Leading German technology companies have not been able to agree on a common concept for a European AI gigafactory.

Therefore, Deutsche Telekom DE0005557508, the cloud provider Ionos DE000A3E00M1 and the IT subsidiary of the Schwarz Group (Lidl, Kaufland) will submit competing applications to the EU on Friday, reports the specialist service "Tagesspiegel Background Digitalization & AI".

The EU plans to build up to five such data centers for training large-scale AI models. The three to five billion euros in costs are to be subsidized with up to 35 percent. In Germany, the construction of an AI gigafactory is politically anchored. The coalition agreement between the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Social Democrats (SPD) states that Germany, as a leading AI location, should host at least one of the gigafactories.

Application deadline expires

Friday is the deadline for companies and research institutions to express their interest in developing a large AI data center in the European Union.

The software company SAP DE0007164600 will not participate in the project. "We are currently excluded from the expression of interest," an SAP spokesperson told the specialist service. The company sees itself primarily in the role of software supplier, and SAP also has no great need for the use of the AI ​​factory.

Telekom wants to take a leading role

Deutsche Telekom, on the other hand, is ready to take a leading role in the AI ​​Gigafactory initiative. "We will submit an expression of interest accordingly," a spokesperson said. We are inviting companies, technology partners, institutions, and other organizations to join this initiative. "We will submit a compelling application with strong partners," said Uwe Geier, Head of Cloud Solutions at Ionos.

During the selection process, the German applicants could still join forces. "We expect the exchange between the various players to intensify," says the Telekom spokesperson. "It's not initially problematic if there are multiple expressions of interest," says Andreas Weiss, managing director of the Eco association. "However, it would be pointless if there were competing applications from Germany at the end."