Nokia vies for an AI factory in Oulu, Finland
Finnish company Nokia is seeking to host one of Europe’s artificial intelligence factories in Oulu, Finland, although the European Union competition is still ongoing. Nokia CEO Justin Hotard said at a Google event that the company is enthusiastic about starting operations in Oulu, YLE News reports.
Support for the application in Oulu
The Finnish government and Oulu authorities have already supported Nokia’s participation in the EU competition. City politicians this week approved a preliminary agreement to sell land for the company’s data center site. At the same time, a permit to build one data center and additional structures was issued to Oulun Energia, which currently owns the land in the Toppila area.
Nokia has publicly disclosed few details of its plans in Finland and has not directly confirmed the creation of an AI factory in Oulu. According to Hotard, operations in Finland will begin on a small scale. If the EU makes a positive decision on Oulu, the facility is expected to become operational within 18 months of that decision.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
European Union competition
In July, the EU opened a competition to fund seven AI factories in Europe. Applications can be submitted until mid-November, and the European Union is expected to make a decision at the beginning of next year. After the European Commission announced the Invest AI initiative last year, such facilities were proposed for 60 locations in 16 member states.
The EU and member states will support the factories with a total of €10 billion and also aim to attract €20 billion in private funding. The European Commission is generally targeting €200 billion in investments in such facilities. According to Politico, Finland’s contribution to purchasing computing capacity for the future factories could amount to at least €100 million.
Meanwhile, Google announced the construction of three new data centers in Finland — in Kajaani, Vaala and Muhos. Nokia has already worked with Google at a data center in Hamina and continues the partnership in network infrastructure.
