Brussels, July 1 (V7N) — A total of seventy-six companies have submitted bids to develop artificial intelligence (AI) gigafactories across Europe, according to the European Union's tech chief. The unexpectedly high level of interest has been welcomed by EU officials as a strong sign of momentum in the bloc’s effort to close the gap with global AI leaders like the United States and China.
 
The announcement came on Monday as part of the EU’s broader strategy to ramp up domestic AI capabilities, with a particular focus on infrastructure, computing power, and innovation ecosystems. The initiative, backed by EU funding and policy support, aims to develop large-scale AI training and inference facilities—commonly referred to as AI gigafactories—within the union's borders.
 
“This is a clear signal that European industry is ready to lead in responsible and sovereign AI,” the EU Commissioner for the Internal Market said, underscoring the strategic importance of AI to the continent’s digital and economic future.
 
The proposed gigafactories are expected to boost Europe's ability to train large language models (LLMs), host secure data environments, and enable advanced computational research—essential components for building competitive AI systems.
 
The EU has been pushing forward a number of legislative and industrial initiatives to compete globally in AI, including the recently adopted AI Act, which is the world’s first comprehensive regulation of artificial intelligence.
 
The names of the bidding companies and the locations of the proposed facilities have not yet been disclosed. However, the Commission indicated that a final selection process will be conducted in the coming months, followed by the rollout of approved projects in phases.
 
The announcement represents a major step forward in the EU’s ambition to establish technological sovereignty, especially in emerging sectors where reliance on non-European platforms has raised security and ethical concerns.
 
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