EU’s €20bn AI Gigafactory Plan Faces Doubts

The European Union’s plan to invest €20bn in large-scale artificial intelligence centers is facing doubts even before its launch. The project, championed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, is intended as a response to growing US investment in computing power.

It envisages the construction of several large facilities, known as “gigafactories”, designed to train advanced artificial intelligence models.

Critics, however, question whether there is enough demand for such computing power in Europe, according to Politico. “No one could explain to me what business plan they have for these gigafactories”, MEP Sergei Lagodinsky said.

Experts warn that Europe is lagging behind the US and China and that inefficient investment could widen the gap.

The European Commission argues that Europe needs technological sovereignty. “It’s not just about pure computing power, it’s about sovereign computing”, spokesman Thomas Regnier said.

The project follows a plan to build 19 supercomputers under the AI Factories initiative. The new centers are expected to be significantly larger and equipped with tens of thousands of graphics processing units (GPUs). Funding is to come from a combination of public and private sources.

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