Germany's SAP, Deutsche Telekom, web hosting firm Ionos and unlisted retailer Schwarz are vying for EU support to build a large data processing centre for artificial intelligence (AI), the Handelsblatt newspaper reported on Tuesday.
The consortium is in intensive negotiations to build one of the five data centres, known as AI gigafactories, that the EU plans to support, the paper said, citing industry executives.
The companies did not immediately respond to e-mailed requests for comment from Reuters.
The European Commission plans to provide $20bn (R357.81bn) in funding to construct AI data centres to catch up with the US and China.
The project, intended to enable the bloc to create its own AI models, will face challenges ranging from obtaining chips to finding suitable sites and electricity.
Under the government coalition agreement between German chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives and the Social Democrats, the partners earlier this year said they aimed to have at least one such centre built in Germany.
Handelsblatt said the deadline to provide initial expressions of interest to the EU is June 20.
Reuters
German consortium in talks to build AI data centre, Handelsblatt reports
Image: 123RF
Germany's SAP, Deutsche Telekom, web hosting firm Ionos and unlisted retailer Schwarz are vying for EU support to build a large data processing centre for artificial intelligence (AI), the Handelsblatt newspaper reported on Tuesday.
The consortium is in intensive negotiations to build one of the five data centres, known as AI gigafactories, that the EU plans to support, the paper said, citing industry executives.
The companies did not immediately respond to e-mailed requests for comment from Reuters.
The European Commission plans to provide $20bn (R357.81bn) in funding to construct AI data centres to catch up with the US and China.
The project, intended to enable the bloc to create its own AI models, will face challenges ranging from obtaining chips to finding suitable sites and electricity.
Under the government coalition agreement between German chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives and the Social Democrats, the partners earlier this year said they aimed to have at least one such centre built in Germany.
Handelsblatt said the deadline to provide initial expressions of interest to the EU is June 20.
Reuters
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