PRESS RELEASE, Ostrava 10. 10. 2025
The results of the latest round of calls for European Artificial Intelligence Factories, or AI Factories, have been announced in Luxembourg. Among the successful applicants is the Czech Republic, and a consortium of six partners led by the Technical University of Ostrava. Within the Czech AI Factory (CZAI), as the Czech AI Factory is called, a high-performance supercomputer for AI computing will be purchased and a package of services provided by the consortium’s experts will be created. Both will serve SMEs, industry and public and research sector institutions.
The calls for AI Factories were launched in three rounds by the EuroHPC JU, a pan-European joint venture. The EuroHPC JU is a legal and financial entity that brings together the European Union, participating countries and private entities to coordinate efforts and pool resources with the ambition of making Europe a world leader in supercomputing, quantum computing and artificial intelligence. The six new AI Factories will join 13 previously selected ones to create an interconnected network of AI centres ready to support AI innovation across Europe. Each AI Factory will act as a one-stop-shop to offer start-ups, SMEs, industry, public organisations and AI researchers comprehensive support in deploying AI tools, managing and processing datasets, accessing AI-optimised computing resources, providing training and transferring technical expertise as well as supporting new talent.
“The success of the Czech AI Factory is a significant milestone not only for VŠB – Technical University Ostrava, but also for the entire Czech innovation ecosystem. It confirms that long-term investments in research infrastructure, international partnerships and the development of digital competencies bring tangible results. Thanks to the new supercomputer and the expertise of our partners, the Czech Republic is taking a decisive step towards becoming an active contributor to European excellence in artificial intelligence. We are proud that Ostrava will be at the centre of this transformation,” said Igor Ivan, Rector of VŠB – Technical University Ostrava.
The Czech AI Factory (CZAI) will support the development and implementation of artificial intelligence in the Czech Republic with a focus on practical applications, technological infrastructure and skills development. It will then aim to enable deeper integration of the Czech AI ecosystem into the European network of AI Factories and other AI initiatives. This will naturally lead to increased international credibility and strengthen the chances of a possible location of one of the European AI GigaFactories in the Czech Republic.
At the core of the project is KarolAIna, a new supercomputer optimized for AI tasks, which builds on the experience with the EuroHPC petascale system Karolina hosted and operated by the national supercomputing centre IT4Innovations. The new KarolAIna supercomputer will be built on approximately 340 state-of-the-art AI chips that will provide a total performance reaching 850 PFlop/s in common AI operations. KarolAIna will serve industry, government, research teams and startups, providing the advanced computing power needed to train, deploy and experiment with AI models.
“Acquiring AI Factory for the Czech Republic is a very important step that puts us more significantly on the map of AI in Europe. Within CZAI, we will respect national specifics when deploying AI tools in companies, the public sector and research. The KarolAIna supercomputer will become the flagship of the Czech Republic’s AI infrastructure, enabling us to serve the ever-increasing demands of our users in the field of artificial intelligence. The combination of advanced infrastructure, software tools, secure data environments, a team of experts and coordinated training and educational activities will accelerate the introduction of AI into practice and research, contribute to the implementation of national and European digital strategies and promote innovation, economic growth and social benefit,” said Vít Vondrák, CZAI coordinator and director of IT4Innovations.
The CZAI consortium is led by the Technical University of Ostrava in collaboration with the Czech Technical University in Prague, the International Neurodegenerative Disorders Research Center, Charles University, the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences and the Brno University of Technology. Experts from these renowned institutions will provide their expertise in many areas. They will support the introduction of AI in industry, especially integration into production, reducing downtime, the use of digital twins and robotics. In health and life sciences, they will focus on drug development, molecular design and clinical decision support. Energy will gain tools for prediction, flow optimisation and diagnostics, accelerating the transition to sustainable systems. Public administration will use AI to streamline processes and online services. Cybersecurity will focus on advanced detection and defence. Another area is transport, where AI will support autonomous vehicles, smart infrastructure and legislative frameworks.
