Europe is setting the course for a new AI era – and TransformIT Europe in Brussels is becoming the central meeting point for this movement. Leading innovations, strong partnerships, and visionary technological impulses converge there.

By Jan Nintemann and Jochen Siegle; Photo: Ismail Enes Ayhan via Unsplash

Europe’s digital future continues to gain momentum. As global competition for data, AI infrastructure, and digital sovereignty intensifies, two heavyweights of the German economy are sending a powerful signal: Deutsche Telekom and the Schwarz Group (Lidl & Kaufland) are jointly planning a new AI Data Factory – a next-generation hyperscale data center that could sustainably shape Europe’s technological direction.

This announcement comes at the perfect time. Now that Europe is setting the course, the industry will meet where ideas, innovations, and implementation power converge: at the TransformIT Europe Trade Fair & Conference in Brussels in spring 2026.

The European AI era begins – and it needs strong players

Data demand is rising exponentially, and the latest generation of AI systems are creating an unprecedented hunger for computing power. Europe has decided not to remain dependent on the USA or Asia – and the new alliance between Telekom and Schwarz is another major step towards technological independence.

Both companies are already investing billions in new data center projects today. Telekom is building a multi-billion euro AI factory in Munich together with Nvidia. The Schwarz Group is constructing the largest data center project in its corporate history with “Schwarz Digits” in Lübbenau – with an eleven-billion-euro investment.

Europe’s digital future is taking shape now

These initiatives mark the beginning of a new European data and AI infrastructure that will redefine our industry, our innovative strength, and our competitiveness.

Telekom CEO Tim Höttges recently put it succinctly: “Without AI, you can forget about industry – and without AI, Germany as a business location.”

Europe stands on the threshold of a new era. But transformation only works together – through strong networks, through the exchange of the best, through the gathering of visionaries, decision-makers, developers, and innovators.

And this is precisely where TransformIT Europe comes in. Brussels is becoming the center of European AI and digital strategy.

From sovereign cloud to green data centers to AI ecosystems

Because the TransformIT Europe Trade Fair & Conference unites leading CEOs and CIOs of major corporations, digital strategists and cloud innovators, AI developers, data scientists and security specialists, infrastructure operators, investors, politics, and administration.

Here, partnerships are forged, projects are initiated, and visions are concretized – from sovereign cloud to green data centers, AI ecosystems, and data factories. And of course, there will again be the Google Developer Group Conference on the Future of European AI, which for the first time already brought together leading voices at the TransformIT Europe Kick-off last year.

Now is the best moment to become part of this movement. Be there!

Sources & Links

• https://www.heise.de/news/Deutsche-Telekom-und-Schwarz-Gruppe-Gemeinsame-AI-Gigafactory-in-Planung-11098004.html
• https://schwarz-digits.de/schwarz-digits-datacenter-luebbenau
• https://www.bietigheimerzeitung.de/inhalt.datenverarbeitung-telekom-und-lidl-mutter-schwarz-moechten-ki-datenfabrik-bauen.0246486e-1d71-4851-88a6-1fc6f56f6cb5.html