# Data Labs Canonical URL: https://digital-acquis.eu/initiative/data-labs Entry type: initiative Source edition current through: 17 July 2026 (2026-07-17). This is not a page modification date. Status: not recorded. A delivered initiative is not necessarily legislation in force. Instrument: Framework Date as recorded: 19 Nov 2025 Date kind: date Status note: Review required: full date has no B1-linked List TYPE Promised timeline: To be implemented until 2026 (status quo). ## Previous steps Part of the AI Factories Initiative ## Summary Embedded in the AI Factories ecosystem, Data Labs will federate datasets and link them to the relevant Common European Data Spaces, giving developers a single, trusted entry point to high-value data. They will provide AI developers with large volumes of high-quality data in health, energy and other domains under clear access conditions and governance. Beyond brokerage, they will offer value-added services: dataset cleaning and enrichment; standardised formats; synthetic data; and shared technical building blocks that strengthen interoperability across sectors and borders, with data-pooling compliant with competition rules via trusted intermediaries under the Data Governance Act. The Commission’s Simpl software will lower integration costs and expand participation. ## Action items (0; complete published list) ## Citing documents - [AI Continent Action Plan]() — status: not recorded. The AI Continent Action Plan combines computing infrastructure, access to data, wider AI use and skills development. It proposes AI Factories and Gigafactories, linked data labs and support for European data spaces, alongside work on cloud infrastructure. Industrial and scientific adoption would be supported through the Apply AI and AI in Science strategies, research funding and innovation hubs. The plan also addresses startup financing, access to markets and the attraction and training of AI talent. An AI Act Service Desk and consultation on regulatory challenges are intended to help organisations understand and meet their obligations. Source document doc-032, action item 310014: > Set up Data Labs associated with the AI factories (Q3-Q4 2025); - [Vision for the European Space Economy]() — status: delivered. Source document doc-041, action item 360032: > Space Data Spaces and Labs: Commission establishment of space data spaces for secure inter-institutional satellite data sharing, and space data labs providing collaborative environments for researchers, developers, and businesses to experiment with space data and train AI models. - [Apply AI Strategy]() — status: delivered. Source document doc-051, action item 430006: > support the development of frontier AI model and AI agents adapted to manufacturing. Building on the Data Spaces for Manufacturing24 and the forthcoming Data Union Strategy, the Commission will facilitate data pooling across industrial actors through trusted third parties, to ensure a sufficient volume of training data, while preserving intellectual property and data security and making use, as relevant, of the data labs in AI Factories. - [European Strategy for AI in Science]() — status: delivered. Source document doc-052, action item 440011: > support the design of Data Labs, and their linking with Common European Data Spaces, in particular EOSC, to ensure their suitability and the accessibility and reusability of data for scientific research. - [European Data Union Strategy]() — status: delivered. The European Data Union Strategy links wider access to data for AI with simpler data rules and practical compliance support. It proposes data labs, trusted pseudonymisation services and initiatives to make more public, cultural, specialist and language data available. Legislative work covers consolidation of data rules, cookies and targeted GDPR adjustments. Support for implementing the Data Act and a one-click compliance initiative accompany these changes. The strategy also addresses how EU data is treated abroad, including unjustified localisation requirements, inadequate safeguards, data leakage and protection of sensitive non-personal data. Source document doc-060, action item 490001: > Launch first data labs to scale data availability and link to AI ecosystems (Q4 2025). They will also offer trusted pseudonymisation services. ## Current developments Latest updates from Digital Policy Alert and Global Trade Alert. No reviewed developments available; this does not establish that no developments exist. ## Associated policy priorities - [AI & Data Capabilities and Deployment]() ## Broader policy context (shared priority; not a direct citation) - [Action Plan on Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence]() — status: delivered. The action plan sets out measures to make advanced AI capabilities available for cybersecurity while addressing AI-enabled threats. It covers an EU evaluation capacity for AI models, structured access to advanced capabilities, secure testing, guidance, vulnerability management and training. It also proposes a pilot campaign on critical open-source resilience, an EU Grand Challenge for AI-powered cybersecurity solutions, and use of AI Factories' computing capacity for cyber resilience. - [AI Act Service Desk]() — status: not recorded. The Service Desk will be the EU’s single-entry helpdesk and information platform for AI Act compliance. Hosted by the AI Office, it will offer free, tailored guidance for companies and public authorities—especially SMEs—plus interactive self-assessment tools, decision trees, FAQs, templates and practical advice on obligations, risk classification, conformity assessment and documentation. It will