Former Volksbank chief to lead Groningen AI factory

Martijn Gribnau, who led the Volksbank from 2020 to 2024, will become managing director of the Dutch AI factory being built in Groningen. Its own supercomputer is expected to be operational in early 2028, with the government, the region and a European supercomputing partnership investing €200 million in the project.

The factory is part of a European network of AI centres. Its Groningen expertise centre is already operating, helping businesses access computing time at other European facilities while the local site is developed.

Gribnau has been a director at US AI company Quant since September 2025. He is due to start in Groningen on 11 January. Supervisory board chairman Lukas Roffel said Gribnau’s management experience and knowledge of bringing AI into businesses would help turn the factory’s ambitions into an organisation serving Dutch companies and researchers.

Gribnau said the site would eventually allow businesses and researchers to develop and train large AI models in Groningen.