Seven AI Factories to Transform European AI Innovation

The European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC) has announced the selection of seven successful consortia that will design and develop Europe's first AI Factories, marking a pivotal milestone in fostering a dynamic and interconnected AI community across the continent. This initiative aligns with the European Union's strategic commitment to building a robust AI ecosystem, as envisioned by President Ursula von der Leyen.

AI Research and Application Transformation

These AI Factories represent an important investment of €1.5 billion, with half funded by the EU through the Digital Europe Programme and Horizon Europe. Hosted by leading research and technology hubs, this will create the infrastructure needed to train sophisticated AI models and develop industry-specific solutions.

The selected sites include:

• Barcelona, Spain: BSC AIF at the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre
• Bologna, Italy: IT4LIA at CINECA - Bologna Tecnopolo
• Kajaani, Finland: LUMI AIF at CSC
• Bissen, Luxembourg: Meluxina-AI at LuxProvide
• Linköping, Sweden: MIMER at the University of Linköping
• Stuttgart, Germany: HammerHAI at the University of Stuttgart
• Athens, Greece: Pharos at GRNET

These centres will significantly enhance Europe’s computing power, deploying five brand-new, world-class AI-optimised supercomputers, while the Spanish and Finnish facilities will include experimental platforms for AI innovation.

Empowering European AI Ecosystems

The AI Factories aim to support start-ups, SMEs and researchers by providing access to advanced computing resources and fostering collaboration. Focus areas include healthcare, manufacturing, climate change, autonomous systems, cybersecurity and agri-tech, among others. These hubs will also drive the development of European large language models and sector-specific AI applications, ensuring competitiveness in a global landscape dominated by AI innovation.

A key opportunity for HYPER-AI

The HYPER-AI project, funded by Horizon Europe, complements the vision by addressing the challenges of integrating Cloud, Edge and IoT technologies into AI-driven ecosystems.

HYPER-AI’s focus on hyper-distributed data processing and resource optimisation aligns perfectly with the mission of the AI Factories. By fostering synergies with initiatives like EuroHPC, HYPER-AI can leverage these AI Factories to develop self-organised computing swarms, enhance network resource management, and create scalable solutions for sectors such as healthcare, mobility and green energy.

The AI factories are programmed for deployment between 2025 and 2026, with further proposals for new factories under review. As Europe moves towards this ambitious future, projects like HYPER-AI and the EuroHPC AI Factories will play a pivotal role in shaping the next generation of AI technologies driving innovation and sustainability.

Stay ahead in the world of AI innovation—sign up for our newsletter to get the latest updates!

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER