technologies and tools were a priority for 49 per cent of respondents, followed closely by training for employees, which was a focus for 46 per cent. The bank said that this highlights how successful AI adoption relies on skills as well as technology.

Unlike their US counterparts, which have taken hundreds of billions of dollars from banks and private investors, European firms will look to their own resources. Nearly two-thirds of firms surveyed expect to use internal funds, with bank loans, grants and leasing expected to be utilised by 16 per cent each.

Just six per cent expect to borrow through venture capital or equity disbursement, and one per cent are considering debt securities. In addition, many firms appear undecided over how they will fund AI, the economists said, citing the 18 per cent of respondents who did not select any of the financing options listed.

The post concluded that while self-funding AI investments offers the advantages of accessibility, flexibility and control, “heavy reliance on this type of funding could limit the scale and pace of AI adoption compared with what could be achieved if external financing were used more broadly.”

The full survey results are expected to be released later in October.

External funding for AI investment is becoming more expensive for all actors. In July, the Financial Times reported that prospective investors in a Meta data centre were seeking “significantly higher yields” than they had been in 2025 as fears grew around the technology’s ability to deliver long-term growth.

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