The European Union (EU) has opened applications for seven AI gigafactories as it works to expand its computing infrastructure for advanced artificial intelligence development. The projects will receive up to €10 billion (US$ 11.5 billion) in EU and national funding and are expected to attract at least €20 billion (US$ 23 billion) in private investment.
The facilities will allow AI systems to be developed using European infrastructure while following EU requirements on data protection, safety, security and ethics. According to a press release these AI Gigafactories will provide large-scale computing capacity for training, running and adjusting advanced AI models.
The infrastructure will be available to start-ups, scale-ups, small and medium-sized companies, researchers, industry and public bodies. Each facility will combine AI processors, software, cloud systems, high-speed connectivity and energy-efficient data centers which will operate alongside Europe’s existing network of 19 AI Factories.
Projects can be built in one member state or across multiple countries through connected computing facilities. Companies, public organisations, investors and other partners can apply through consortia or special purpose vehicles.
Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, said, “The opening of the AI Gigafactories call represents a milestone in our AI Continent ambitions. Access to the raw scale of computing power within AI Gigafactories is a strategic necessity for Europe as AI development accelerates. I am pleased to see Member States, industry and the Commission coming together to work on these facilities that are key to our technological sovereignty.”
Applications will be reviewed through a competitive selection process. The European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) and member states will jointly purchase computing capacity from selected facilities.
Eighteen member states have joined the procurement agreement with EuroHPC JU: Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden.
Funding will be split across two categories:
The first category will support four projects each of which can receive €100 million (US$ 115 million) from the EU in the first phase and €400 million (US$ 460 million) more in the second phase. Facilities selected under this category must initially deploy at least the same number of advanced AI processors as Europe’s most powerful AI factory and later increase capacity to at least three times that level.
The second category will support three projects and receive €200 million (US$ 230 million) in the first phase and €800 million (US$ 920 million) more in the second phase. These facilities must deploy up to twice the number of advanced AI processors currently used by Europe’s most powerful AI factory and increase capacity to at least four times that level in the second phase.
AI Gigafactory operators will be able to buy hardware from providers in Europe and partner countries during both development phases. Some purchases may be allocated to European AI start-ups and scale-ups as part of efforts to strengthen the region’s digital supply chain.
The European Commission has also signed letters of intent with AMD, NVIDIA and Qualcomm to support access to AI hardware. Applications close on 12 November 2026. EuroHPC JU will evaluate proposals, with decisions expected in early 2027. Construction could begin later that year after contracts are signed the selected facilities are expected to begin operations within 18 months of signing.