Technology · 2026-10-29 · Afternoon briefing
Canada plugs into EU's €8.2bn supercomputer grid
Canada will join the European Union's supercomputer network, giving its researchers and companies access to crucial high-performance computing power for developing artificial intelligence. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed the move on Thursday, stating the partnership would help create "highly competitive, innovative and safe AI systems."
Run by the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking, the network operates with an €8.2bn budget and consists of 14 supercomputers, 19 AI-focused "factories" and 10 quantum computers. Canada will join a network that already includes 38 countries, among them the 27 EU members and non-EU nations like the UK and Israel. The network plans a major expansion next year, building seven "AI gigafactories" with a projected investment of €30bn.
While analysts frame such collaborations as a key strategy for "middle powers" in the AI race, they also offer a dose of realism. An expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace noted that the move "doesn’t put a dent" in the global dependence on the U.S., which continues to build "gigawatt-scale clusters" that far outstrip other international efforts.
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