The European Commission has announced
that Italy is among the EU member states that have put forward
the first proposals for the creation of artificial-intelligence
factories that aim to create a prosperous European ecosystem for
training advanced AI models and developing AI solutions, to be
built around the global network of European high-performance
supercomputers (HPC).
The aim of the initiative, launched last January, is to
substantially increase the computing power available for AI in
Europe.
The AI ;;factories will be interconnected and available to
European start-ups, industry and researchers operating in the
sector.
The EC said in a statement that there are seven proposals
submitted by 15 Member States and two associated Participating
States, within the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking that manages the
call announced in September 2024.
The proposals to build an AI factory around an existing
supercomputer or a new one adapted to the needs of AI were
submitted by Italy, with the participation of Austria and
Slovenia, by Finland (together with the Czech Republic, Denmark,
Estonia, Norway and Poland), and again by Luxembourg, Sweden,
Germany, and Greece.
In addition, Spain has prepared a proposal with the
participation of Portugal, Romania and Turkey, expected shortly.
The proposals submitted will now be evaluated by a group of
independent experts.
The selection of the first AI factories will be announced by
EuroHPC in December, to be launched soon after.
Cyprus and Slovenia have also submitted letters of interest to
join or create an AI Factory at a later stage.
The deadline for subsequent proposals is set for February 2025.
The creation of the first AI factories by early 2025 is part of
the political guidelines announced by Commission President
Ursula von der Leyen.
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