The European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) has selected six new artificial intelligence factories to join the 13 existing ones and form an interconnected network of centres, with the aim of driving innovation across Europe. The new projects selected will receive more than half a billion euros in joint EU and Member State investment.

This third wave of AI factories includes a Spanish project, the 1HealthAI Factory, located at the Centro de Supercomputación de Galicia (Cesga) [Galicia Supercomputing Centre], which is shared by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Regional Government of Galicia. Its aim is to position Europe as a world leader in one-health products, services and research – a concept that encompasses human, animal and environmental health on a single platform.

Human, animal and environmental health
The 1HealthAI Factory aims to develop reliable AI adapted to human, animal and environmental health. Supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities through the Spanish Supercomputing Network (RES), this initiative covers interactions between climate and health, genomics, personalised medicine, sustainable agri-food systems, blue biotechnology, pharmaceutical innovation and environmental health.

The selected project in Spain also includes an experimental platform, which will serve as a state-of-the-art infrastructure for developing and testing innovative AI models and applications, as well as promoting collaboration with other AI factories and national supercomputing centres across Europe.

Adoption of AI in key industries
The network of AI factories formed by EuroHPC aims to expand Europe’s high-performance computing capacity and accelerate the adoption of AI in key industries. In addition to Galicia, new AI factories will be established in the Czech Republic, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Romania and Poland. Their work will provide startups, SMEs and industry with direct access to AI-optimised supercomputers, technical expertise and customised support to develop and deploy advanced AI solutions.

In total, the EU and the countries participating in EuroHPC have committed over 2.6 billion euros to the AI factories and antennas initiative, reinforcing Europe’s ambition to become a leading continent in this field. The antennas – to be announced soon – will be hubs that will work closely with factories to provide national AI communities with secure remote access to world-class AI-optimised supercomputing capacity.

This deployment complements the EU’s investment in the future AI gigafactories – large-scale facilities dedicated to developing and training advanced AI models and frontier systems. It also reinforces the strategy of accelerating the adoption of AI across the European economy and the public sector.

^{Photo: EuroHPC}