Europe moves to build AI Gigafactories with over €30 billion in combined public and private capital
The European Commission on July 29 officially launched a call for proposals to establish a network of up to seven AI Gigafactories, marking a major step in the European Union’s ambition to become a global leader in artificial intelligence.
The initiative combines public support of up to €10 billion from EU and national sources with at least €20 billion in expected private investment, creating a total funding envelope of more than €30 billion.
Closing the AI compute gap
Advanced artificial intelligence models require massive specialised computing infrastructure for training, fine-tuning and inference. The planned AI Gigafactories will provide this computing capacity while operating under European rules on data protection, safety and ethics.
The facilities will complement the existing network of 19 AI Factories and strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy in a critical technology sector.
Two funding categories for AI Gigafactories
The programme will be implemented through a structured two-lot approach, with projects competing under different funding levels based on their scale.
Smaller projects can receive up to €500 million in total EU support across two phases, while larger projects will be eligible for up to €1 billion in funding.
Each selected AI Gigafactory will be required to deploy progressively higher concentrations of the most advanced AI processors, ensuring a significant increase in Europe’s computing capacity.
Broad participation and hardware flexibility
The European Commission said consortia involving industry, investors and public bodies are eligible to apply. AI Gigafactories can be developed as national or multi-country projects.
Currently, 18 EU Member States are participating in the joint procurement framework under the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking.
Hardware procurement will remain open to suppliers from Europe and other like-minded countries, while the programme also includes targeted support for European start-ups and scale-ups in the AI supply chain. Letters of intent with major US chipmakers have also been secured to ensure access to critical components.
Timeline for applications
Applications for the AI Gigafactories programme will remain open until November 12, 2026.
The European Commission expects to announce successful projects in early 2027, with construction beginning later that year. Operations are expected to commence within 18 months of signing the contracts.
The programme is being positioned as a decisive step toward Europe’s goal of building world-class AI infrastructure under its own rules and strengthening its position as a global leader in artificial intelligence.
