EU clears Spanish joint venture for AI gigafactory bid

The European Commission has approved the creation of a joint venture between ACS, Telefónica, Banco Santander and the Spanish state holding SETT (known as 'SEPI Digital') to compete for one of the EU's seven AI gigafactories. The Commission found the operation raises no competition concerns, given the limited market positions of the companies involved, and cleared it under the simplified merger procedure Source: La República.

Ownership and investment

The private partners will jointly control 47% of the new company, with ACS, Telefónica and Santander each holding 15.67%; Basque firm Multiverse Computing will hold 4%, bringing private ownership to 51%. The Spanish government, through SETT, will hold 47.99%, and the Generalitat de Catalunya 1% Source: La República. The Council of Ministers authorised a €719 million investment in June, which the government says will mobilise around €5.8 billion overall Source: ABC.

The bid

Spain's proposal is a multi-site gigafactory located in Móra la Nova (Tarragona) and San Fernando de Henares (Madrid). The consortium plans to submit its candidacy in September, with a deadline until mid-November; Brussels will decide by early 2027 Source: ABC. Spain aims to compete in the category for facilities with over 100,000 processors, facing rivals such as Germany, Greece and Italy Source: La Vanguardia.

Context

The EU's AI gigafactory initiative is part of its technological sovereignty strategy to strengthen sovereign cloud and AI infrastructure in Europe, reducing dependence on US tech giants Source: El Confidencial. The Commission's approval is a key step, but the final award depends on the upcoming tender.