In order to substantially increase Latvia's computing capacity and ensure direct access to European supercomputers, the artificial Intelligence Factory antenna (“AI Factory antenna – Latvia”) has started working in Latvia.
As part of the project, it is planned to provide nearly 5 million high-performance computing hours to Latvian start-ups, researchers and the public sector, which is equivalent to over 530 years of continuous computing capacity. . A national centre of competence will also be established and closely linked with the leading European consortium “LUMI AI Factory” in Finland.
What is the artificial Intelligence Factory and its antenna?
at EU level refer to “artificial intelligence factories” as large ecosystem centres around large supercomputers that provide computational power, data and expert support. . On the other hand, “antenna” is the national contact point and Mezgl computation s.. It acts as a corridor that gives Latvian researchers, start-ups and the public sector direct access to these international resources of supercomputers, while offering local infrastructure and knowledge to implement solutions in practice.
Powerful infrastructure and environment to implement solutions
over the three years, AIFA-LAT will purchase new, AI-tailored servers that will significantly complement and expand existing HPC Hub computing capacity. . These resources will be made available to local users as a service, providing not only a data and experimentation environment, but also expert advice, training and support in the development of pilot projects.
The initiative is led by the Riga Technical University and is implemented under the European Union's research and innovation programme Horizon Europe with the co-funding of the EuroHPC JU AND Latvia's state.
Anna Plaudiņa, senior expert at RTU HPC centre:
” the availability of powerful computing is a crucial prerequisite for the development of artificial intelligence. . With this project, we provide real tools to Latvian researchers and entrepreneurs – we are upgrading local server infrastructure and providing direct access to Europe's most powerful supercomputer, LUMI in Finland. This will allow for faster testing of ideas in practice and implementation of first pilot projects with industry, with tangible benefits for society and the economy.”
Cooperation between seven partners
The AIFA-LAT consortium brings together seven partners to ensure technology gets from laboratories to finished products:
- Riga Technical University – project coordinator;
– University of Latvia;
– Centre for cultural information systems;
– National Agency for Digital Development;
- Latvian Association of artificial Intelligence;
- Latvian information Technology Cluster;
– The Center of artificial Intelligence.
the association of partners will form a cooperation network with public institutions and industry, providing expertise, training and mentoring for the implementation of new pilot projects. .
information prepared by:
Katrīna Pipiņš
AIFA-LAT project communication
Email: katrina.peipina@rtu.lv * Phone: +371 24930259