The House of Representatives was informed this morning by Minister Vincent Karremans of Economic Affairs and State Secretary Gijs Tuinman of Defense by letter.
The AI factory is a powerful innovation hub where entrepreneurs, researchers, and governments work together to build the technologies of tomorrow and share knowledge. Companies experiment with AI applications, safely store data, and utilize a supercomputer with enormous computing power. It will be a breeding ground for innovation. And this is urgently needed. In the future, AI can help Defense to map risks faster and more accurately. Think of cyberattacks.
Broad Collaboration
The investment arises from a strong collaboration between the State, the Groningen/Noord-Drenthe region, and European partners. In addition to the €70 million from Economic Affairs and Defense, another €60 million is available. This comes from the Nij Begun funds of Groningen/Noord-Drenthe. The cabinet has also submitted a European co-financing request of another €70 million with a consortium of SURF, AIC4NL, TNO, and Cooperation North. This could bring the total investment to €200 million.
Groningen has the space for the factory, the technical knowledge, and the network of educational institutions and innovative companies. Moreover, as one of the few locations in the Netherlands, there is space on the electricity grid to connect an AI facility.
From Fire and Steel to Bits and Bytes
If the application proceeds as planned, the expertise center will start in early 2026, and the supercomputer will be fully operational by the end of 2026. An important step for Defense and the dual-use industry, according to State Secretary Tuinman. “AI is already permanently changing warfare. If the term game changer applies anywhere, it is here. We are making a fundamental shift: from fire and steel to bits and bytes. AI affects our entire way of working, from planning maintenance for everything that drives, flies, or sails, to collecting, processing, and analyzing intelligence and making operational decisions.”
“Thanks to our significant commitment, including a substantial contribution from Defense, we are making this step possible. This not only builds military innovation but also strengthens the Netherlands digital and strategic autonomy. The AI factory will become the center for the development of advanced AI applications on home soil, with computing power and capacity that we shape and utilize ourselves.”