TLDR
- The EU pushed bidding for its AI gigafactory project from May to July.
- The plan targets five AI data centers, each with one gigawatt of capacity.
- Early interest has dropped from about 70 companies to roughly 10 expected bidders.
- Only two of the five planned centers can receive funding before 2028.
- SoftBank’s France data center plan is larger than the full EU gigafactory program.
Europe’s plan to build large AI data centers has run into delays before bidding begins. The project aims to create five gigafactory sites with major chip capacity across the bloc. However, funding gaps and delayed rules have reduced early interest from potential bidders.
Bidding Delay Shrinks Early Interest in EU AI Sites
According to a report by Bloomberg, the European Union originally planned to open bidding for the AI gigafactory project in May. Officials have now pushed the process to July after repeated delays. The planned facilities would each carry one gigawatt of power capacity. Each site would also use about 100,000 advanced chips for AI workloads.
The European Commission has also delayed the publication of selection criteria several times. That delay has made planning harder for groups preparing bids. The project first attracted interest from about 70 companies across Europe. That field has now narrowed to roughly 10 groups expected to submit proposals.
The plan also limits submissions to a maximum of one bid per country. Several groups now face questions over timing, scale, and available subsidies. Maria Nowicka, a Brussels-based researcher at Interface, pointed to repeated delays. “I think I’ve lost count,” she said, referring to the shifting timeline.
Funding Structure Limits Early Rollout
The EU plan carries a total expected cost of €20 billion. Less than half of that amount would come from public funding. The European Union would provide €4.1 billion in direct subsidies. Host member states would match that amount under the proposed funding model.
Private investors would cover the remaining cost for the five planned centers. However, the funding schedule has created a problem for near-term delivery. Only two of the five centers can receive funding before 2028. The remaining sites depend on the EU’s next budget cycle.
Some partners are reconsidering bids if the project shrinks from its original design. People familiar with the matter said at least two groups may step back. The delayed funding structure places pressure on the program’s launch schedule. It also raises questions about how fast Europe can add AI infrastructure.
Global Data Center Spending Outpaces EU Plan
The EU program faces a large spending gap when compared with private AI infrastructure deals. SoftBank recently announced up to €75 billion for data centers in France. That France’s plan alone exceeds the full EU gigafactory program by more than three times. It also shows the scale of private capital entering AI infrastructure.
Meta is also raising $13 billion for one data center in Texas. That single project stands close to the EU’s total direct subsidy plan. US utilities plan to spend $1.4 trillion on grid infrastructure for AI by 2030. American hyperscalers are also investing hundreds of billions of dollars annually in data centers.
The EU’s €4.1 billion subsidy would spread across five countries. That makes each site dependent on national support and private capital. The Commission has not yet published final bidding criteria for the gigafactory sites. The delayed criteria remain the next factual step before formal bids begin.
