Europe is setting its sights on gigawatt factories in a bid to bolster its lagging artificial intelligence industry and meet the challenges of a rapidly-changing sector.
Buzz around the concept of factories that industrialize manufacturing AI has gained ground in recent months, particularly as Nvidia
CEO Jensen Huang stressed the importance of the infrastructure at a June event. Huang hailed a new “industrial revolution” at the GTC conference in Paris, France, and said his firm was working to help countries build revenue-generating AI factories through partnerships in France, Italy and the U.K.
For its part, the European Union describes the factories as a “dynamic ecosystem” that brings together computing power, data and talent to create AI models and applications.
The bloc has long been a laggard behind the U.S. and China in the race to scale up artificial intelligence. With 27 members in the union, the region is slower to act when it comes to agreeing new legislation. Higher energy costs, permitting delays and a grid in dire need of modernization can also hamper developments.
