06/10/2025 | Press release | Archived content
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo held an AI roundtable, at which participants discussed the EU's AI gigafactory initiative and measures to strengthen the Finnish Government's coordination of AI policy. Finland intends to pursue the establishment of an AI gigafactory in Finland.
Opening remarks were delivered by Guillaume Avrin, France's National Coordinator for Artificial Intelligence, and Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission.
"The Government's key objective is to enable new growth in Finland. An essential element in this is the deployment of emerging technologies and the creation of a world-class AI infrastructure. That is why we are aiming to host the EU's new AI gigafactory in Finland. We have already proven our capabilities and achieved tangible results. The LUMI supercomputer and the LUMI AI Factory built on top of it have demonstrated that we can provide a world-class computing environment. The gigafactory could be built alongside the LUMI AI Factory," said Prime Minister Orpo.
The European Commission's new InvestAI initiative seeks to generate EUR 200 billion in investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC). AI gigafactories are a cornerstone of the initiative. It aims to develop the infrastructure required for the next generation of AI models. The goal is to provide a globally competitive computing capacity for ambitious European initiatives. This will be achieved by combining massive computing power with energy-efficient data centres. The Commission's approach is business-driven and primarily market-based. A genuine demand for what the gigafactory can offer is essential.
"Now is the time to influence the development of the European AI infrastructure," said Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission.
"The competition is fierce. There will be more strong applications than gigafactories available. Fortunately, Finland has already shown that we can provide a world-class computing environment - cost-effectively, energy-efficiently and responsibly. We have the expertise, the data, the start-up ecosystem and world-class research - everything necessary to drive European leadership in AI. I'm pleased to note that Nokia has already expressed its willingness to act as the coordinator of the business consortium. Thank you for that," said Prime Minister Petteri Orpo.
Finland will submit an expression of interest to the Commission's call for proposals already in June. The Commission's selection process for AI gigafactories will continue in the autumn.
"Gigafactories are essential for developing the European infrastructure and digitalisation so that we can fully realise the opportunities created by AI. Nokia's strong expertise and experience in data centre network solutions gives us an excellent foundation to bring the right partners together to move this initiative forward," said Mikko Hautala, Nokia's Chief Geopolitical and Government Relations Officer.
The potential of AI is also reshaping the work of the Finnish Government. A study will be commissioned by the Digital Office between June and September 2025 to explore options for strengthening the Government's interministerial coordination of AI policy.
"Rapid technological development requires the central government to be capable of reacting, anticipating and influencing. The strong and strategic coordination of AI development supports the implementation of the Government Programme and strengthens Finland's position as an EU influencer and a global technology player," said Prime Minister Orpo.
The Government Programme also sets the goal of fostering competitiveness through the data economy, AI and digitalisation. The joint Digital Office of Finnish ministries contributes to the implementation of these objectives.
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo hosted the AI roundtable discussion on Tuesday, 10 June 2025, at the Government Banquet Hall (Smolna).
Enquiries:
Tuomas Tikkanen, Senior Adviser to the Prime Minister in European Affairs, tel. +358 40 523 5768
Email addresses are [email protected]