AI Factories: from deployment to impact
AI Factories were initially announced in the EC AI Innovation Package in 2024, and later identified in the AI Continent Action Plan in 2025 as a strategic priority to foster European AI driven innovation. They are dynamic ecosystems built around European supercomputers, bringing together computing power, data, and talent to create cutting-edge AI models and applications. Currently, 19 AI Factories and 13 Antennas are operational across Europe, with some of them already running for more than 1 year.
This session will examine the current state of AI Factories from multiple perspectives, including AI Factory operators, technology providers, industrial users, and SMEs.
Participants will gain first-hand insights into the progress achieved, the portfolio of services offered, user engagement models, and the operational challenges encountered during the initial deployment phase (e.g. infrastructure, sustainability, skills, access to data, compatibility with AI). The discussion will also explore how AI Factories are collaborating with one another and with complementary European initiatives to build a coherent European AI ecosystem.
The session will also explore the new concept of Gigafactories, planned to take AI Factories to the next level by integrating coherently massive computing power (beyond 75000 state-of-the-art advanced AI processors).
Ultimately, the session aims to assess the current state of AI Factories. It will reflect on the challenges encountered during their deployment and explore how the experience gained, together with emerging initiatives such as AI Gigafactories, can accelerate Europe’s next phase of AI competitiveness, innovation, and maturity.
Session structure
- Introduction and set up the scene
- AI Factories today: progress, challenges and lessons learned (accessibility, access to data, level of usage)
- The ecosystem perspective: user view, technology providers
- Scaling the European AI Factory ecosystem: AIFs collaboration project, the industrial AI ecosystem (IPCEI-AI), AI Gigafactories
- Wrap-up and conclusions
