Europe is pouring billions into gigawatt-scale AI factories as it races to close the gap with the United States and China in artificial intelligence. The initiative aims to create large-scale hubs combining data, computing power and research talent to accelerate AI development across the bloc.
European Commission executive vice president Henna Virkkunen said the facilities will address a critical bottleneck. “We have, for example, 30% more researchers per capita than the U.S. has, focused on AI. Also we have around 7,000 startups [that] are developing AI, but the main obstacle for them is that they have very limited computing capacity,” she told CNBC.
The EU has earmarked 10 billion euros to launch 13 AI factories and another 20 billion euros as seed funding for the larger gigafactories. According to Virkkunen, the call for interest drew 76 proposals across 60 sites in 16 member states, far exceeding expectations.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang called the facilities part of a “new industrial revolution” during the company’s GTC conference in Paris, highlighting partnerships to establish AI factories in France, Italy and the U.K.
The first European AI factory is expected to go online in the coming weeks, with a major site in Munich slated for early September. Each gigafactory will require investments of three to five billion euros and significant upgrades to Europe’s strained power grid to meet massive energy demands.
Virkkunen said the project aims to build “technological sovereignty” and strengthen Europe’s role in the fast-evolving AI landscape. However, analysts warn the success of the initiative will depend on private sector funding and the ability to turn vast computing capacity into viable AI products.
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