The year 2025 will mark the implementation of a network of “AI Factories” in seven European countries: Germany, Spain, Finland, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg and Sweden. These first seven AI factories will pool European Union and national resources. It is a collaborative effort between 17 European countries, with many consortia involving several participating countries.
This initiative, led by the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking, is intended to create a robust and interconnected network of artificial intelligence (AI) hubs, acting as a one-stop-shop. Startups, SMEs and researchers will benefit from comprehensive support, including access to AI-optimised high-performance computing (HPC) resources, training and technical expertise.
“The selection of these seven host entities will enable cutting-edge research and applications, provide industry with access to advanced AI tools and foster innovation in areas such as health, energy and climate,” explains the EuroHPC statement.
MeluXina-AI in Luxembourg
As one of the seven countries that signed the European HPC Declaration in 2018, Luxembourg has played a leading role in the successful implementation of EuroHPC. Its MeluXina supercomputer ranks among the most used by startups (via the “Initiate” programme) and SMEs.
” Luxembourg is well positioned to set up and operate an AI Factory, since the common thread running through the Government’s economic development and diversification strategy lies in data and AI,” says Stefano Pozzi Mucelli, Head of European Funding at Luxinnovation.
Luxinnovation, the national innovation agency, is one of the key partners of L-AIF, the Luxembourg AI Factory, which is coordinated by LuxProvide, the operator of MeluXina. LuxProvide will host and operate the brand new AI-optimised MeluXina-AI supercomputer, set up for this purpose.
Equipped with more than 2100 GPU-AI accelerators, MeluXina-AI will deliver the multi-exaflopic AI computational power needed to train and fine-tune specialised and optimised AI models. It will be based in Bissen, in the centre of the country, next to its little brother MeluXina.
An exaflop is a unit of measurement for computing power, which is equivalent to one billion billion operations per second.
Fostering cross-border collaboration
“The L-AIF will address critical challenges for AI adopters in a holistic manner, irrespective of their level of maturity, and foster cross-border collaboration in the context of a unified European digital single market,” says Mr Pozzi Mucelli.
Our national AI ecosystem will be a truly inspiring and successful laboratory in Europe.
The L-AIF will actively lead and develop the AI journey of early-stage startups, scaleups and SMEs, with a focus on finance, space, cybersecurity and the green economy.
Within the consortium, Luxinnovation will engage with private sector companies to identify opportunities for innovation in artificial intelligence, making companies more competitive by supporting AI research and innovation, and broaden the use of AI. In addition, the agency will coordinate incubation activities with respect to AI and establish partnerships with other AI Factories.
“We are proud of Luxinnovation’s involvement in this initiative as coordinator of the AI ecosystem as part of the AI Factory,” says Sasha Baillie, CEO of Luxinnovation. “We will ensure that we guide and support startups and innovative companies through the construction of this national AI ecosystem, which will be a truly inspiring and successful laboratory in Europe.”
The other members of the national consortium are:
- the Luxembourg National Data Service (LNDS), which will facilitate access to large-volume and high-quality data, essential for the development of AI
- the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) and the University of Luxembourg, which will focus their research on concrete applications of AI, in close partnership with the private sector and on the delivery of training solutions.