Looking at the business side of digital connectivity – the global digital economy – three prominent elements need to be discussed: e-commerce; the platform economy; and digital payments. Global competition for innovation and the commercialisation of research and development (R&D) in the high-tech sector are relevant to each of these fields. Remarkably, EU member states have the talent to compete with the United States and China on AI and rank high on research, but lag in commercial AI adoption and funding. Hence, they now need to catch up with the US and China, which are homes to the big technology players: Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft (GAFAM); and Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent (BAT), respectively. Following a discussion of where Europe stands in this field, including in comparison with like-minded countries, this section explores international efforts to level the playing field, as well as promising areas for cooperation by the EU with like-minded partners.