Becoming a world leader in artificial intelligence is the goal of the AI Continent Action Plan launched by the European Commission.
As previously explained by President von der Leyen during the AI Action Summit in Paris in February 2025, the initiative aims to transform Europe’s strong traditional industries into engines of AI innovation and acceleration.
The race for AI leadership is far from over, the Commission optimistically states. From foundation models to specialized AI applications: the AI landscape in the EU is dynamic. Research, emerging technologies and a thriving ecosystem of start-ups and scale-ups drive it.
Thirteen AI gigafactories
The Commission is strengthening Europe’s AI and supercomputer infrastructure with a network of AI factories. Thirteen of these factories are already being rolled out around Europe’s leading supercomputers. They support AI start-ups, industry and researchers in the EU in developing AI models and applications.
The EU is also involved in setting up AI gigafactories. These will be large-scale facilities with around 100,000 advanced AI chips, four times more than current AI factories. They will integrate enormous computing power and data centers to train and develop complex AI models on an unprecedented scale.
Tripling data center capacity
Both public and private investments are needed for the gigafactories. Private investments in gigafactories will be stimulated through InvestAI, which will mobilize twenty billion euros for a maximum of five AI gigafactories in the Union. To stimulate private sector investment in cloud capacity and data centers, the Commission will also propose a Cloud and AI Development Act. The goal is to at least triple the EU’s data center capacity in the next five to seven years, prioritising highly sustainable data centers.
Stimulating AI innovation also requires access to large volumes of high-quality data. An important part of the action plan is the establishment of Data Labs. These bring together large data sets from different sources. In 2025, a comprehensive Data Union strategy will be launched to create a true internal market for data, enabling AI solutions on a large scale.
Stimulate the use of AI by companies
Despite AI’s potential, only 13.5 percent of companies in the EU are already using the technology. The Commission will soon launch the Apply AI strategy to stimulate industrial use. The European AI innovation infrastructure, in particular the AI factories and the European Digital Innovation Hubs, will play an important role in this.
The Commission will facilitate the international recruitment of AI experts and researchers to meet the growing demand for AI talent. This should contribute to legal migration routes for highly qualified non-EU workers in the AI sector.
Education and training programs will also be developed around AI and Generative AI in key sectors to prepare the next generation of AI specialists and support the training and retraining of employees.
The AI Act offers investors and entrepreneurs the legal certainty necessary to scale up and apply AI in Europe. The Commission will also establish the AI Act Service Desk to help companies comply with the AI Act. This will be the central point of contact and information hub for guidelines and support regarding the AI Act.
With this action plan, the Commission is opening two public consultations, which will run until June 4, 2025, to further shape the initiatives of the AI Continent Action Plan. First, there is a public consultation in which all interested parties can give their opinion on the Cloud and AI Development Act.
In addition, a public consultation on Apply AI will identify stakeholders’ priorities, challenges in implementing AI, and the relevance of proposed solutions and policy approaches, including additional measures for a smooth and simple application of the AI Act. A third public consultation on the Data Union strategy will be launched in May.
Dialogue with industry and the public sector
At the same time, the Commission will organize dialogues with representatives from industry and the public sector to shape the Apply AI strategy. These dialogues, together with the consultations, will identify relevant examples of untapped potential in the application of AI technologies in specific sectors, their current integration into business and production processes, and opportunities for scaling up within these sectors and the broader economy.