As part of Portugal and Spain's joint application to set up an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Factory, the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) has launched a call for contributions.
Available through a simplified form open to all potential interested parties, it aims to gather opinions and priorities for the development of the application. The deadline for initial submission is October 21, 2024, but the call will remain open after that date. Participation is voluntary and non-binding.
Portugal, through FCT and its digital services unit FCCN, is preparing this application, in consortium with Spain, to set up an AI Factory. This initiative follows the package of measures launched by the European Union in January 2024 to support startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing reliable AI, in line with EU values and standards, including the AI Act.
AI Factories are innovative ecosystems that bring together key resources such as computing power, data and experts to create advanced Artificial Intelligence models. These ecosystems are supported by AI-optimized supercomputers and aim to accelerate the development of technological solutions in Europe.
The European Joint Undertaking for High Performance Computing (EuroHPC) is in charge of implementing these factories, which launched a call for tenders on September 10, 2024 to select countries or consortia to host these innovation centers.
More information on AI Factories is available in the European Commission's Digital Strategy and on the EuroHPC website.
For further information, please contact the FCT Advanced Computing Digital Service at rnca@fccn.pt.
