ICI Bucharest announces its involvement as a partner in the AI Factories initiative, alongside Spain, Portugal and Turkey, in the consortium led by the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS), part of the first selection of seven European Artificial Intelligence (AI) Factories, announced by the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU). The project, financed through a combination of European and national funds, marks an important step towards strengthening the artificial intelligence ecosystem in Europe and will run from 2025-2026.
The BSC AI Factory in Barcelona, Spain, where ICI Bucharest is actively contributing, will include the modernization of the MareNostrum 5 supercomputer, part of the EuroHPC infrastructure, to incorporate advanced computing capabilities dedicated to AI, a state-of-the-art experimental platform, intended for the development and testing of innovative AI technologies and the provision of specialized services for areas such as public administration, healthcare, finance, biotechnology, agriculture, energy and media.
Through its involvement in this initiative, ICI Bucharest will contribute to developing and implementing innovative artificial intelligence solutions, facilitating access to high-performance computing (HPC) resources for start-ups, SMEs and researchers. This collaboration underlines Romania's commitment to playing an active role in European technological development and supporting the transition to a competitive and sustainable digital economy.
The European AI Factories is a strategic initiative of the EuroHPC JU, bringing together resources from 17 European countries to promote collaboration and innovation in the field of AI. The seven selected locations – Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain and Sweden – will form the pillars of an integrated network supporting Europe's digital transformation.