The AI factories will bring together the key ingredients that are needed for success in AI, states the European Commission: computing power, data, and talent. They will provide access to the massive computing power that start-ups, industry and researchers need to develop their AI models and systems. The AI Factories will boost new industrial uses of AI and give the opportunity for AI start-ups and SMEs to grow in key strategic sectors for the EU, including health and life sciences. AI ecosystems are expected to develop centered around the EuroHPC supercomputers, linking universities and academia, supercomputing centres, industry and financial actors. This will connect excellence and talent with the financial opportunities needed for business development and scale up.

A EUR 1.5 billion investment, combining national and EU funding.

The first AI Factories will represent a EUR 1.5 billion investment, combining national and EU funding. Half of this amount will be funded by the EU through the Digital Europe Programme for AI infrastructure and Horizon Europe for AIF services. 

In addition to the Swedish and Finnish AI factories, factories will also be established in Germany, Italy, Spain, Luxembourg and Greece.

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Five of the selected hosting sites will deploy brand-new world-class AI-optimized supercomputers, namely in Finland, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and Sweden. The AI Factories in Spain and Finland will also feature an experimental platform, providing a cutting-edge infrastructure for developing and testing innovative AI models and applications, and fostering collaboration across Europe.

Linköping, Sweden – MIMER

In Sweden, Linköping University, NAISS (National Academic Infrastructure for Supercomputers) and RISE are given responsibility for the AI factory, MIMER, which combines a state-of-the-art AI-optimized supercomputer with support for education, research and innovation. MIMER will provide a mid-range AI-dedicated supercomputer that prioritizes cloud-style access mechanisms and large-scale storage for sensitive data. 

The Swedish AI Factory will particularly build AI support and training expertise in life sciences and healthcare, material sciences, autonomous systems and the gaming industry. 

As part of the key applications, the project will focus on generative models in structural biology and drug design, large-scale training in personalized medicine.

As part of the key applications, the project will focus on generative models in structural biology and drug design, large-scale training in personalized medicine, and working with international partners to develop next-generation foundation models that will then be fine-tuned for specific industrial and academic applications.

“By promoting partnerships with industry and academic institutions, the AI ​​factory MIMER will make Sweden a hub for AI excellence. Here, priority is given to applications in line with some of Sweden’s strengths in life science, materials science, the gaming industry and autonomous systems, which ensures Sweden’s role as an important player in the global AI ecosystem,” says Malin Frenning, CEO of RISE.

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Kajaani, Finland – LUMI AI Factory

The LUMI AI Factory will strengthen and support Europe’s growing role as an AI innovator by providing a world-class computing environment (LUMI-AI), and access to completely new data sources, together with a service centre and talent pool to support the rapid trials and development of new AI solutions. 

The system will be hosted by CSC – IT Center for Science and located in Kajaani, next to the existing EuroHPC LUMI supercomputer. The consortium behind the LUMI AI Factory is led by Finland, together with 5 other countries: Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Norway, and Poland. 

By leveraging the established LUMI ecosystem and expanding it with new AI-focused features, the LUMI AI Factory will foster a thriving AI community that transcends borders and sectors. The new system will address key challenges such as data reachability and access barriers, aligning with both national and European commitments to advance AI capabilities. 

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s Government has made provision to upgrade the LUMI supercomputer with a financial contribution of EUR 250 million as part of government R&D investments.

The new supercomputer is very important not only for Kajaani but also for the whole of Finland.

“The new supercomputer is very important not only for Kajaani but also for the whole of Finland. We need growth and higher productivity. High-performance computing is precisely the kind of investment that generates both. Hopefully this investment will enable as many researchers, inventors and companies as possible to gain benefit from it. Decisions like this help Finland prosper,” says Prime Minister Petteri Orpo.

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Deployed in 2025-2026

These AI Factories will more than double EuroHPC computing capacity, addressing specific need and boosting the European capabilities in AI. They will be deployed in 2025-2026.