A brand new €10m European challenge is about to spice up AI adoption amongst companies and researchers throughout the UK to assist unlock untapped financial and scientific potential.
The initiative, led by the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU), goals to assist organisations take their first steps in AI adoption, improve their understanding of the expertise and its purposes, and display the way it can enhance productiveness and drive financial development.
The College of Edinburgh’s EPCC, the UK’s first Nationwide Supercomputing Centre, has gained EU and UK Authorities funding to determine and function the UK AI Manufacturing unit Antenna (UKAIFA).
The challenge will make use of a staff of 20 employees on the EPCC and develop a set of providers for the UK’s start-ups, SMEs, bigger industrial firms and the general public sector.
Ramping up AI adoption throughout vital sectors
The AI Manufacturing unit Antenna will construct on the UK’s current strengths and work with companions to speed up AI adoption in sectors comparable to well being, fintech, vitality, inventive industries, superior engineering, and robotics.
The AI Manufacturing unit Antenna is a part of the European Union’s AI Factories initiative, which fosters innovation, collaboration and analysis within the subject of AI by bringing collectively computing, information and expertise to develop AI for the good thing about all.
AI Manufacturing unit Antennas allow international locations outdoors the EU, such because the UK, to associate with an AI Manufacturing unit, due to this fact bringing the advantages to their respective international locations.
The UK Authorities chosen EPCC to steer the UK’s bid to safe an AI Manufacturing unit Antenna via a aggressive expression of curiosity course of. The Division for Science, Innovation and Know-how will contribute £2.5m of the funding.
Professor Mark Parsons, EPCC Director and UKAIFA Lead Coordinator, acknowledged: “EPCC and HLRS have led the usage of nationwide supercomputing providers in Europe by business over the previous 30 years.
“The emergence of AI as a key software of supercomputing, and this funding from EuroHPC and the UK Authorities, is now enabling our organisations to embark on this new collaboration.”
Worldwide collaboration with HammerHAI
The UK’s AI Factory Antenna at EPCC is collaborating with the HammerHAI AI Manufacturing unit, primarily based at and coordinated by the Excessive-Efficiency Computing Heart Stuttgart (HLRS), Germany’s first Nationwide Supercomputing Centre, in partnership with a consortium of main German tutorial analysis centres.
HLRS and HammerHAI will collaborate with their native manufacturing, engineering, and analysis sectors to higher harness the ability of AI.
“Contemplating the shared dedication and experience that HLRS and EPCC have in bringing HPC and AI to business, the UKAIFA is an ideal match for HammerHAI,” stated Dr Bastian Koller, Managing Director at HLRS and Lead Coordinator of HammerHAI.
“It is going to allow us to construct on our previous successes to focus intently on essentially the most pressing challenges European firms at present face in adopting and scaling up AI adoption.”
Dennis Hoppe, head of the HLRS Division of Converged Computing and challenge supervisor of HammerHAI, added: “This partnership reinforces HammerHAI’s dedication to advancing AI innovation throughout Europe’s industries.
“Collectively, we are going to contribute to accelerating AI adoption, offering safe and scalable AI sources for academia and enterprise.”
