EU reveals sites for major AI factories across Europe

(Image credit: Shutterstock / Timofeev Vladimir)

Spain, Italy, Finland, Luxembourg, Sweden, Germany and Greece get the green light
European Union will fund half of the projects together with nation-state funding
More applications are being welcomed until February 2025

The European Union has announced €750 million in investment to establish AI supercomputers across seven sites on the continent.

The initiative forms part of a broader €1.5 billion joint project, with the other half of the funding set to come from EU member states, as part of an effort to take on US tech giants and become what EVP for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen, envisions as an ‘AI continent.’

As part of the announcement, we now know the seven chosen locations for AI supercomputers in Europe - Barcelona, Spain; Bologna, Italy; Kajaani, Finland; Bissen, Luxembourg; Linköping, Sweden; Stuttgart, Germany and Athens, Greece.

Seven EU AI supercomputers confirmed

The supercomputers in Finland, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and Sweden will be deployed as “brand-new world-class AI-optimised supercomputers,” with the Spanish and Greek sites getting upgrades to raise their status.

By deploying the seven new supercomputers, the Commission hopes to more than double its EuroHPC computing capacity, with rollout scheduled for 2025-2026.

“Today we are one step closer to setting up AI Factories. Using European supercomputers, we will enable AI start-ups to innovate and scale up," Virkkunen added.

“Now we are ready to lead with the right infrastructure in our ambition for the EU to become the AI continent. We are on track to make the AI factories initiative a reality in the first 100 days of the new European Commission.”

The AI Factories are part of a broader strategy in the European Union to encourage AI development and deployment across sectors where it can really make a difference, like healthcare, finance and manufacturing. Other member states have also been invited to submit proposals by February 2025.

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