Google confirms Finland investment as Nokia eyes Oulu AI factory

Google’s plans to build three new data centres in Finland have been confirmed, while Nokia is competing to establish a large European artificial intelligence factory in Oulu, Yle reports.

Google said on Wednesday that it would build the centres in Kajaani, Vaala and Muhos. Nokia, Google’s partner, is seeking to locate one of the European Union’s planned AI factories in Finland, with Oulu expected to be the proposed location.

Nokia CEO Justin Hotard referred to the Oulu plans at Google’s briefing, saying the company was excited about what it was starting in Oulu. He described Nokia as the creator and investor behind the factory.

The location is not yet certain. The EU opened funding applications in July for seven AI factories, and the application period will remain open until mid-November. The EU is expected to make its decision early next year.

Competition is expected to be strong. After the European Commission launched its InvestAI initiative last year, AI factories were proposed in 16 member states and at 60 different locations.

Nokia has experience that could strengthen its bid. It has partnered with Google on the data centre that is already operating in Hamina, and the companies continue to cooperate on network construction. Nokia has also secured data centre communications network contracts in the United States.

The Finnish Government and the City of Oulu have supported Nokia’s application. Oulu politicians approved a preliminary agreement this week on the sale of land for a data centre area to Nokia. A building permit was also granted in advance for one data centre property and its additional buildings. The land is currently owned by Oulu Energy.

The land and construction commitments could help Nokia’s application in the EU competition. However, the company has disclosed few details and has not directly confirmed that the AI factory will be built in Oulu. Hotard said on Wednesday that operations in Finland would begin on a small scale, but that the opportunities were exciting.

If the EU selects Oulu, the construction schedule would be tight. The factory would have to be operational within 18 months of the decision.

AI factories would focus on specialised computing

The planned factories are intended to be significantly more powerful than Europe’s most powerful AI factory at present. Their equipment would be sourced from Europe or countries that share the EU’s values. The EU also has an agreement with three US equipment suppliers.

An AI factory and a data centre are both large industrial facilities containing powerful computers. AI factories have more computers suited to artificial intelligence, including graphics processing unit based systems. Data centres also contain conventional central processing unit based computers and serve as general-purpose server facilities.

The EU and its member states would provide a combined 10 billion euros in support for the factories. The aim is to attract a further 20 billion euros in private funding, while the European Commission is seeking a total of 200 billion euros in investments.

Finland has also had to state how much capacity it would purchase from the future factories. Its contribution would be at least 100 million euros, according to the US publication Politico. That is the average among the 18 member states interested in the factories. Germany, for example, is prepared to spend 1 billion euros on capacity purchases.