This article is published in association with European Investment Bank.
- EIB Group and European Commission team up to support next generation of artificial intelligence factories in Europe.
- Goal is to spur development of AI gigafactories in EU.
- EIB Group to provide advisory and possible financing for AI gigafactories.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group and the European Commission are stepping up joint support for the development of artificial intelligence (AI) gigafactories in Europe to bolster EU technological independence and competitiveness.
In a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) the EIB Group and the European Commission pledge to pool resources to accelerate Europe’s capacity for advanced computing and AI. The goal is to create as many as five large-scale AI gigafactories – data and computing hubs essential for training next-generation models and reinforcing Europe’s technological leadership.
“Europe is a technological powerhouse,” said EIB Group President Nadia Calviño. “By supporting the rollout of major AI gigafactories, we scale up computing capacity and create the conditions for innovation to thrive.”
AI gigafactories will train the most complex, very large AI models, which require extensive computing infrastructure for breakthroughs in domains such as medicine, cleantech and space. The gigafactories will each run on about 100,000 of the most advanced AI chips – around four times as many than the current generation of AI factories. The new generation of gigafactories will follow 19 AI factories that are already in the process of being set up in Europe with EU funding,
In February 2025, the European Commission committed €20 billion via its InvestAI initiative to establish up to five AI gigafactories across the EU. The EIB Group will explore possibilities to supplement the grants with loans to stimulate private investment and to create a robust AI infrastructure for European startups, researchers and industry.
“AI will spur our research and innovation and boost our competitiveness,” said European Commission Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy Henna Virkkunen. “We will help mobilise unprecedented capital for European AI gigafactories that will enable all our scientists and companies to develop the most advanced, very large models needed to make Europe an AI continent.”
The EIB Group-European Commission agreement outlines a number of areas of concrete collaboration including advisory support through the InvestEU Advisory Hub, with a focus on improving the bankability of investment proposals. This approach will enable the EIB Group to turn innovative concepts into viable projects that can attract the necessary funding and deliver tangible results.
Supporting innovative AI startups, scaleups and infrastructure is also core to the EIB Group`s flagship TechEU programme aimed at mobilising €250 billion by 2027.
Background information
MoU
Under the MoU, the EIB Group and the European Commission will coordinate efforts to support AI gigafactory projects that could benefit from grants by the EU and by countries already participating in an EU programme to expand such investments. The existing programme is known as the European High Performing Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU), which so far covers 19 AI factory projects. The gigafactories will be set up under the InvestAI programme.
EIB
The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. The EIB finances investments in eight core priorities that support EU policy objectives: climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, cohesion, agriculture and the bioeconomy, social infrastructure, a stronger Europe in a more peaceful and prosperous world and Europe’s capital markets union. The EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), signed nearly €89 billion in new financing for over 900 high-impact projects in 2024, boosting Europe’s competitiveness and security. Approximately half of the EIB’s financing within the EU targets cohesion regions, where per-capita income is below the EU average, while almost 60% of annual EIB Group investments support climate action and environmental sustainability.
High-quality, up-to-date photos of the organisation’s headquarters for media use are available here.
TechEU
The agreement falls under EIB Group’s flagship TechEU Programme, the largest ever financing initiative for innovation in Europe. Over the 2025-2027 period, the EIB Group will commit €70 billion to support high-risk projects and innovative companies throughout their investment journey, from idea to IPO, mobilising €250 billion together with financing partners in investment for disruptive technologies and enabling infrastructure. The EIB has launched a dedicated TechEU Portal as a one-stop-shop service, with an embedded “Investment Readiness Checker”, that allows European startups or scaleups working in AI, cleantech, life sciences, and defence and space technologies to find out how the EIB Group can support their ambitions
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