Pantheon AI delivers gigawatt-scale, AI-optimized infrastructure inside NATO and EU territory, purpose-built for US and European hyperscalers
DUBROVNIK, Croatia–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Pantheon Atlas LLC, a transatlantic-led investment group, today announced the development of Pantheon AI, a hyperscale AI data center and innovation campus in Topusko, Croatia, designed in accordance with NVIDIA GW-Scale AI factory standards, that will bring more than €50 billion in total investment to the central European nation and establish it as a leading regional hub for digital infrastructure.
Pantheon AI solves a structural capacity gap in Europe — where surging AI-driven demand for data center capacity has outpaced available power, land, and construction resources — delivering the highest levels of availability (above Tier IV), a one-of-a-kind standard in Europe. The transatlantic partnership developing the campus combines American capital and investment expertise with extensive technical knowledge, local relationships, regulatory groundwork, and significant and unique grid access built over years of work in Croatia.
The project will enable integration of up to 5.2 GW of renewable energy onto Croatia’s grid and represents the largest investment in Croatian history and among the largest private U.S. investments in Europe. The announcement was made at the Three Seas Initiative Summit in Dubrovnik among 13 presidents and prime ministers as well as Chris Wright, United States Secretary of Energy.
“Pantheon AI is a signal to the world that Croatia is open for the highest-caliber investment,” said Jako Andabak, Founding Partner at PantheonAI. “This project is the culmination of years of work to bring world-class digital infrastructure to Croatia, and we have assembled the deep local expertise, grid relationships, and regulatory groundwork required to meet demand for data center capacity.”
Europe’s established data center hubs are operating below 8% vacancy, with significant grid connection delays compounding the pressure. Central and Eastern Europe, where data center electricity demand is projected to grow three to four times by 2035, does not have a gigawatt-scale, AI-optimized facility to serve that requirement. EU data sovereignty regulation is simultaneously compelling major technology companies to store European data within EU borders.
“We have assembled a transatlantic partnership to solve one of the most pressing challenges in global digital infrastructure: enabling hyperscale operators to meet AI-driven demand at scale,” said Ryan Rich, Managing Partner of PantheonAI. “We have lined up the power, fiber, regulatory stability, and institutional support to solve that problem in Europe, and we will establish Croatia and Central Europe as a premier destination for world-class digital infrastructure.”
“The race to lead in artificial intelligence is global, and we are pleased to see American capital and investment expertise like Pantheon AI anchoring that leadership in allied, democratic nations,” said Joshua Volz, Special Envoy for Global Energy Integration, U.S. Department of Energy. “Critical infrastructure of this scale, built by the private sector responding to real market demand, is exactly how US interests and European security advance together.”
Construction of the €12 billion campus begins early 2027 and it will be fully operational by the first quarter of 2029. Total investment will exceed €50 billion as hyperscale tenants deploy equipment and technology at scale.
Pantheon AI: Key Specifications
- 1 GW total capacity; 800 MW usable IT load, built to accommodate NVIDIA GW Scale AI Factory standards
- 310-acre campus sited on open land and designed to minimize disruption to local communities; expandable to 450 acres
- Four independent fiber routes across three major EU corridors; GreenMed subsea cable extending reach to Milan by 2028
- The project will be fully supplied by renewable energy, delivered by an on-site (behind the meter) 500 MW solar plant and 8,000MWh battery storage
- The project will create 1,500 permanent jobs on completion, with a further 3,000 roles during the construction phase
- The location is 45 minutes away from Zagreb, and three additional cities in the vicinity, enabling a strong workforce pool
- Project transmission infrastructure through 4 independent 400kV lines enables up to 5.2 GW of new renewable energy integration onto Croatia’s national grid
- Above Tier IV resilience; Highest levels of availability in Europe
Key Partners
- Pantheon Atlas LLC is the investment vehicle through which a group of US institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals are deploying capital into the project
- Greenvolt International Power, a European renewable energy developer which is majority owned by KKR, a leading global investment firm, has signed a letter of intent to build an on-site 500 MW solar plant with 2,000 MW (8,000MWh) battery storage
- Eastdil Secured is providing holistic, end-to-end data center advisory services, including project advisory, tenant procurement, lease advisory, and project capitalization
- Končar Group – a major Croatian electrical and energy company – is supporting the development of a purpose-built substation. Dalekovod Projekt is leading transmission design for the project. Ravel Ltd. is leading substation design
- Parsec Lab, based in Zagreb, Croatia, is leading data center design and engineering efforts, with a team that has extensive experience developing GW+ data centers across the US and EMEA
- Latham & Watkins and Hodgson Russ are serving as legal counsel, with PwC and KPMG as financial advisors
- Sisak-Moslavina County has formally recognized the project as being of special importance to the region and signed a cooperation agreement committing to support the conditions necessary for its realization
Contacts
Media Enquiries:
Email: press@PantheonAi.com
Number: +44 (0)7424 208 667
Website: pantheonai.com
