Henna Virkkunen oversees the European Commission's €30 billion initiative to establish seven AI gigafactories across Europe.
The European Commission has launched a call for tenders to construct seven AI gigafactories, aiming to bolster Europe's computing independence and reduce reliance on foreign technology providers. Henna Virkkunen, the Commission's executive vice president for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, described the move as a strategic necessity to close the gap with the United States and China. The initiative seeks to combine €10 billion in public funding from the EU and member states with €20 billion in private investment. These facilities will feature cutting-edge AI chips and high-speed connectivity, making them roughly four times more powerful than current European data centers. While the administration of the European Commission aims for tech sovereignty, it faces challenges such as high energy costs and a heavy reliance on American chipmakers like Nvidia and AMD. The projects are scheduled to begin construction in 2027, with the goal of becoming operational by mid-2028. The Commission intends to ensure that all products developed within these gigafactories follow established EU standards for data protection and ethics.