Technology Giants in Germany Consider Joint AI Gigafactory Venture
Several major German technology companies are reportedly planning to build a joint artificial intelligence (AI) gigafactory, according to a report by the German business newspaper Handelsblatt. The proposed project, which is still in the discussion phase, would involve SAP, Deutsche Telekom, Ionos, the Schwarz-Gruppe and Siemens, among others, in a joint bid to the European Union (EU) for a massive data center for AI applications.
High-level executives from the companies have confirmed the talks, stating that the project can only be successful through partnership. Thomas Saueressig, a member of the SAP board, emphasized that the model is still being discussed, while Rolf Schumann, Chief Digital Officer of the Schwarz-Gruppe, expressed hope that the companies can come together to make the project a reality.
While some key details, such as the locations for the data center, are still to be determined, the EU Commission has proposed the construction of five AI gigafactories across the continent. These facilities, which would be equipped with over 100,000 specialized computer chips, known as GPUs, would be capable of training large language models, similar to those used by OpenAI for its ChatGPT chatbot. Currently, the largest facilities in Germany have only around 25,000 GPUs, highlighting the significant scale of the proposed project.