The European Commission launched a major call for tenders on July 30 to establish up to seven AI Gigafactories across the bloc, in the EU’s most ambitious push yet to close the computing gap with the United States and China.
The initiative, led by the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking, will funnel roughly €30 billion into building vast data centres each equipped with at least 100,000 cutting-edge AI chips. The goal is to give European researchers and companies the raw compute power to train frontier AI models without relying on foreign infrastructure.
Of the total investment, €5 billion will come from the EU budget, another €5 billion from member states, and the remaining €20 billion from private investors. The Commission said the tender marks the first concrete step under its broader “AI Continent” strategy unveiled earlier this year.
Industry groups broadly welcomed the announcement, though some analysts noted the tender was originally due at the end of 2025 and has faced repeated delays. Critics also pointed out that Europe still depends on American chipmakers such as Nvidia for the advanced processors these factories will require.
Brussels has framed the Gigafactories as essential to European technological sovereignty. Current EU computing capacity covers a fraction of demand, with most large-scale AI training taking place on US soil. Commission officials said the new centres would be distributed across multiple member states to spread economic benefits.
The tender process will select consortia of universities, research institutions and private companies to build and operate the facilities. Each Gigafactory is expected to take several years to reach full capacity. The Commission set a deadline for proposals later this autumn, with final selections expected in early 2027.
Separately, the EU is also pushing to build its own chip manufacturing capabilities through the European Chips Act, though progress on that front has been slower than hoped. Together, the Gigafactories and Chips Act represent a dual strategy to secure both AI compute and semiconductor production on European soil.
Industry observers say the success of the initiative will depend on whether Brussels can attract top talent and maintain political momentum across changing national governments. As one analysis noted, the project call was delayed by a year and a half, raising questions about execution speed in a rapidly evolving global AI race.
Sources: European Commission Press Release, Euractiv, The Next Web
Author: Europe Desk
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