Romania takes a major step towards strengthening its digital and research capacities by launching RO AI Factory, the first national Artificial Intelligence infrastructure, built by the National Institute for Research and Development in Informatics – ICI Bucharest (hosting entity) and the National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest, together with a consortium of academic, research and industry partners.
Romania is among the six European countries selected in the latest evaluation round of the EuroHPC – AI Factories program, a European initiative dedicated to the development of artificial intelligence and supercomputing centers.
RO AI Factory will include the acquisition and operation of a state-of-the-art supercomputer optimised for artificial intelligence, as well as the development of a set of advanced services and infrastructures dedicated to research, business and the public sector.
Priority areas of application include: manufacturing and industry, cybersecurity, life sciences, digital public services and autonomous systems. The initiative will support not only researchers and universities, but also startups, SMEs and public institutions, providing access to high-performance computing resources, datasets, software tools and training programs.
“The result confirms that Romania can play an important role in Europe’s digital transformation. RO AI Factory will be the cornerstone for future European AI infrastructure projects, paving the way for new investments, collaborations and international partnerships,” said Dr. Eng. Adrian-Victor Vevera, General Director of ICI Bucharest
The success of this project represents a significant moment for Romanian research and innovation. Under the coordination of ICI Bucharest, the project aims to transform small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from simple technology users into active innovation actors, by offering services, training and access to modern artificial intelligence infrastructures.
“Through this strategic investment, Romania is sitting at the table of major European players in the field of artificial intelligence. Politehnica Bucharest has the tradition, expertise and human resources necessary to transform this project into an engine of scientific and economic progress. It is a unique opportunity to build here, in Romania, cutting-edge technologies that will influence the entire society”, said Mihnea Costoiu, rector of POLITEHNICA Bucharest.
The selection of this project represents a continuation of the efforts initiated by the Vice-President of the European Parliament, Victor Negrescu, who, since May, has brought together, at his invitation and that of ICI Bucharest, experts and key institutions in a national platform dedicated to Romania's involvement in the European initiative EuroHPC – AI Factories.
RO AI Factory will be hosted and co-coordinated by ICI Bucharest and POLITEHNICA Bucharest, bringing together a solid consortium of national partners from research, education and industry: the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca (UTCN), the National Institute of Research and Development for Biological Sciences (INCDSB), the Transilvania IT Association (ATIT), the Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence (ICIA), the National Council of Small and Medium Sized Private Enterprises in Romania (CNIPMMR), and the Association of Romanian Digital Innovation Hubs (RoDIH).
Romania becomes an active part of the European network EuroHPC – AI Factories, contributing to the development of a unitary, competitive and ethical ecosystem of artificial intelligence in Europe. The other projects selected in this final stage come from the Czech Republic, Spain, Poland, Lithuania and the Netherlands, countries with a tradition in the field of supercomputing and advanced technologies. Together with RO AI Factory, these initiatives will form a strategic European network of AI Factories, aimed at stimulating collaboration between research centers, universities and industry, strengthening Europe's position as a global leader in the development and responsible use of artificial intelligence.
