The Czech Republic intends to participate in the European competition to build an AI Gigafactory, a state-of-the-art computing infrastructure for the development, training, and operation of the most advanced artificial intelligence systems. On Monday, June 22, 2026, the government approved support for the Czech Republic's involvement in this project and authorized the Ministry of Industry and Trade to conclude the relevant agreement with the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking.

This is not yet a decision that a massive center will actually be built in the Czech Republic. However, it is an important step that gives Czech private entities the opportunity to apply for the European competition. The results are expected at the end of 2026.

The AI Gigafactory is part of the European AI continent framework. Its goal is to ensure that Europe is not only dependent on non-European technology giants and has its own capabilities for working with artificial intelligence. If the Czech project is successful, infrastructure with tens of thousands of AI accelerators could be created in the Czech Republic. State institutions, research organizations, universities, startups, and technology companies could use the computing power.

The Minister of Industry and Trade, Karel Havlíček, stated that with this decision, the government is giving the green light for Czech private entities to participate in the competition. He also emphasized that this is not a definitive confirmation of the construction, but an opportunity to be involved in one of the most important European investments in artificial intelligence.

The project is to be implemented and financed by a private investor, who will bear the financial risks and will own and operate the infrastructure. The state will play a supporting role and commit to using a portion of the computing capacity if the Czech project is selected. In the first phase, the Czech Republic is committed to providing 2.5 billion crowns, which will be fully covered by a contribution from the European Union. Payments will be made gradually from 2028 to 2032, depending on the actual use of the capacity.

According to Havlíček, the Czech Republic can gain access to top-level performance at more favorable conditions thanks to the European model, compared to if the state were to acquire such capacity itself. At the same time, he believes that there should be no additional demands on the state budget, as the goal is to use resources more efficiently than the state currently spends on cloud and computing services.

The government's AI envoy, Lukáš Kačena, described the AI Gigafactory as a potential major boost for the Czech innovation ecosystem. According to him, research teams, universities, and startups often face limited access to computing power. Without world-class infrastructure, it will be difficult to develop competitive AI models and applications in the Czech Republic.

The project is also expected to have regional significance. The Czech Republic is in talks with Slovakia and Croatia and wants to strengthen its position as a center for the development of artificial intelligence in Central and Eastern Europe. The EuroHPC JU call for proposals is expected to be announced in July 2026, and up to seven consortia may be selected in the European Union.

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