Key Sectors | Agri-food, Earth Sciences, Cybersecurity, Manufacturing |
Services Available from | To be confirmed soon |
Contact | Visit our website, S%20aif [dot] access![]() |
Services provided
Data-related services
IT4LIA AI Factory provides access to critical datasets and data management tools, enabling users to get access, acquire, and reuse datasets already distributed across various clouds and ecosystems. The AI Factory will host comprehensive dataset catalogues, enhancing reusability and value creation. It will connect to a national data registry offering access to both internal and external FAIR datasets, and related models designed with trustworthiness-by-design and trustworthiness-by-default in line with the Italian Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2024-2026. These services will address challenges such as interoperability, security, quality and governance, simplifying data management for AI solution development.
IT4LIA will provide core AI services across all domains, streamlining AI setup, development, testing, and trust to ensure compliance, reliability, and transparency. Users will be able to leverage pre-configured environments and scalable solutions, including Jupyter Notebooks integrated with HPC resources, to accelerate AI adoption. A centralized hub will grant access to pre-trained models and support advanced AI training with multimodal data integration.
AI testing and validation
IT4LIA will offer test-before-invest services, stress testing, and real-world performance assessments to ensure models are deployment-ready. Proof-of-Concept (PoC) support will enable startups and SMEs to refine AI solutions, with up to 30 PoCs funded annually.
AI trust and compliance services will include bias detection, security audits, and regulatory guidance, aligning solutions with the EU AI Act. To foster collaboration, an AI Network and matchmaking platform will connect stakeholders, bridging the gap between AI developers and industry needs.
Industry-specific AI solutions
For each sector, dedicated AI models, fully compliant with EU regulations, will be developed and released as open-source solutions. These models will serve as a foundation for fine-tuning AI applications to meet specific industry needs. By engaging stakeholders across these domains, the initiative will promote AI adoption, foster innovation, and strengthen sectoral ecosystems.
Training programs
The IT4LIA training program will provide online and face-to-face courses, hands-on workshops, hackathons, and live expert sessions. Industry professionals will engage in targeted AI workshops on specific domains, while students and job seekers will have the chance to gain experience through funded internships that integrate them into real-world AI projects.
The Italian AI Factory, IT4LIA, is a strategic initiative aimed at transforming the national and European AI landscape through advanced infrastructure and a comprehensive portfolio of services. The AI factory utilises a comprehensive range of computing resources to address all AI workload requirements, including data preparation, processing, model training, and inference services. IT4LIA benefits from the EuroHPC Leonardo supercomputer, its AI-enhanced LISA system, the GAIA cloud, to be combined with a new AI optimized supercomputing system from the beginning of 2026, all situated within the Bologna Tecnopolo data centre. Overall, the infrastructure is anticipated to offer over 20,000 GPUs, establishing it as an exceptional facility to attract talents from Italy and Europe and enable them to effectively implement their most advanced and innovative ideas.
The initiative, coordinated by CINECA, is participated by Austria and Slovenia, and is co-funded by the Ministry of University and Research, the National Cybersecurity Agency (ACN), the Emilia-Romagna Region, CINECA, the National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN), the ItaliaMeteo Agency, the Italian Institute of Artificial Intelligence for Industry (AI4I) and the Bruno Kessler Foundation (FBK). Other organizations participating in the action are: the National Research Center in HPC Big data and Quantum Computing, four universities (Modena and Reggio Emilia, Bologna, Turin and Sapienza), Confindustria, the Attractiveness Research Territory organization of the Emilia Romagna region (ART-ER), and the International Foundation Big Data (IFAB).
