Genoa races towards the European AI Gigafactory: with less than three months to go before the deadline, the city presents a unique ecosystem

Just over two months remain until the 12 November 2026 deadline set by the European Union for submitting applications to host the future European AI Gigafactories, a strategic programme that envisages the creation of up to seven major infrastructures dedicated to artificial intelligence, backed by €10 billion in public funding, in addition to private investment. Against this backdrop, Genoa is emerging as one of the most promising candidates, thanks to an already operational ecosystem that brings together supercomputing, research, industrial innovation and world-class digital infrastructure.

The city benefits from a shared vision and a network of public and private stakeholders that, in recent years, have strengthened their commitment through the “Genoa Capital of High Performance Computing & AI Factory” protocol, which has already attracted more than 5,000 participants, including companies, universities, public bodies, associations and research centres. The initiative demonstrates the local ecosystem’s ability to work together around the strategic technologies of the future.

Among the key assets supporting Genoa’s bid are the two supercomputers located in the city. The first is Davinci-1, developed by Leonardo and hosted at Torre Fiumara; the second is Franklin, the supercomputer of the Italian Institute of Technology, managed by Liguria Digitale and recently upgraded.

The city’s position is further strengthened by innovative initiatives such as Reg4IA, focused on the application of artificial intelligence in healthcare to manage waiting lists, and Liguria Digitale’s new Security Operation Center at Erzelli, designed to monitor and protect strategic digital infrastructure.

These infrastructures form the backbone of an advanced ecosystem where artificial intelligence, robotics, digital healthcare, cybersecurity and advanced data analytics converge.

Genoa’s strategic position within Europe’s digital infrastructure landscape also makes the city particularly competitive. Genoa is, in fact, one of the main landing points for submarine fibre-optic cables connecting Europe to major global data routes, providing high connectivity capacity and transmission speeds — increasingly crucial factors for the development of next-generation artificial intelligence models.

As the deadline for European applications approaches, Genoa can therefore put forward a combination of assets that is difficult to replicate: a well-established network of partners, advanced computing capabilities, scientific excellence, international connectivity infrastructure and a continuously growing innovation ecosystem. Together, these factors could enable the city to play a leading role in the European race to host one of the future AI Gigafactories, further strengthening its position among the continent’s leading technology hubs.”

Edited by Rebeca Burgos