US and China Stepped Aside as New AI King Emerges: Plans for 7 Gigafactories

The United States and China face new competition in the global AI race. The European Union is aggressively developing AI within its region with an investment of €10 billion (approximately Rp 207.4 trillion).

The European Commission announced that these funds will be used to finance seven massive factories across the bloc. This figure has increased from the initial plan of five gigafactories, as reported by Reuters.

These facilities will house advanced AI processors, software, cloud technology, high-speed connectivity, and data centres. Overall, the construction of these AI factories will supplement the 19 existing AI plants already available across various EU nations.

“Access to raw computing power scale within AI Gigafactories is a strategic necessity for Europe as AI development accelerates,” said the EU’s Chief Technology Officer, Henna Virkkunen.

The tender process is set to close on 12 November 2026. The European Commission expects to announce the tender results in early 2027, with the AI factories expected to begin operations within 18 months of contract signing.

It is hoped that the allocated funding will attract €20 billion in private investment. Several global technology giants, including AMD, Nvidia, and Qualcomm, have already collaborated with the European Commission, signing letters of intent to provide chips for the gigafactory project group.