Nvidia, Deutsche Telekom Launch €1 Billion AI Data Centre in Germany

URGENT UPDATE: Nvidia and Deutsche Telekom have just announced a groundbreaking collaboration to establish a massive €1 billion AI data centre in Germany, set to become operational by early 2026. This state-of-the-art facility will rank among the largest in Europe, dedicated to enhancing AI systems and boosting infrastructure capabilities across the continent.

The announcement was made today during a high-profile event in Berlin, attended by industry leaders, including representatives from SAP and Deutsche Bank, as well as German ministers. Their presence highlights Germany’s unwavering commitment to cultivating a robust AI ecosystem to effectively compete with the US and China.

Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, emphasized the project’s potential to transform Germany’s industrial landscape through cutting-edge AI chips. He stated, “This facility will usher in a new era of industrial innovation.” The collaboration with SAP will integrate their technology platform and enterprise applications into the new data centre, which will expand an existing site in Munich.

Deutsche Telekom has projected that this initiative will boost Germany’s total AI computing power by approximately 50%. However, despite this significant investment, the project underscores the existing gap between Europe and the US in AI infrastructure development. Major American tech giants, including Microsoft and Google, as well as innovative start-ups like OpenAI, are pouring hundreds of billions into large-scale AI computing capacities.

The German data centre aims to utilize up to 10,000 advanced graphics processing units (GPUs). While impressive, this number pales in comparison to ambitious projects in the US, such as a Texas facility involving SoftBank, OpenAI, and Oracle, which is expected to leverage around 500,000 GPUs.

In response to the accelerating AI race, the European Union has devised a €200 billion plan to expedite AI development within the bloc. The goal is to triple energy supply for these systems over the next five to seven years. Deutsche Telekom is currently engaging in discussions with additional companies to participate in the creation of ‘AI gigafactories’. Yet, progress remains sluggish, with the EU still refining its processes for assessing bids and allocating funding for these ambitious projects.

As this monumental project unfolds, it will be crucial to monitor its progress and the implications it holds for Europe’s position in the global AI landscape. Stay tuned for further updates on this developing story.