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EU Launches Call For Up To Seven AI Gigafactories Across Europe

Prime Highlights

  • EU opens tenders for up to seven AI Gigafactories, backed by €10 billion in public funding and €20 billion in expected private investment.  
  • Gigafactories will expand AI computing access for start-ups, SMEs, academia and public authorities across Europe.  

Key Facts

  • Eighteen Member States sign a joint procurement agreement with the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking to support the initiative.  
  • European Commission signs letters of intent with AMD, NVIDIA and Qualcomm to secure hardware access. 

Background

The European Union has opened tenders to build up to seven AI Gigafactories across Europe, a major move in its push toward technological sovereignty and its goal of positioning the continent as a global AI leader.

The initiative carries up to €10 billion in EU and national funding, and it aims to pull in at least €20 billion in private investment across the bloc.

The Gigafactories will expand Europe’s AI computing capacity, giving start-ups, scale-ups, small and medium enterprises, academia and public authorities access to infrastructure for training, inference and fine-tuning advanced AI models.

Each facility will combine advanced AI processors, software, cloud technology and energy-efficient data centres, working alongside Europe’s existing network of 19 AI Factories to strengthen the region’s technological resilience and autonomy.

Consortia or Special Purpose Vehicles bringing together companies, public bodies and investors can apply, with projects allowed to span single or multiple sites within a Member State or across borders.

Eighteen Member States have signed a joint procurement agreement with the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking, matching EU funding to support the projects across two development phases and two funding lots, offering between €100 million and €800 million per project depending on scale.

The European Commission has also signed letters of intent with major hardware providers AMD, NVIDIA and Qualcomm, ensuring consortia gain access to the specialised computing hardware advanced AI systems require.

The call remains open for several months, with award decisions expected in early 2027 and construction set to follow shortly after.