The Netherlands on its way to establishing its own AI factory
The Dutch government has unveiled ambitious plans to establish an AI facility in the Netherlands.
Published on April 24, 2025
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The Dutch government has unveiled ambitious plans to establish an AI facility in the Netherlands. This is evident from a letter from Minister Beljaarts (Economic Affairs), Minister Bruins (Education, Culture and Science), and State Secretary Szabó (Digitalization and Kingdom Relations), in which they inform the House of Representatives. The facility is to become part of a European network of AI facilities. With this, the government aims to significantly strengthen the Netherlands' position in the field of AI.
The Netherlands does not want to miss the AI boat
EuroHPC is a European partnership that supports supercomputing and AI facilities. The Dutch AI factory, if it is realized, will become part of this network. EuroHPC offers European co-financing for AI facilities through a call that closes at the end of 2025. Dozens of AI factories in other countries have already been selected in the first and second rounds of assessment. The government plans to submit a proposal for an AI facility in the Netherlands for the third round of assessment, which closes on June 30.
Support from a broad consortium
The development of the AI facility is supported by a consortium consisting of SURF, the AI Coalition for the Netherlands (AIC4NL), TNO, and Samenwerking Noord. Together with their partners, they work closely with various ministries.
Power, data, talent
The AI factories in Europe bring together a number of important elements: computing power, data, and talent. They must provide access to the enormous computing power that start-ups, industry, and researchers need to develop their AI models and systems. Examples include large European language models or specialized vertical AI models that focus on specific sectors or domains.
With the AI factories, Europe aims to compete with China and the US in the field of AI.
