As reported by German newspaper Handelsblatt on Sunday, Deutsche Telekom and Schwarz Group are in talks to apply for the large data centres funded by the European Union, according to its sources.
Negotiations are said to be underway, but no agreement has yet been reached. A Deutsche Telekom spokesperson reportedly told Handelsblatt that the company was “interested in establishing the EU AI Gigafactory in a leading position for Germany”.
Earlier this year, the European Commission announced plans to provide US$20 billion in funding to build AI data centres to catch up with the US and China.
Deutsche Telekom has been dabbling in data centres more frequently in recent months, having committed to chasing AI data centre demand in 2023. Having partnered with Nvidia in October to establish a €1bn (US$1.16bn) data centre in Munich, Germany. This is part of a joint plan to develop AI infrastructure across Europe and support enterprises in their AI development ventures.
Dubbing this project the first industrial AI cloud in Europe, the AI Cloud will offer German companies the opportunity to further develop their AI models and applications with proprietary data.
The construction of the factory aims to increase AI computing power in Germany by around 50%.
“Mechanical engineering and industry have made this country strong,” Tim Höttges, CEO of Deutsche Telekom, said at the time. “But here, too, we are challenged. AI is a huge opportunity. It will help to improve our products and strengthen our European strengths.
“In just six months, we turn an idea into real AI computing power, Made for Germany.”
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