The results of the latest round of calls for European Artificial Intelligence Factories (AI Factories) were announced in Luxembourg. Among the successful applicants is the Czech Republic, specifically a consortium of six partners led by the VSB – Technical University of Ostrava. Under the Czech AI Factory (CZAI) initiative, the country will acquire a high-performance AI supercomputer and launch a package of services provided by consortium experts. These resources will support small and medium-sized enterprises, industry, as well as public and research institutions. The Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics (CIIRC CTU) at the Czech Technical University in Prague plays a major role in the project.
The AI Factory calls were issued in three rounds by the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU), a legal and funding body combining the European Union, participating countries, and private entities to coordinate efforts and pool resources, with the goal of establishing Europe as a global leader in supercomputing, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence. The six newly announced AI Factories will join the 13 already selected, forming a connected network of AI centers ready to drive innovation across Europe. Each AI Factory will operate as a one-stop shop offering startups, SMEs, industry, public organizations, and researchers end-to-end support for AI adoption, data management and processing, access to AI-optimized computing infrastructure, training and knowledge transfer, and talent development.
“The success of the Czech AI Factory is a major milestone not only for VSB – Technical University of Ostrava, but for the entire Czech innovation ecosystem. It confirms that long-term investment in research infrastructure, international partnerships, and digital skills development delivers real, measurable outcomes. With the new AI supercomputer and the expertise of our partners, the Czech Republic is making a decisive step toward becoming a strong contributor to European AI excellence. We are proud that Ostrava will be at the heart of this transformation,”said Igor Ivan, Rector of VSB – Technical University of Ostrava.
CZAI will support the growth and deployment of AI in the Czech Republic, with a focus on practical applications, technological infrastructure, and skills development. Its broader goal is to integrate the Czech AI ecosystem more deeply into the European AI Factory network and other international AI initiatives. This will enhance the country’s international standing and improve its chances of hosting one of the upcoming European AI GigaFactories.
At the core of the project is KarolAIna, a new AI-optimized supercomputer building on experience with the EuroHPC petascale system Karolina, which is hosted and operated by the national supercomputing center IT4Innovations. KarolAIna will run on approximately 340 state-of-the-art AI chips and deliver a performance of up to 850 PFlop/s for typical AI tasks. It will serve industry, government, research teams, and startups by providing the computational power needed for training, deploying, and experimenting with AI models.
“Securing an AI Factory for the Czech Republic is a key step that puts us firmly on Europe’s AI map. Within CZAI, we will tailor AI deployment to the national context, serving businesses, the public sector, and research. The KarolAIna supercomputer will be the flagship of Czech AI infrastructure, addressing the rapidly growing demands of our users. By combining advanced hardware, software tools, secure data environments, expert teams, and coordinated training programs, we’ll accelerate AI adoption, fulfill national and EU digital strategies, and drive innovation, economic growth, and societal benefit,”added doc. Vít Vondrák, director of IT4Innovations and CZAI project coordinator.
The CZAI consortium is led by VSB – Technical University of Ostrava and includes 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 Brno University of Technology. Experts from these respected institutions will provide support across multiple domains. In industry, they will focus on AI integration in manufacturing, reducing downtime, deploying digital twins, and robotics. In healthcare and life sciences, the focus will be on drug development, molecular design, and clinical decision support. The energy sector will gain tools for forecasting, flow optimization, and diagnostics to speed up the transition to sustainable systems. Public administration will use AI to streamline processes and online services. In cybersecurity, advanced threat detection and defense will be prioritized. In transport, AI will boost autonomous vehicles, smart infrastructure, and legal frameworks.
“Czech AI Factory will fundamentally change how AI is developed and deployed across the Czech Republic. The project won’t just offer cutting-edge computing power—it will unlock new opportunities across the economy and society, including for new user groups, thanks to its broad offering of AI services. Together with our partners, we’ll develop solutions across a wide range of sectors—from manufacturing, energy, and healthcare to public administration, cybersecurity, and future mobility. None of this would be possible without the Czech AI Factory. I’m proud that CIIRC CTU will play a key role, leveraging our infrastructure and deep experience in connecting cutting-edge research with real-world applications. We see this as a breakthrough moment in making the Czech Republic not just a user, but a creator of sovereign and trustworthy European AI,” said Prof. Vladimír Mařík, Scientific Director of CIIRC CTU in Prague.
The total cost of the Czech AI Factory project is nearly CZK 1 billion (EUR 40 million). Half of this will be funded by EuroHPC JU, which will also utilize 50% of KarolAIna’s computing capacity and related AI services. The other half will be funded by the Czech Republic. About 50% of the funds will be spent on acquiring and operating the KarolAIna supercomputer, while the rest will go toward providing services to Czech AI Factory clients. CZAI will also establish two AI campuses—one in Prague and another in Brno—designed to support young talent and complement the AI campus already being built in Ostrava under the LUMI AI Factory.
The Czech Republic had already succeeded in the first round of AI Factory calls last year, when the LUMI AI Factory—Europe’s largest AI factory to date—was selected. LUMI AI Factory builds on the successful LUMI consortium, which operates one of Europe’s most powerful supercomputers. The Czech Republic is a participant in LUMI through the IT4Innovations national supercomputing center. This partnership allows the Czech Republic to contribute to all LUMI AI Factory activities and benefit from its world-class computational and data resources, which are set to be operated in Kajaani, Finland starting in 2027.
