European AI startups will now have access to the EU’s supercomputers and other AI-enabling services to conduct research and train new models as part of a new AI one-stop shop, or so-called AI Factories, launched by the European Commission.
The comprehensive initiative aims to support European startups and small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing trustworthy Artificial Intelligence (AI).
“Today, we announce the launch of AI Factories, bringing together the ‘raw materials’ for AI: computing power, data, algorithms and talent,” said EU internal market commissioner, Thierry Breton. “They will serve as a one-stop shop for Europe’s AI startups, enabling them to develop the most advanced AI models and industrial applications. We are making Europe the best place in the world for trustworthy AI.”
Our new initiatives include:
— European Commission (@EU_Commission) January 24, 2024
🔸 setting up AI Factories to support European start-ups, SMEs;
🔹 creating an AI Office to oversee the implementation and enforcement of the AI Act;
🔸 enhancing the availability of language data to boost language models. pic.twitter.com/BHl7FVAg0b
The impetus for this initiative stems from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s 2023 State of the Union address, where she unveiled a groundbreaking plan to provide access to Europe’s supercomputers for innovative AI startups.
“Europe has now become a leader in supercomputing, with three of the five most powerful supercomputers in the world. We need to capitalize on this,” she had said. “It is an economic and national security imperative to preserve a European edge on critical and emerging technologies.”
AI Innovation Package unveiled
The “AI innovation package” adopted by the Commission seeks to extend support for growing Europe’s AI ecosystem. The newly introduced AI package encompasses a diverse range of measures aimed at fostering innovation and supporting start-ups. The proposal includes granting privileged access to supercomputers for AI startups and the broader innovation community.
Key measures within the package include:
- Establishment of AI factories and access to supercomputers
- Creation of AI Office
- EU AI StartUp and Innovation Communication
Establishment of AI Factories and Supercomputer Access
The creation of AI Factories with the provision of AI-dedicated supercomputer infrastructure, ensuring accessibility for startups and facilitating purchases and upgrades. This includes:
- A comprehensive one-stop shop for startups and innovators, supporting AI startup and research ecosystems in algorithmic development, testing, evaluation, and validation of large-scale AI models. This includes providing supercomputer-friendly programming facilities and other AI-enabling services.
- Acquisition, upgrading, and operation of AI-dedicated supercomputers to facilitate fast machine learning and training of large General Purpose AI (GPAI) models.
- Enhanced access to AI-dedicated supercomputers, broadening the utilization of AI among public and private users, including startups and SMEs.
- Encouraging the development of various emerging AI applications based on General Purpose AI models.
The establishment of AI Factories is a key pillar for the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU). This public-private initiative, launched in 2018 and located in Luxembourg, aims to make Europe a global leader in supercomputing. Europe is competing with the United States and China to lead in technology, crucial across various industries and applications.
Three EuroHPC supercomputers, including MareNostrum 5, LUMI, and Leonardo, are now among the world’s top 10 most powerful and energy-efficient supercomputers, as per the latest editions of the TOP500 and Green500 lists.
Creation of an AI Office
The package includes a decision to establish an AI Office within the Commission, tasked with developing and coordinating AI policy at the European level. This office will also supervise the implementation and enforcement of the recently agreed EU AI Act — the world’s first comprehensive law on artificial intelligence.
EU AI StartUp and Innovation Communication
It also includes an extensive communication outlining key activities, including financial and equity support, initiatives related to Common European Data Spaces, and more.
- Financial support from the Commission through Horizon Europe and the Digital Europe program dedicated to generative AI. This financial package is expected to generate an additional overall public and private investment of around €4 billion until 2027.
- Accompanying initiatives to strengthen the EU’s generative AI talent pool through education, training, skilling, and reskilling activities.
- Encouragement of public and private investments in AI startups and scale-ups, including through venture capital or equity support, to be facilitated through new initiatives under the EIC Accelerator Program and InvestEU.
- Acceleration of the development and deployment of Common European Data Spaces, accessible to the AI community. These spaces will provide crucial data resources for training and improving AI models.
- Introduction of the ‘GenAI4EU’ initiative, aimed at supporting the development of novel use cases and emerging applications across Europe’s 14 industrial ecosystems and public sector. Application areas include robotics, health, biotech, manufacturing, mobility, climate, and virtual worlds.
“You need computing power to develop AI. A lot of it. So we want to give SMEs and startups privileged access to the network of European supercomputers. We are committed to innovation of AI and innovation with AI. And we will do our best to build a thriving AI ecosystem in Europe,” said Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President for Europe Fit for the Digital Age.
European Digital Infrastructure Consortiums
Additionally, the Commission plans to establish two European Digital Infrastructure Consortiums (EDIC) in collaboration with several Member States: ‘Alliance for Language Technologies’ (ALT-EDIC) and ‘CitiVERSE’ EDIC.
These consortia will focus on developing common European infrastructure in language technologies and state-of-the-art AI tools. The aim is to assist cities in optimizing various processes, ranging from traffic management to waste management.
