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The EIB will work with the European Commission to evaluate project proposals that meet key technical and financial criteria
In sum – what to know:
AI gigafactory plan – The agreement sets a framework for financing and advisory support for large-scale AI data centers across Europe.
€200 billion InvestAI fund – Includes a €20 billion fund dedicated to building three to five supercomputing clusters equipped with 100,000 AI chips each.
Site selection in 2025 – Seventy-six applications were submitted from 16 EU countries; the chosen locations will host facilities expected to launch operations by 2028.
The European Commission, the European Investment Bank (EIB), and the European Investment Fund (EIF) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to accelerate the rollout of large-scale “AI gigafactory” data centers across Europe.
The agreement sets out a framework to strengthen collaboration and financing for projects aimed at making Europe “a leading AI continent,” the Commission said in a statement.
Under the terms of the MoU, the EIB will work with the European Commission to evaluate project proposals that meet key technical and financial criteria, while also offering advisory support to select AI gigafactories seeking such services.
Announced in February, the EU’s AI gigafactories initiative envisions the creation of three to five high-performance computing hubs across the continent. Each facility will host roughly 100,000 AI chips to train the latest and most complex models. Technical details have yet to be finalized.
The facilities will be funded through InvestAI, a €200 billion ($209 billion) investment framework that includes a €20 billion fund specifically dedicated to the gigafactory initiative.
The European Commission closed its call for expressions of interest in June, receiving 76 applications proposing AI gigafactory sites in 16 EU member states, covering around 60 potential locations.
Final site selections are expected later this year, with operations scheduled to begin by 2028.
EIB President Nadia Calviño said the initiative marks a major step in Europe’s push to strengthen its technological and industrial base. “Together with the Commission, the EIB Group is stepping up support for AI, a key driver of innovation and productivity across Europe,” she said.
The commission described the new gigafactories as a “CERN for AI” — a large-scale public-private partnership open to researchers, companies and governments. The goal is to ensure that AI development in Europe is not limited to tech giants, but accessible to a wide range of players, including start-ups and research institutions.
The gigafactories will serve industries working on mission-critical applications, such as healthcare, biotech, climate science and robotics. They are designed to support Europe’s cooperative innovation model, emphasizing transparency, security and equal access to technology.
