Media report: German consortium wants to build AI data center
Five German tech companies are planning to build a joint AI data center and are planning to apply for EU funding. There are still many unanswered questions.
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Several large German technology companies want to jointly build a huge data processing center for artificial intelligence (AI) in Germany. This was reported by Handelsblatt on Tuesday. According to the newspaper, SAP, Deutsche Telekom, Ionos, the Schwarz Group and Siemens are negotiating a joint application to the European Union (EU) for such an AI gigafactory.
“It's only possible in partnership, that's quite clear. Which model is the right one is currently being discussed,” said SAP Executive Board member Thomas Saueressig about the data center project, according to Handelsblatt. Ionos CEO Achim Weiß described the initiative as an “important step towards greater digital sovereignty” and announced that he would participate in a corresponding EU tender.
Plan for a “European AI continent”
At the AI Action Summit in Paris at the beginning of February, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented a new AI initiative called “InvestAI”. The aim of the initiative is to invest a total of 200 billion euros in European AI development. The centerpiece is a new European fund with a volume of 20 billion euros, which is to finance the establishment of five AI gigafactories to be built from 2026.
These facilities will each be equipped with around 100,000 of the latest generation of AI chips – around four times more than in current AI factories. The gigafactories will specialize in training particularly complex AI models, for example for applications in medicine and science. With its plan for a “European AI continent”, the EU Commission wants to catch up with other AI locations in the world, such as the United States or China.
Open questions
As reported by Handelsblatt, the German consortium is in talks to build one of the five planned AI gigafactories. “The parties involved wanted to meet this week to finalize which concept Germany will enter the race with,” a person familiar with the matter told the newspaper. Important details are still open, such as the locations where the data centers are to be built, as well as questions of financing.
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In its “call for expressions of interest”, the EU proposes a public-private partnership, a collaboration between the public and private sectors. The state is to contribute up to 35 percent of the investment sum, with the rest to be provided by the companies involved. According to Handelsblatt, the deadline for the first expression of interest is June 20.
“The opportunity to create our own, independent infrastructure for this is now,” Christine Knackfuss-Nicolic, Chief Technology Officer of the Telekom division T-Systems, told the news agency Reuters, adding that her company is aiming to play a leading role. Ionos told Reuters that it was in talks about a German AI Gigafactory with several companies and the German government. It sees the European Commission's initiative as “an important step towards more digital sovereignty” and is interested in participating.
(akn)
