Brussels (The Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The EU Commission boosts European AI developers with the AI Factories call for proposals.
The European Commission has undertaken a call for setting up AI Factories to foster European leadership in trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI). AI Factories will be built around the EU’s world-class network of European High-Performance Computing (HPC) supercomputers and will be open to a range of European users, such as startups, industry and researchers.
On the occasion President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen stated: “Europe is already leading the way with the EU AI ActThe AI Act: Europe’s pioneering approach to regulating the future of technology, ensuring AI is safer and more trustworthy. Earlier this year, we fulfilled our promise by opening our high-performance computers to European AI start-ups. Now, Europe must also become a global leader in AI innovation. AI Factories will help secure our position at the forefront of this transformative technology.”
What Are the Objectives of the EU’s New AI Factories?
AI Factories will get together the key ingredients for success in AI: computing power, data and talent. They will enable AI developers to train their large generative AI models by utilizing the EuroHPC supercomputers and delivering access to data, computing, and storage services. The Factories will be networked across Europe, delivering a unique European collaborative AI framework.
How Will AI Factories Integrate with Member States’ AI Initiatives?
The AI Factories will be bonded to Member States’ AI initiatives, building a vibrant AI ecosystem. The Factories will also benefit from Europe’s Testing and Experimentation Facilities and the Digital Innovation Hubs. The AI Factories will drive the development and validation of AI industrial and scientific applications in critical European sectors such as healthcare, energy, automotive and transport, security and aerospace, robotics and manufacturing, and clean and agri tech.
The rolling call undertaken by the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking will be continually open until 31 December 2025, with the first deadline on 4 November 2024 and following cut-off dates every three months for as long as budgets are available. This call will be funded by an EU contribution of close to €1 billion from the Digital Europe Programme and Horizon Europe and an equivalent amount of funding coming from the Member States.
