The EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) has selected seven sites to host the initiative’s new European AI factories.
Set to be deployed by the end of 2026, five new AI-optimized supercomputers will be housed in Finland, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and Sweden. Meanwhile, Spain will see its MareNostrum 5 system upgraded to an AI factory, with a second factory set to be established in Greece in association with the DAEDALUS supercomputer.
The factories represent a collaborative effort between 15 member states and two EuroHPC participating states and are the result of a €1.5 billion ($1.6bn) investment, combining national and EU funding.
The seven AI Factories are:
- 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
“Today we are one step closer to setting up AI Factories,” said Henna Virkkunen, executive vice president for tech sovereignty, security, and democracy at EuroHPC JU. “Using European supercomputers, we will enable AI start-ups to innovate and scale up. Now we are ready to lead with the right infrastructure in our ambition for the EU to become the AI continent. We are on track to make the AI factories initiative a reality in the first 100 days of the new European Commission.”
Launched in 2018 and headquartered in Luxembourg, EuroHPC JU is a joint initiative between the EU, 35 European countries, and private partners to develop a supercomputing ecosystem in Europe.
Its mission is to develop, deploy, extend, and maintain a secure and connected supercomputing and quantum computing ecosystem, while supporting the development of key high-performance computing skills for European science and industry.
