AI Gigafactories

In response, the EU and Member States will support private-led AI Gigafactories (AIGF). The goal is to ensure that EU innovators, researchers, industry (including SMEs), and the public sector have access to the necessary large-scale computing power and high-quality data. This will not only promote Europe's industrial strength, productivity and innovation potential, but also foster new AI solutions and enhance the EU's technological autonomy and resilience. Furthermore, the AI Gigafactories initiative is designed to act as a powerful catalyst for the European semiconductor ecosystem. By providing a predictable, large-scale demand for high-end computing, the initiative will stimulate the domestic design and – in due course – ­the future manufacturing of indigenous EU AI processors, thereby contributing to developing the Union’s full-stack technological sovereignty.

Commission President von der Leyen announced in February 2025 that EUR 20 billion will be mobilised to finance the deployment of several AIGF across the EU. This facility will be the largest public-private partnership in the world for the development of trustworthy AI, serving the European model of cooperative, open innovation with a focus on complex industrial and mission-critical applications. It aims to de-risk and crowd in private investment, in combination with financing provided by the EU, including the European Investment Bank, and Member State budgets.  The response from European stakeholders has been robust: an informal call for expression of interest produced 77 proposals to set up AIGFs in 16 Member States across 60 different sites. The European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking is expected to publish the official call in summer 2026.  The EIB is teaming up with the Commission to support the initiative, and Member States are actively encouraged to leverage national funds with Recovery and Resilience Facility funds and Cohesion Funds.