The EuroHPC Joint Undertaking Launches AI Factories Antennas Call to Strengthen the Network of EuroHPC AI Factories in Europe

The AI Factory Antennas will work in full coordination with the EuroHPC AI Factories and will be included in all AI Factory-related activities.  

Each AI Factory Antenna will support an established AI Factory from its respective country, extending and complementing its services to strengthen the national AI ecosystem. The Antennas will also ensure remote computing access to AI-optimised supercomputing resources from the linked AI Factory. 

Where relevant, an AI Factory Antenna may provide small scale AI compute resources for the fine tuning, testing and validation of AI applications, complementing the AI-optimised computing resources provided by its linked AI Factory. 

The aim of the AI Factories is to provide European startups and SMEs with enhanced access to AI-optimised computing capabilities. These capabilities and services support the training and development of general-purpose, large-scale AI models, as well as the development, testing, and validation of emerging AI applications. 

The selected AI Factory Antennas and the respective AI Factories will be expected to sign a Memorandum of Understanding setting out the terms of their collaboration and will contribute to the mission and objectives of the associated AI Factories. 

This call for proposals, HORIZON-EUROHPC-JU-2025-AIFA-01, will enable more EuroHPC Participating States to have their own AI Factory Antenna without the necessity of investing in the supercomputing resources required for the establishment of an AI Factory via the EUROHPC-2024-CEI-AI-01 and EUROHPC-2024-CEI-AI-02 calls. 

More Details 

The total indicative budget for the AI Factory Antenna call is up to EUR 70 million. The maximum amount of the European Union (EU) contribution (up to 50% of the total eligible costs) under the Horizon Europe funding programme that may be allocated to an AI Factory Antenna is up to EUR 5 million and is subject to EU budget availability. 

The indicative deadline for submission of proposals is set on 9 July 2025. 

The submission platform for the AI Factory Antennas Call will be open shortly and an update will be published as soon it is live.

For further details on the application process and eligibility requirements, please visit the dedicated webpage. 

Background 

Reviewed by means of Council Regulation (EU) 2024/1732, the EuroHPC JU received a new mandate to develop and operate AI factories. These comprehensive open AI ecosystems located around EuroHPC supercomputing facilities will support the growth of a highly competitive and innovative AI ecosystem in Europe. In September 2024, the EuroHPC JU launched two calls for expression of interest to select hosting entities that will host and operate AI-optimised supercomputers, AI experimental platforms and AI factories across Europe. 

So far, 13 sites across Europe have been selected to host AI Factories. From the first cut-off of 1 November 2024, seven countries were selected to deploy the first AI Factories, while following the second cut-off of 1 February 2025, other six were added. The AI Factory Antennas will increase the coverage of the already selected 13 AI Factories.  

By 2026, these AI Factories will be the backbone of Europe’s AI strategy, combining computing power, data, and talent to drive innovation and secure Europe’s leadership in AI.   

The next cut-off deadline for additional proposals is 30 June, 2025. 

The EuroHPC JU is a legal and funding entity, created in 2018 and reviewed in 2021 by Council Regulation (EU) 2021/1173 to enable the European Union and participating countries to coordinate efforts and pool resources with the objective of making Europe a world leader in supercomputing.    

In order to equip Europe with a world-leading supercomputing infrastructure, the EuroHPC JU has already procured 10 supercomputers, located across Europe. Regardless of their location in Europe, European scientists and users from the public sector and industry can benefit from these EuroHPC supercomputers via the EuroHPC Access Calls. This access enables them to advance science and support the development of a wide range of applications with industrial, scientific, and societal relevance for Europe.   

The EuroHPC JU is also deploying a European Quantum Computing infrastructure, integrating diverse European quantum computing technologies with supercomputers. As part of this effort, the JU has recently procured six quantum computers, currently being deployed in Poland, Czechia, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, with additional systems coming soon to Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.   

In parallel, the EuroHPC JU funds research and innovation projects to develop a full European supercomputing supply chain: from processors and software to applications to be run on these supercomputers and know-how to develop strong European HPC expertise.