Greece was one of seven EU countries selected by the European Commission to establish and operate the first AI factories in Europe with community and national funding.
As announced on Tuesday, the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC) selected seven proposals worth 1.5 billion euros in total for AI Factories in Athens, Barcelona, Bissen (Luxembourg), Bologna, Kajaani (Finland), Linköping (Sweden), and Stuttgart. The seven AI Factories involve 15 member states and two EuroHPC participating states.
EuroHPC has called the event “a major milestone for Europe, in building a thriving ecosystem to train advanced AI models and develop AI solutions.”
Greece’s program ‘Pharos’ will focus on health, the Greek language and culture, and sustainable development.
It is expected to contribute decisively to the development and continuous support of an innovative and competitive ecosystem of start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Greece.
AI factory in Greece “a hub for research and knowledge”
“Our goal is for the Greek AI factory to become a hub for research and knowledge of our wider geographical region, highlighting Greece as a technological hub,” PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis said. “In AI infrastructure, Greece is now playing in the European Champions League.”
Pharos is budgeted at 30 million euros, funded equally by EuroHPC and national resources. Its start of operation is scheduled in March 2025, with a total duration of 36 months.
“Whether we are talking about applications in health, whether we are talking about applications in civil protection, whether we are talking about applications that can make life in our city easier, AI is a unique tool that must now be integrated into public policies,” Mitsotakis added.
The project is part of flagship projects under the Plan for Greece’s Transition to the AI era, formulated by a consultation committee on AI. It will use the ‘Daedalus’ supercomputer deployed in Greece by EuroHPC, allowing collaboration with other AI Factories and resulting in benefits to all EU citizens.
Some of its expected contributions include improving Greece’s competitiveness through access to large data and highly skilled personnel, analysis of satellite data to manage natural resources and handle climate change, and training talent, while creating a trans-border innovation ecosystem.
Pharos will be implemented by a national consortium headed by GRNET, in collaboration with the ‘Demokritos’ National Centre For Scientific Research, the National Technical University of Athens (‘Polytechnic’), the ‘Athena’ Research Center, and Growthfund/National Investment Fund, in direct collaboration with the government’s Special Secretariat of Strategic Foresight.
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