also route users to national competent authorities and consolidate standards and best-practice resources so compliance is faster, cheaper and consistent across the Single Market. - [AI Factories]() — status: not recorded. Open, EU-wide hubs built around EuroHPC supercomputers that bundle AI-optimised compute, data storage, programming support and talent to develop frontier models and applications. Startups, SMEs, researchers and public bodies get streamlined one-stop access to computing time, data labs linked to Common European Data Spaces, and services for testing, validation and skills—cutting training from months to weeks and lowering costs. The first 13 Factories across 17 Member States are networked, with AI Factory Antennas extending reach. EuroHPC will provide a single entry point and procure AI-dedicated systems in 2025/26, tripling Europe’s available AI capacity. - [AI Factory Antennas]() — status: not recorded. Antennas will extend Europe’s AI compute to every region by giving Member States without local supercomputers a light-footprint node that offers remote access to the AI-optimised resources of a linked AI Factory in another country. They will plug into EuroHPC’s single entry point and common access policy, enabling streamlined allocation of compute and support services, with tailored fast tracks for startups, SMEs and selected EU projects. Antennas will interconnect with AI Factories, European Digital Innovation Hubs, Testing & Experimentation Facilities, and emerging Data Labs to deliver hands-on training, testing, and data services. All Antennas and Factories will be networked EU-wide for consistent access and support. - [AI Gigafactories]() — status: forthcoming. AI Gigafactories will give Europe frontier-scale compute to train state-of-the-art models. Each site will exceed 100,000 high-performance processors, be designed for energy and water efficiency and circularity, and be federated with EuroHPC’s AI Factories. Financing will blend public-private partnerships with the InvestAI Facility and an official EuroHPC call in Q4 2025. Facilities will co-locate data, training, safety and evaluation capabilities; provide shared access for startups, researchers and the public sector; and anchor regional skills pipelines. As a pilot for the Competitiveness Coordination Tool, they will crowd-in private capital, spur EU AI-chip design ahead of the 2026 Chips Act review, and secure sovereign AI capacity. - [AI Pact]() — status: forthcoming. The AI Pact is a voluntary preparatory framework for organisations ahead of the AI Act's implementation. Its first pillar convenes stakeholders to exchange experience, best practices and information through the AI Office. Its second invites providers and deployers to publish pledges covering actions and timelines, including governance, mapping likely high-risk systems, and staff awareness and literacy. Pledges are not legally binding and impose no legal obligations. - [Apply AI Alliance]() — status: not recorded. Apply AI Alliance is the strategy's main coordination forum, bringing together AI providers, industry leaders, academia and the public sector so policy action reflects real-world needs. The wider Apply AI Strategy seeks to increase AI adoption and innovation, particularly among SMEs, support an 'AI first' approach, and promote a 'buy European' approach in the public sector. Its sectoral measures cover 10 key industries and public services, alongside support through Experience Centres for AI, AI Factories, testing facilities and regulatory sandboxes. - [Common European Data Spaces]() — status: not recorded. Will provide trusted, interoperable environments for cross-sector and cross-border data use, turning today’s fragmented datasets into high-value shared resources for businesses and public administrations. Linked tightly to Data Labs, they will offer services such as dataset cleaning and enrichment, standardised formats, synthetic data, shared technical building blocks, and cross-space interoperability to accelerate AI development and deployment. Antitrust-compliant data pooling will be enabled via trusted data intermediaries and governance under the EU data framework, lowering barriers for SMEs while protecting confidentiality and security. A common software layer (e.g. SIMPL) will simplify access and reuse across spaces, strengthening Europe’s AI ecosystem and data economy. - [Digital Europe Programme 2025-2027]() — status: not recorded. Digital Europe funds projects that move digital technology from research towards market deployment, with a focus on supercomputing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, semiconductors, advanced digital skills and wider use of digital technologies. The programme supports the EU's green and digital objectives, resilience and digital sovereignty. It is intended to benefit citizens and businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, through direct and indirect management. - [Digital Omnibus on AI]() — status: in progress. The Digital Omnibus on AI proposes changes to simplify implementation of the AI Act while maintaining protections for health, safety and fundamental rights. It responds to delayed standards, guidance and national authorities that could raise compliance costs for high-risk AI systems. The proposal would link the application of certain high-risk obligations to the availability of measures that support compliance, and would also amend EU aviation-safety rules. - [Digital Omnibus on Data]() — status: in progress. The Commission will table a simplification package to cut compliance costs in the digital acquis while preserving protections. It will rationalise data