City Wants to Bring "AI Gigafactory" to Vienna

The city of Vienna has applied, as outlined in the red-pink government program, for the construction of one of the planned European data centers for Artificial Intelligence (AI). The "AI Gigafactory" is one of five that are to be established in the EU. The goal is the development and operation of modern AI models. Up to 5 billion euros are needed for the setup, with a good third to be financed by the public sector, the city informed in a release.

Positioning as an "AI Continent"

With the establishment of the "Gigafactories", the EU aims to strengthen its digital competitiveness and position itself as an "AI Continent", especially since Europe is considered a latecomer in AI development compared to countries like the USA or China. The project is also intended to facilitate access to powerful computing capacity for European companies and research institutions, according to the smaller Viennese government party NEOS.

The exact financial scale is not yet determined. Likewise, in the event that the Austrian capital prevails, it is not clear how the public funding will be divided between the EU, the federal government, and the city, according to the Vienna Business Agency, which is coordinating the process, to the APA. The city refers to a "strong and sustainable consortium of public and private partners". In any case, 65 percent of the funding is to come from private sources, including large technology companies.

Vienna's Application for "AI Gigafactory"

Signatories of the application are Federal Chancellor Christian Stocker, State Secretary for Digitalization Alexander Pröll (both ÖVP), Vienna's Mayor Michael Ludwig, Infrastructure Minister Peter Hanke (both SPÖ), and Vienna's Deputy Mayor Bettina Emmerling (NEOS). The next step is a detailed selection and application process by the EU in the fourth quarter of 2025. The planned start for the "AI-Giga-Factory" is according to the EU plan already in 2028.

(APA/Red)

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