The European Union will invest €10 billion ($11.5 billion) to build seven artificial intelligence gigafactories across the bloc, significantly expanding its efforts to develop sovereign AI infrastructure and narrow the technology gap with the United States and China.
The initiative, announced on Thursday by the European Commission, represents one of Europe’s largest public investments in AI infrastructure to date and forms part of a broader plan to reduce the region’s dependence on foreign cloud providers and AI computing resources.
The Commission said it expects the public funding to attract at least €20 billion in private investment, bringing the total value of the initiative to more than €30 billion.
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The scale of the programme was expanded after strong interest from member states, with the number of planned gigafactories increasing from five to seven.
The AI gigafactories will serve as large-scale computing hubs capable of supporting the development and deployment of next-generation AI models.
Each facility will integrate advanced AI processors, cloud infrastructure, software platforms, high-speed networking and large-scale data centers designed to provide the computing power required to train and run increasingly sophisticated AI systems.
The new projects will complement the 19 AI factories already being developed across various European countries, creating a continent-wide AI infrastructure network.
“Access to the raw scale of computing power within AI Gigafactories is a strategic necessity for Europe as AI development accelerates,” said Henna Virkkunen.
This underpins growing concern among European policymakers that access to advanced computing capacity has become a strategic asset comparable to energy security or semiconductor manufacturing.
The investment marks Europe’s determination to strengthen its competitiveness in artificial intelligence at a time when U.S. and Chinese companies increasingly dominate the industry.
The United States currently leads the AI ecosystem through companies including OpenAI, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet and Meta Platforms, which collectively are investing hundreds of billions of dollars in AI data centres and cloud infrastructure.
China has simultaneously accelerated investment in domestic AI capabilities through state-backed initiatives, local cloud providers and semiconductor development programmes, making AI infrastructure a key arena of technological competition.
European policymakers have increasingly warned that without substantial investment in computing capacity, the bloc risks becoming dependent on foreign AI platforms for critical digital services.
The gigafactory programme therefore aims not only to expand Europe’s AI capabilities but also to strengthen its technological sovereignty by ensuring European researchers, startups and businesses have access to advanced computing resources within the region.
The Commission is adopting a public-private partnership approach to finance the facilities. Technology providers, cloud companies, investors and public institutions will be able to form consortia or special purpose vehicles to bid for participation in the projects.
Applications will remain open until November 12, with successful bidders expected to be announced in early 2027. The Commission expects each gigafactory to become operational within 18 months after contracts are signed.
The structure is intended to leverage government funding to mobilize significantly larger private-sector investment while encouraging collaboration across Europe’s technology ecosystem.
Several leading semiconductor companies have already expressed support for the programme. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Nvidia and Qualcomm have signed letters of intent with the European Commission indicating their willingness to supply processors for the gigafactory projects.
Their participation is significant because advanced AI processors remain one of the most critical components of modern AI infrastructure. Europe currently has limited domestic production of high-performance AI chips, making partnerships with established semiconductor companies essential to accelerating deployment while the region works to strengthen its own semiconductor industry.
The announcement comes as governments around the world intensify efforts to secure AI computing capacity.
The United States has relied largely on private-sector investment led by hyperscale cloud providers, with companies such as Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet collectively committing hundreds of billions of dollars to expand AI data centres.
China has pursued a more state-directed strategy, combining government support with investments from domestic technology champions to build national AI infrastructure while reducing reliance on foreign technology.
Europe’s latest initiative represents a hybrid model that combines public funding with private investment to accelerate the development of strategic computing infrastructure.
Beyond supporting AI research, the gigafactories are expected to strengthen Europe’s digital economy by providing startups, universities and enterprises with access to the computing power needed to develop large language models, industrial AI applications, scientific simulations and other advanced AI systems.