EIB backs EU plan for AI "gigafactories" to scale up compute across the bloc
The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group will support the European Commission's plan to build large AI "gigafactories" across the EU. The agreement, signed in Brussels by Commission Executive Vice-President for Technology Henna Virkkunen, EIB President Nadia Calviño and European Investment Fund Deputy CEO Merete Clausen, sets up financing to accelerate massive training facilities for advanced AI models.
"The EU is determined to become a global leader in artificial intelligence," Virkkunen said. "These gigafactories will form the backbone of Europe's future AI infrastructure."
What the plan funds
The partnership builds on the InvestAI initiative, which aims to mobilise €200 billion in AI investment across Europe. Of that, €20 billion is earmarked to construct four to five AI gigafactories through a public-private model.
The facilities are intended to give startups and small companies affordable access to large-scale compute capacity. The financing mix is expected to be about 70% private and 30% public.
Each site is planned to host around 100,000 AI chips-roughly four times larger than facilities currently being set up in the EU. For now, most chips will be sourced from outside the bloc, mainly the United States, until European production scales.
Why it matters
Europe is moving to close the gap with regions that have surged ahead on AI infrastructure. Earlier this year, US President Donald Trump announced a joint venture with Stargate, OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank to deploy $100 billion immediately, rising to $500 billion over four years.
Compute access is the bottleneck for many teams. This plan signals long-term support to expand capacity within the single market and reduce dependency on external providers.
Implications for business, finance, and government
- Startups and SMEs: Expect programmes that allocate compute credits or shared access through neutral sites. Track calls for proposals and eligibility criteria by sector and company size.
- Large enterprises: Co-investment and long-term offtake agreements may open up. Location choices will hinge on energy availability, cooling, grid interconnects, and chip supply timelines.
- Investors: With a 70/30 private-public split, opportunities span infrastructure equity, project finance, and specialty credit. Key risks: chip supply constraints, energy pricing, permitting, and export-control exposure.
- Public sector: Expect state-aid notifications, standardized procurement, and data-sovereignty requirements. Coordination across national agencies will be essential to speed timelines while maintaining security standards.
What to watch next
- Site selection across member states, including grid capacity, renewable sourcing, and water use.
- Pricing and allocation rules for shared compute access (credits, quotas, or market rates).
- Vendor and chip procurement strategy, plus any incentives for on-shore semiconductor production.
- Workforce pipelines for data center operations, ML engineering, and safety compliance.
For official policy context, see the European Commission's AI strategy and national funding programmes. You can track EIB support instruments for digital infrastructure and innovation as they roll out.
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