The European Commission has opened access to supercomputers in the EU to enhance AI development and support various AI initiatives. As part of the EU AI Start-Up Initiative, this access is available to start-ups, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and the AI community.
EU supercomputers such as LEONARDO, LUMI, and MareNostrum5 are among the best in the world. They will play a significant role in developing foundational AI models, alongside consortium exascale supercomputers like JUPITER and JULES VERNE. This initiative aligns with the EU’s goal of boosting the competitiveness of the European AI market and accelerating AI advancements, positioning Europe as a leader in the global AI landscape.
The announcement occurred during the fourth AI Alliance Assembly in Madrid, following President Ursula von der Leyen’s 2023 State of the Union address. She emphasized Europe’s leadership in supercomputing due to recent investments, stating, “We have three state-of-the-art supercomputers in the EU. And we need to put this power to use. The access to Europe’s supercomputing infrastructure that we are announcing today will help start-ups lead the development and scale-up of artificial intelligence in a responsible manner, in line with European values.”
Von der Leyen also mentioned that the 2024 Commission Work Programme will suggest regulatory changes to ensure secure and sustainable access to European supercomputers.
Thierry Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market, remarked that “supercomputing is an essential brick of Europe’s technological sovereignty.” He underscored that European leadership in high-performance computing will translate into improved scientific, technological, and business competitiveness. The Large AI Grand Challenge was introduced to provide access to supercomputers for training and fine-tuning advanced foundation AI models, significantly reducing training times from months to days or weeks, thus enhancing competitiveness in the AI sector.
In addition to providing supercomputer access, the European Commission has launched the Large AI Grand Challenge, a competition aimed at strengthening AI with participation from European fintechs. The EuroHPC JU also announced plans to enhance activities and services powered by supercomputing to promote sustainable and innovative AI development in the EU.