The European Commission has launched a call for tenders to establish up to seven AI Gigafactories across Europe, marking the bloc’s largest single investment in artificial intelligence computing infrastructure. The initiative aims to unlock more than 30 billion euros in total investment and accelerate Europe’s push for technological sovereignty.
The gigafactories will provide massive computing capacity for training, inference, and fine-tuning of advanced AI models. Led by industry and supported by up to 10 billion euros in combined EU and national funding, the facilities are designed to give European researchers, startups, and companies access to the infrastructure needed to compete with US and Chinese AI labs.
Brussels framed the announcement as a key step in its ambition to become the AI Continent. EU officials said the initiative responds to a growing gap between Europe and its global competitors in AI computing power, which has become a bottleneck for developing cutting-edge models.
The call is managed through the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking, which coordinates supercomputing investments across the bloc. Applications are expected from consortia spanning multiple member states, with sites spread across at least 60 locations in previous stakeholder consultations.
The gigafactory push comes as the EU simultaneously rolls out the AI Act’s transparency provisions and enforcement framework. Together, the regulatory and infrastructure moves represent a two-pronged strategy: setting global standards for trustworthy AI while building the capacity to develop it domestically.
Industry groups have broadly welcomed the investment but caution that funding alone will not close the gap with the US, where private AI spending dwarfs European public investment. Key challenges include attracting top AI talent, streamlining permitting for large data centers, and ensuring affordable energy supplies for power-hungry computing facilities.
Several European countries including France, Germany, and Italy have already announced national AI computing strategies in recent months. The EU-level gigafactory call aims to coordinate these efforts and prevent a fragmented approach that could dilute Europe’s competitive position.
The tender process is expected to run through the end of 2026, with the first facilities potentially becoming operational by 2028. The Commission said the initiative is central to the EU’s post-2030 digital and industrial policy architecture.
Sources: European Commission, Euronews, Digital Strategy EC
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