A new strategy report proposes €100 billion in public spending and €1.5 trillion in private investment to lift Europe's share of global AI capacity from 5% to 15% by 2030.
Europe controls roughly 5% of the world’s AI data center capacity. The US holds about 75%. China sits at 15%. If those numbers feel lopsided, that’s because they are, and a new strategy report co-authored by Margrethe Vestager wants to do something about it before the gap becomes permanent.
The former European Commission Executive Vice-President helped produce a document called “A Transformative AI Strategy for Europe,” released on September 14, which lays out an ambitious blueprint: €100 billion in public investment paired with a target of €1.5 trillion in private capital, all aimed at tripling Europe’s compute share to 15% by 2030.
The funding gap Europe can’t ignore #
The numbers illustrate why urgency matters. Private AI investment in 2024 hit $109 billion in the US. In Europe, that figure was $19.42 billion. That’s not a rounding error. It’s a structural disadvantage that compounds over time as compute infrastructure and talent cluster around where the money flows.
Vestager has framed the stakes in sovereignty terms, arguing that Europe cannot afford to become what she described as a playground for foreign powers.
The proposed €100 billion in public spending would focus on expanding data center capacity across the continent. The €1.5 trillion private investment target is aspirational but serves as a signal to markets that Brussels is serious about creating an environment where that kind of capital deployment makes sense.
Building on the gigafactory push #
Back in July 2026, the European Commission launched a tender for seven AI gigafactories, each required to house at least 100,000 advanced AI chips. That initiative carried €10 billion in public funding designed to attract more than €20 billion in additional private investment.
One notable element is a proposed Member State “alliance for supply chain security” that would capitalize on European strengths already in play. The most obvious example: ASML, the Dutch company that holds a near-monopoly on extreme ultraviolet lithography machines used to manufacture the most advanced semiconductors on the planet. Every cutting-edge chip fabricator, from TSMC to Samsung to Intel, depends on ASML’s technology. The strategy suggests leveraging that kind of bottleneck power more deliberately.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our