Europe wants to stop renting its computing power from American tech giants. The EU has opened a call to build up to seven giant AI data hubs across the continent. Public money worth €10bn is on the table, with a promise of €30bn overall.
The initiative is industry-led, with up to €10bn in EU and national funding designed to unlock at least €20bn in private investment. Much of the hardware needed to build the Gigafactories, however, is expected to come from the United States.
The call closes on 12 November 2026. The Commission will then evaluate the proposals, with award decisions expected in early 2027, allowing construction of the selected Gigafactories to begin the same year.
Funding in two lots
The AI Gigafactories will combine advanced processors, software and cloud technology stacks, high-speed connectivity, and energy-efficient data centres. They will join a network of 19 existing AI factories. Compute requirements vary by lot. The first lot must match the power of Europe’s strongest AI factory today, rising to three times that level in a second phase. The second lot must start at twice that level and reach four times it.
Consortia can build Gigafactories in a single member state, on one site or several. They can also run them as cross-border projects spanning multiple countries. So far, 18 member states have signed a joint procurement agreement with the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU).
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The first lot covers up to four Gigafactories. Each is eligible for up to €100m in EU funding in phase one, and a further €400m in phase two. The second lot covers up to three projects, eligible for up to €200m in phase one and €800m in phase two.
Henna Virkkunen, the Commission’s Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, called the launch a milestone for Europe’s AI ambitions. “Access to the raw scale of computing power within AI Gigafactories is a strategic necessity for Europe as AI development accelerates,” she said. “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.”
Voices from Brussels
“Discussions with member states have already taken place. We know that 18 member states would like to participate, or even host one,” said Thomas Regnier, the Commission’s technology spokesperson. “These can be mononational or multinational projects. So a country like Greece, for example, which is one of the 18, can participate alone or with other member states to host or participate in one of these AI Gigafactories.”
A country like Greece, for example, which is one of the 18, can participate alone or with other member states to host or participate in one of these AI Gigafactories.
— Thomas Regnier, Technology Spokesperson, European Commission
Mr Regnier also stressed that all technologies built within the AI Gigafactories must comply with European standards on data protection, security, reliability, and ethics. That should keep advanced AI development and deployment on European infrastructure, in line with the Union’s values.
US role
Even as the EU pursues its own AI Continent, it still needs American hardware. Following the EU–US trade deal, the Commission has signed three letters of intent with major US manufacturers, including AMD, Nvidia, and Qualcomm, to secure the necessary chips. “While maintaining the option for consortia to purchase technologies from European suppliers or from trusted partner countries”, Mr Regnier said.
Not all of the hardware will come from abroad, however. The Commission has earmarked part of the procurement for European start-ups and scale-ups, giving them a chance to grow within the bloc’s own digital supply chain. Once the parties sign contracts, selected Gigafactories will have up to 18 months to become operational.
