Is Europe’s AI infrastructure build-out heading for a gigafactory-style bust?

If you’ve been following the recent wave of data centre announcements across Europe, you’ll have noticed one thing: governments are suddenly obsessed with compute. Why is that — and how will France, the UK and others fare in the AI infrastructure arms race? Can startups really compete with Big Tech and is this a sector VCs can play in? This week, host Amy Lewin is joined by senior reporters Daphné Leprince-Ringuet and Freya Pratty to dig into the fast-moving — and expensive — world of AI infrastructure, from data centres and GPUs to energy and political power plays. The conversation also explores the risks of overbuilding, parallels with failed battery gigafactories and the unresolved tension between Europe’s dreams of “sovereign AI” and reliance on Nvidia. Plus: what does all this mean for climate tech and local communities — and is AI infrastructure the safest bet investors can make, or the next bubble waiting to burst? Sign up to Sifted's AI newsletter here:

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Is Europe’s AI infrastructure build-out heading for a gigafactory-style bust? is an episode from Startup Europe — The Sifted Podcast by Sifted.

This episode is 28:33 long.

This episode was published on Jan 15, 2026.

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