Barcelona will host one of the seven AI Innovation factories in Europe

Barcelona has been selected to host one of seven artificial intelligence (AI) factories across the European Union to accelerate innovation in AI technology. The European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) has announced the selected proposals for establishing and managing these initial AI factories throughout Europe, representing a significant advancement for the continent, as it aims to create a strong ecosystem for training advanced AI models and developing AI solutions.

“The AI Factory located at BSC will be a key pole for the promotion of the innovation ecosystem in artificial intelligence in Europe”

Mateo Valero, Director of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center

Share quote:

• X
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Whatsapp

The first AI factories will require an investment of €1.5 billion, combining national and EU funding. The EU will provide half this through the Digital Europe program for AI infrastructure and Horizon Europe for AI services.

The selected AI factories will be located in leading research and technology hubs across Europe:

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

Barcelona Supercomputing Center

The Barcelona Supercomputing Center-Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS) will receive nearly €200 million to host the creation of one of the first seven ‘AI Factories’, an initiative that will turn the BSC into an epicenter of Artificial Intelligence development, enabling both the public and private sector to drive high-impact science and technology R&D projects.

The BSC's proposal includes an expansion of its supercomputing capacity with an upgrade of MareNostrum 5, which will be equipped with advanced artificial intelligence accelerator technology for the training and development of large-scale generative models.

The project will begin deployment in 2025 with the aim of being fully operational by the end of 2025.

In support of this European call, the Executive Council of the Government of Catalonia has approved a budget commitment of 14 million euros. “This is an unprecedented opportunity to improve the quality of life of citizens. With this significant investment in cutting-edge projects, Catalonia is promoting the implementation of disruptive technologies and the transition towards a more sustainable and competitive model”, said Núria Montserrat, the Catalan Minister for Research and Universities.

Mateo Valero, director of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, said: “The AI Factory located at BSC will be a key pole for the promotion of the innovation ecosystem in artificial intelligence in Europe and will be decisive for the adoption of these new technologies by the business community, mainly startups and SMEs, and the public administration. To this end, the capabilities of MareNostrum 5 will be reinforced with state-of-the-art technology, hardware, and software for the development of AI and a large repository of data, which will serve sectors as broad and diverse as the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, legal, financial, climate, public and media sectors”. He added: “This major commitment will serve to bring, through large computational infrastructures such as MareNostrum 5, artificial intelligence to all sectors of society, and will enable the development of artificial intelligence aligned with European ethical values”.

Expansion of AI Capabilities Through New EuroHPC Factories

The seven AI Factories involve 15 Member States and two EuroHPC participating States. Portugal, Romania, and Turkey have joined the BSC AIF; Austria and Slovenia have joined the ITA4LIA; and the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Norway, and Poland have joined the LUMI AIF.

Five selected hosting sites in Finland, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and Sweden will install new world-class AI-optimized supercomputers.

The AI Factory in Barcelona will be created by upgrading the existing EuroHPC system, MareNostrum 5. In addition, an AI Factory will be established in Greece, connected to the DAEDALUS supercomputer, a EuroHPC supercomputer currently under deployment.

The AI Factories in Spain and Finland will include an experimental platform providing a state-of-the-art infrastructure for developing and testing innovative AI models and applications while fostering collaboration across Europe.

These AI Factories will more than double the computing capacity of EuroHPC, addressing specific needs and boosting European capabilities in AI. They are expected to be operational in 2025-2026.

The Role of AI Factories

AI Factories will bring together the key ingredients for success in AI: computing power, data, and talent. They will provide access to the massive computing power that startups, industry, and researchers need to develop their AI models and systems. For example, large European language models or specialized vertical AI models focused on specific sectors or domains.

The AI Factories will stimulate new industrial applications of AI and enable AI startups and SMEs to grow in key strategic sectors for the EU, including health and life sciences, manufacturing, climate and environment, finance, automotive and autonomous systems, cybersecurity, agri-tech and agri-food, education, arts and culture, green economy, and space.

AI ecosystems are expected to develop around the EuroHPC supercomputers, linking universities and academia, supercomputing centers, industry, and financial actors. This will connect excellence and talent with the economic opportunities needed for business development and scale-up.

Source: EuroHPC JU and BSC