PRAGUE – Czechia is pursuing the establishment of one of the EU’s “AI gigafactories” – massive computing centres designed to supercharge Europe’s artificial intelligence capabilities and close the gap with global leaders like the United States.
Jan Kavalírek, the government’s AI envoy, revealed to the Czech News Agency that the government is in advanced talks with a private investor and has identified potential locations for such a facility. “We are dealing with this daily. It’s developing very well. I still don’t want to say 100% that we will submit it, but we are very close,” Kavalírek stated, referring to the application for substantial EU funding. The EU has earmarked approximately €20 billion for these “AI continent” initiatives, with a significant portion expected from private investment.
Germany and Denmark have also expressed interest in the computer centre, Kavalírek said.
A successful bid would place Czechia at the forefront of European AI infrastructure, providing immense computational power for research and development across the continent. Lukáš Benzl, director of the Czech Association of Artificial Intelligence, emphasised that such a gigafactory would serve as a “motor for the AI economy”, benefiting public administration, healthcare, and financial services throughout Europe.