The European Commission has opened a call for tenders for up to seven AI 'gigafactories' across the bloc, a €30bn (£25.6bn) push designed to reduce Europe's dependence on American and Chinese computing power. The call is one of Brussels' most ambitious attempts yet to build large-scale sovereign AI infrastructure.
Up to €10bn (£8.5bn) of the funding will come from EU and national government coffers, with a further €20bn (£17.1bn) expected from private investors, according to the Commission's announcement. Each gigafactory will combine advanced AI processors, high-speed connectivity and energy-efficient data centres, giving European start-ups, universities and public bodies access to computing power currently dominated by American and Chinese firms.
