Executive Vice-president of the European Commission for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy Henna Virkkunen arrives for a meeting of the College of European Commissioners in Brussels, Belgium, May 6, 2026. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
The European Union will fund seven artificial intelligence gigafactories across the bloc with €10 billion ($11.5 billion), the European Commission said on Thursday, as the EU steps up efforts to close the technology gap with the US and China.
The Commission said it aims to attract at least €20 billion in private investments for the projects. The total was increased from five planned gigafactories to seven following strong interest from EU countries.
The facilities will combine advanced AI processors, software, cloud technology, high-speed connectivity and data centres. They will come on top of the existing 19 AI factories in various EU countries.
"Access to the raw scale of computing power within AI Gigafactories is a strategic necessity for Europe as AI development accelerates," EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said in a statement.