“The Czech AI Factory will fundamentally change the way artificial intelligence is effectively developed and used in the Czech Republic. The project will not only provide cutting-edge computing infrastructure, but will open up new opportunities for a wide variety of entities across the economy and society, including a whole new range of users, thanks to a wide range of AI services. These will be developed together with other partners for a range of application areas – from industrial manufacturing, energy and healthcare to public administration and cybersecurity to the mobility of the future. All this on a scale that would not be possible without the Czech AI Factory. I am glad that CIIRC CTU will play a key role in these activities thanks to our background and extensive experience in connecting cutting-edge research with real-world applications. We expect a breakthrough step towards the Czech Republic becoming not only a user, but also a creator of a European sovereign and trustworthy artificial intelligence,” added Professor Vladimír Mařík, Scientific Director of the Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics of CTU in Prague (CIIRC CTU).
The total cost of the Czech AI Factory is almost CZK 1 billion (EUR 40 million). Half of these funds are covered by EuroHPC JU, which will draw 50% of the computing time of the KarolAIna supercomputer and downstream AI services, and 50% will be contributed by the Czech Republic. Approximately half of the funds will go towards the purchase of the KarolAIna supercomputer and its operation, while the remaining funds will be used to provide services to the clients of the Czech AI Factory. CZAI will also establish two AI campuses – one in Prague and the other in Brno. These student contact points will be designed to support young talented professionals and will complement the AI campus in Ostrava, which is already being established within the LUMI AI Factory.
And it was with the LUMI AI Factory that the Czech Republic was successful in the first round of challenges last year, when it was selected as Europe’s largest AI factory to date. The LUMI AI Factory builds on the successful LUMI consortium, which operates one of Europe’s most powerful supercomputers, in which the Czech Republic is also involved through the national supercomputing centre IT4Innovations. Thanks to this partnership, the Czech Republic participates in all activities of the LUMI AI Factory with the aim of using the most powerful AI computing and data resources ever, which the consortium plans to operate in Kajaani, Finland, from 2027.
Contact for media
Zuzana Červenková, Spokesperson of IT4Innovations National Supercomputing Centre
tel.: +420 602 593 335
EuroHPC JU
The EuroHPC JU is a legal and financial entity established by a Council Regulation of the European Union, which brings together the European Union, interested States and private entities to coordinate efforts and pool resources with the ambition of making Europe a world leader in supercomputing, quantum computing and artificial intelligence.
To equip Europe with a state-of-the-art computing and data infrastructure, the JU has already acquired a total of 11 supercomputers spread across Europe through the EuroHPC. Three of these EuroHPC supercomputers are now ranked among the 10 most powerful supercomputers in the world. European scientists and users from the public sector and industry can use EuroHPC supercomputers wherever they are located in Europe, thus moving science forward and supporting the development of a wide range of applications with industrial, scientific and societal benefits for Europe.
Currently, EuroHPC JU is also involved in the implementation of 19 so-called AI factories across Europe, which offer SMEs and startups free, tailored support.
In the field of quantum technologies, EuroHPC JU plans to install 10 quantum computers in selected member countries, with the VLQ quantum computer being among the first.
EuroHPC JU also funds research and innovation projects to build a full European supply chain in supercomputing – from the processors and software to the applications that will run on these supercomputers, to the know-how needed to develop strong European expertise in HPC.
IT4Innovations National Supercomputing Centre, a university institute of VŠB – Technical University Ostrava, is a leading research, development and innovation centre in the field of high-performance computing (HPC), data analysis (HPDA), artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing (QC) and their applications to other scientific, industrial and social fields. Currently, IT4Innovations operates two supercomputers: the Czech most powerful supercomputer Karolina ( 15.7 PFlop/s, installed in summer 2021), Barbora (849 TFlop/s, installed in autumn 2019). However, in addition to the supercomputers operated by IT4Innovations, the Czech research community also has access to the most powerful European supercomputer LUMI, thanks to IT4Innovations’ membership in the LUMI consortium. In 2025, the first Czech quantum computer named VLQ, operated by the LUMI-Q consortium, was installed at IT4Innovations. IT4Innovations’ core research topics are big data processing and analysis, machine learning, development of parallel scalable algorithms and algorithms for quantum computers and simulators, solving challenging engineering problems, advanced visualization, virtual reality, modeling for nanotechnology and development of new materials. More at www.it4i.cz.
