The European Union (EU) has put out a call for tender for up to seven supercomputing clusters across the continent.

Described as ‘AI gigafactories’ by the EU, the clusters will expand AI compute capacity across the continent and provide industry, academia, and public authorities with access to infrastructure for training, inference, and frontier model training.

Initially, four smaller data centers, each eligible for up to €100 million ($115m) in EU funding in Phase I, will be established, under the proviso that each facility deploys “at least as many of the most advanced AI processors as are currently installed in Europe's most powerful AI factory.”

In Phase II, each facility will be eligible for up to an additional €400m ($460m) per project, but must increase its capacity to at least three times.

Three larger data centers will also be established, with each eligible for up to €200m ($230m) of EU funding in Phase I and up to an additional €800m ($920m) per project in Phase II. Per the EU’s stipulations, at initial build-out, these three facilities must deploy up to twice as many of the most advanced AI processors as are currently installed in Europe's most powerful AI factory. In Phase II, capacity must increase to at least four times that level.

The project will be supported by up to €10 billion ($11.5bn) in EU and national funding, with the initiative expected to unlock at least €20bn ($23bn) in private investment, the EU said in a statement. Consortia or Special Purpose Vehicles are welcome to apply, and the so-called gigafactories may be established in a single EU member state – either at a single site or across multiple locations – or be cross-border developments hosted in data centers across multiple countries.

“The opening of the AI gigafactories call represents a milestone in our AI Continent ambitions,” said Henna Virkkunen, EVP for tech sovereignty, security, and democracy. “Access to the raw scale of computing power within AI Gigafactories is a strategic necessity for Europe as AI development accelerates. I am pleased to see member states, industry and the Commission coming together to work on these facilities that are key to our technological sovereignty. “

The call closes on 12 November 2026, with award decisions expected by early 2027. Once contracts have been awarded, companies will have 18 months to complete construction.