rules (i.e. DGA, Free Flow of Non-Personal Data, Open Data), modernise cookie/tracking provisions to curb consent fatigue, and streamline overlapping cybersecurity incident reporting, with targeted adjustments to ensure predictable application of the AI Act. It will also clarify obligations under the European Digital Identity framework and align with the forthcoming Business Wallet, applying ‘one-in, one-out’. A Digital Fitness Check will assess cumulative effects and cross-border fragmentation. - [European AI Observatory]() — status: not recorded. The European AI Observatory is one of the governance measures in the Commission's Apply AI Strategy, adopted on 8 October 2025. The Commission says it will set up an AI Observatory to provide indicators to assess the impact of AI in the sectors covered by the strategy and in future sectors, to monitor developments and trends, and to follow the changes AI may bring to the labour market. The Observatory will also support the organisation of sectoral discussions and will be used for political analysis and decision making, as well as for informing the AI community and the broader public about recent developments in the field. The Commission adds that, based on the monitoring activities, it will make a proposal, in the context of the Digital Decade, for a public and private AI investment target. - [Experience Centres for AI (EDIHs)]() — status: not recorded. The network of European Digital Innovation Hubs will be transformed into AI Experience Centres, covering 85 % of European regions and fully integrated with the AI Factories ecosystem. These centres will provide companies and public administrations with hands-on access to computing power, high-quality data, testing and experimentation environments, regulatory sandboxes, and tailored training. By linking AI deployment directly to Europe’s supercomputing and data infrastructure, the Experience Centres will accelerate the uptake of AI across sectors, foster innovation in strategic industries, and ensure that European businesses can test, scale, and adopt AI solutions under trusted conditions - [Frontier AI Initiative]() — status: not recorded. The Frontier AI Initiative is announced in the Commission's Apply AI Strategy, adopted on 8 October 2025, in the section on supporting AI as a production factor. The Commission says it will launch and coordinate a Frontier AI Initiative to accelerate progress in frontier AI capabilities in Europe by bringing together Europe's leading industrial and academic actors and supporting strategic efforts. The initiative will focus on unlocking advanced capabilities through cutting-edge AI architectures and high-quality data, using the computing capacity offered by the AI Factories and Gigafactories. Alongside it, the Commission says it will launch major EU-wide competitions to develop open frontier AI models, and that these projects will receive free access to EuroHPC supercomputers. The strategy does not give the initiative a dedicated budget or name the body that will administer it. - [GenAI4EU]() — status: not recorded. Will scale Europe’s generative-AI capacity through targeted R&I and deployment across sectors. Around €700 million in Horizon Europe and Digital Europe calls will fund advanced models and solutions (e.g. to optimise manufacturing lines, improve robot autonomy and human-robot collaboration, strengthen cyber-defence, and enhance medical imaging) while up to four public-sector pilots will accelerate adoption by improving decision-making, streamlining processes, and making services more accessible. Building on the AI Innovation Package and the AI Continent Action Plan, the calls in Q1 2026 will prioritise high-impact uses and innovation procurement to crowd-in private investment and translate research outputs into market-ready solutions. - [InvestAI]() — status: not recorded. The program will mobilise €200 billion to scale Europe’s AI capacity through a layered public-private fund that de-risks private capital with the EU budget and national co-financing. It will finance four AI gigafactories each with around 100,000 latest-generation AI chips, creating the world’s largest PPP for trustworthy AI and giving startups and industry broad access to compute. Initial EU contributions will come from Digital Europe, Horizon Europe and InvestEU, with cohesion funding from Member States. InvestAI complements the €10 billion AI Factories programme and serves as a pilot for strategic-technology financing under the Competitiveness Compass. - [Special Envoy for Industrial AI]() — status: not recorded. On 3 June 2026 the Commission appointed Jim Hagemann Snabe as Special Envoy for Industrial Artificial Intelligence. The Commission says he will advise President Ursula von der Leyen and Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen on industrial AI. His advisory role covers the entire industrial AI ecosystem, with a particular focus on AI infrastructure, including data centres, high-performance computing and the semiconductor supply chains, together with foundational AI technologies such as large language models, generative AI and cloud services, and AI applications across industrial sectors. The Special Envoy is to deliver a report on industrial AI that the Commission describes as evidence-based and forward-looking, with actionable recommendations aimed at strengthening Europe's digital sovereignty. Mr Hagemann Snabe holds the status of a non-remunerated Special Adviser until 31 March 2027 and will suspend his membership of the Google Cloud advisory board and the C3.ai board during the mandate. --- [Reading guide and interpretation notes]() · [Methodology]()