Europe faces a widening AI compute gap

The EU currently hosts roughly 5% of the world’s AI compute capacity, while the US holds close to 75%. McKinsey projects European data center demand will grow from 10 GW of IT load in 2024 to 35 GW by 2030, with AI driving almost all of that expansion.

AWS launched the general availability of its European Sovereign Cloud in Brandenburg in January 2026, with a planned EUR7.8 billion investment through 2040. The move signals that even the largest US hyperscalers see European data infrastructure as a major long-term requirement, though the region still faces a substantial gap in compute capacity.