The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group and the European Commission are stepping up joint support for the development of artificial intelligence (AI) gigafactories in Europe to bolster EU technological independence and competitiveness.
In a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) the EIB Group and the European Commission pledge to pool resources to accelerate Europe’s capacity for advanced computing and AI. The goal is to create as many as five large-scale AI gigafactories – data and computing hubs essential for training next-generation models and reinforcing Europe’s technological leadership.
“Europe is a technological powerhouse,” said EIB Group President Nadia Calviño. “By supporting the rollout of major AI gigafactories, we scale up computing capacity and create the conditions for innovation to thrive.”
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SubscribeAI gigafactories will train the most complex, very large AI models, which require extensive computing infrastructure for breakthroughs in domains such as medicine, cleantech and space. The gigafactories will each run on about 100,000 of the most advanced AI chips – around four times as many than the current generation of AI factories. The new generation of gigafactories will follow 19 AI factories that are already in the process of being set up in Europe with EU funding,
In February 2025, the European Commission committed €20 billion via its InvestAI initiative to establish up to five AI gigafactories across the EU. The EIB Group will explore possibilities to supplement the grants with loans to stimulate private investment and to create a robust AI infrastructure for European startups, researchers and industry.
“AI will spur our research and innovation and boost our competitiveness,” said European Commission Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy Henna Virkkunen. “We will help mobilise unprecedented capital for European AI gigafactories that will enable all our scientists and companies to develop the most advanced, very large models needed to make Europe an AI continent.”
The EIB Group-European Commission agreement outlines a number of areas of concrete collaboration including advisory support through the InvestEU Advisory Hub, with a focus on improving the bankability of investment proposals. This approach will enable the EIB Group to turn innovative concepts into viable projects that can attract the necessary funding and deliver tangible results.
Supporting innovative AI startups, scaleups and infrastructure is also core to the EIB Group`s flagship TechEU programme aimed at mobilising €250 billion by 2027.
