The European Commission (EC) has announced plans to support the development of up to seven AI gigafactories across the European Union (EU), backed by public funding of €10bn ($11.5bn).
The initiative aims to attract at least €20bn in private investment to the projects.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Access deeper industry intelligence
Experience unmatched clarity with a single platform that combines unique data, AI, and human expertise.
According to the Commission, the gigafactories will integrate advanced AI processors, cloud technologies, software, high-speed connectivity, and energy-efficient data centres.
These new sites will be established in addition to the existing 19 AI factories already operating in various EU countries.
A call for tenders has been issued to invite consortia, special purpose vehicles, and partnerships involving companies, investors, public institutions, and other entities to submit proposals.
EC Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen said: “The opening of the AI Gigafactories call represents a milestone in our AI Continent ambitions. Access to the raw scale of computing power within AI Gigafactories is a strategic necessity for Europe as AI development accelerates.”
The facilities may be located within a single Member State or spread across several, including through cross-border distributed AI computing infrastructure.
Funding for the programme will be delivered in collaboration with the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) and participating Member States.
Eighteen countries, including France, Spain, Germany, and Sweden, have signed a joint procurement agreement to acquire computing access time from the selected gigafactories.
The procurement supports up to seven gigafactories in two stages and two lots, with Member States expected to match EU funding contributions.
The initial lot will support up to four projects, each eligible for up to €100m in EU funding for the first phase and up to €400m in the second phase, depending on capacity expansion.
The second lot will fund up to three projects, offering €200m per project in phase one and up to €800m in phase two.
The selected facilities must meet requirements for the deployment of advanced AI processors and scale their capacity significantly during development.
As part of the programme, hardware may be sourced both from European providers and companies in likeminded countries.
Three letters of intent have been signed between the Commission and US firms Nvidia, AMD, and Qualcomm, to help ensure access to necessary hardware for the gigafactories.
