EU publishes call for interest in setting up AI gigafactories ⋆

EU publishes call for interest in setting up AI gigafactories

As the world races to harness the transformative power of artificial intelligence, Europe is playing catch-up—but not quietly. While the United States and China dominate the AI landscape with massive private investments and tech giants pushing the boundaries of generative AI, Europe has remained cautious, fragmented, and under-resourced in terms of large-scale AI infrastructure. EU AI gigafactories

Despite being home to world-class researchers, regulatory foresight (like the AI Act), and powerful supercomputing assets through the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking, the continent has so far lacked the industrial-scale computing muscle needed to train and deploy cutting-edge models—such as those developed by OpenAI, Google DeepMind, or Baidu.

However, that’s about to change.

In a bold move to bridge the AI infrastructure gap and reinforce digital sovereignty, the European Commission has launched a Call for Expression of Interest to establish AI Gigafactories (AIGFs)—mega-facilities designed to supercharge Europe’s AI development capacity. These Gigafactories will be capable of training models with hundreds of trillions of parameters, rivaling the scale of the largest systems currently in development globally.

By investing in massive compute infrastructure, Europe is asserting its intent to be more than just a regulator in the AI space—it wants to be a creator, an enabler, and a global AI powerhouse.

This initiative represents a major milestone in the EU’s broader strategy to become an “AI Continent,” enhancing its technological sovereignty, competitiveness, and innovation capacity.

What Are AI Gigafactories?

AI Gigafactories are envisioned as large-scale, advanced AI computing infrastructure facilities. Building on the foundation of AI Factories—which are already leveraging Europe’s EuroHPC supercomputing network—these next-generation facilities will handle the development, training, and deployment of massive AI models, including those with hundreds of trillions of parameters.

Key features include:

Over 100,000 advanced AI chips (e.g., NVIDIA H100 or equivalent)
Energy-efficient data centers
AI-driven automation for optimized AI training and deployment
Secure environments for industrial and scientific applications

Goals of the CfEoI

The primary objective of the call is to identify Consortia—comprising EU-based private companies, public authorities, investors, and EuroHPC Participating States—who are interested in conceptualizing and co-investing in an AIGF facility in the EU.

This is not a funding call, but rather a strategic first step to gather high-level project proposals. Selected proposals will be considered for more detailed engagement and potentially full-scale implementation. EU AI gigafactories

Investment & Funding Model

Each AIGF is expected to cost between €3–5 billion. The funding model aims to foster public-private partnerships, with:

Up to 35% of CAPEX potentially co-funded by public authorities (EU + Member States)
Remaining investment sourced from industry players and private investors
OPEX fully covered by private partners

Public investment will also serve to de-risk private capital, offering guarantees or equity co-investments through mechanisms like the InvestAI Financial Facility (to be established by the end of 2025 with possible support from the European Investment Bank and national promotional banks).

Strategic Benefits

AI Gigafactories are expected to:

Enable Europe to train and host large language models and other generative AI systems at scale
Support SMEs, startups, and research institutions with unprecedented computing access
Drive sector-specific AI innovation, from healthcare and mobility to energy and manufacturing
Strengthen Europe’s digital infrastructure resilience and reduce reliance on non-EU compute providers

What Should Proposals Include?

Consortia are required to submit a non-binding proposal covering:

Executive summary: Project scope, location, budget, and involved partners
Project description: Objectives, implementation timeline, services to be offered, milestones
Technical feasibility: Geographic location, infrastructure readiness, energy sources, sustainability
Consortium details: Members, governance structure, partnership approach
Financial viability: Budget, funding strategy, revenue model, market analysis, CAPEX/OPEX
Contact point: To facilitate discussions with the Commission

Proposals (max. 15 pages) should be emailed to gigafactories@eurohpc-ju.europa.eu
Deadline: Friday, June 20, 2025, at 17:00 CET