AI: Europe commits €5 billion to fund seven megafactories and catch up with the US and China

Miles of cables and endless rows of electronic circuits stretch across dozens of hectares. The European Commission launched a call for tenders on Thursday, July 30, to build these artificial intelligence (AI) megafactories across the continent. These XXL facilities, which combine data centers and supercomputers with vastly increased computing power, are dedicated to developing next-generation AI models.

Although slightly behind the original schedule, the initiative announced in February 2025 at the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit in Paris is now taking shape. At the time, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen promised a €20 billion investment in five facilities. Seven projects are now planned, given surging demand and strong interest from member states, according to the EU's executive arm. The total funding now stands at €30 billion, but two-thirds of that will come from private sources.

In practical terms, the Commission is pledging €5 billion from the EU budget, matched by an equivalent amount from the member states hosting the megafactories. Companies interested in the projects will be required to invest twice as much as the public funds they receive.

You have 69.04% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.