Across both Brussels and New Delhi, governing artificial intelligence has become a question of political economy as much as of technology policy. Choices about regulatory design, infrastructure access, and standards will determine which actors capture AI’s gains, which bear its risks, and which retain the capacity to govern it at all. Right now, those choices are being made largely within a framework defined by US and Chinese interests. Yet for all the energy spent in the US-China AI rivalry, one of the most promising partnerships in global AI governance is the one emerging between the European Union and India.

This article examines the foundations, opportunities, and challenges of EU-India AI cooperation. It argues that shared strategic vulnerabilities, complementary institutional strengths, and recent multilateral milestones have created a window for Brussels and New Delhi to deepen their collaboration and exert meaningful influence on the wider architecture of global AI governance.