The European Commission on Thursday launched an ambitious plan to build seven AI gigafactories across the bloc, backed by up to 30 billion euros (34 billion dollars) in combined public and private funding, in a bid to close the technology gap with the United States and China.
Of the total funding, 10 billion euros will come from the European Union and its member states, with private investors expected to contribute the remaining 20 billion euros. The European Commission issued a formal call for tenders, inviting consortia of technology providers, cloud service operators, public entities, and investors to apply for funding through the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU).
The initiative aims to triple Europe’s data center capacity within five to seven years. Speaking about the announcement, Henna Virkkunen, the European Commission’s Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, called the moment “a milestone” for European technological independence.
“Access to the raw scale of computing power within AI gigafactories is a strategic necessity for Europe as AI development accelerates,” Virkkunen said in a statement. Chipmakers AMD, Nvidia, and Qualcomm have signed letters of intent to supply processors for the projects, according to Commission officials.
The AI gigafactories will produce advanced processors, software stacks, and energy-efficient data centers with high-speed connectivity. The Commission said the scheme will “expand Europe’s AI computing capacity and give start-ups, scale-ups, small and medium-sized enterprises, industry, academia and public authorities access to infrastructure.”
Currently, the European Union operates 19 data centers located between Spain and Finland, but the bloc remains heavily reliant on foreign technology providers. A recent Commission report warned that European businesses and public authorities would “continue to rely on US AI providers to the detriment of European service providers” if the situation remains unchanged.
The report also flagged significant security concerns, stating that “dependence on hyperscale cloud and AI computing service providers, particularly for highly critical use cases, will continue to expose data to third-country access and carry risks to service continuity, endangering operational autonomy.” Former US President Donald Trump has made clear his intention to leverage American economic heft to influence European policy, while China has limited the supply of critical raw materials needed for advanced chip production.
The Commission has sought to allay environmental and social concerns, pledging that the new technology will be developed according to “EU standards on data protection, safety, security and ethics,” referencing the bloc’s AI Act. The EU faces challenges competing with the US and China, where energy costs are significantly lower.
The European Commission will accept bids for the projects until November 12, with funding distribution expected to begin in early 2027 and construction starting within the same year. The initiative represents one of the largest public investments in AI infrastructure globally.
Sources:
– DW – EU aims to build AI gigafactories of its own
– Reuters – EU aims for seven AI gigafactories with 10 billion euro plan
– ABC News – EU lays out 11.4 billion dollars for 7 AI gigafactories
discussion