| Project name: | CZ AI Factory |
| Acronym: | CZAI |
| ID code: | 101314740 |
| Call: | HORIZON-JU-EUROHPC-2025-AI-01-IBA-01 |
| Supported by: | Evropean Union – Horizon Europe |
| Project duration: | 05/2026–04/2029 (36 months) |
| Principal investigator at CIIRC: | doc. Ing. Petr Kadera, Ph.D. |
| Coordinator: | VSB – Technical University of Ostrava |
| Project partners: | International Neurodegenerative Disorders Research Center, zapsaný ústav České vysoké učení technické v Praze Univerzita Karlova Vysoké učení technické v Brně Ústav organické chemie a biochemie AV ČR, v. v. i. |
| Budget: | Total budget: € 19 993 050,00 EU support: € 9 996 525,00 Support for CIIRC CTU: € 2 696 737,50 |
Abstract:
The Czech AI Factory (CZAI) project establishes a national AI Factory as a strategic pillar of the European AI and HPC ecosystem, addressing the persistent shortage of dedicated AI infrastructures in Central and Eastern Europe. CZAI is built around two tightly integrated components: the AI-optimised supercomputer KarolAIna and a comprehensive AI Factory Service Hub, delivering large-scale computing capacity, advanced software stacks, curated data access, and expert support services. The project provides a single, user-oriented access point for AI research, innovation, and deployment, tailored to key strategic sectors including industry, health and life sciences, sustainable energy, public administration, cybersecurity, and future mobility.
CZAI enables the full AI lifecycle from data preparation and large-scale model training to deployment and validation while promoting trustworthy, explainable, and energy-efficient AI aligned with EU values and the AI Act. By facilitating secure access to AI-ready datasets and supporting federated and cross-border workflows, CZAI strengthens compliance with European data governance frameworks and contributes interoperable services to the distributed network of European AI Factories. The project places strong emphasis on SMEs, startups, and public and research institutions, lowering barriers to AI adoption and accelerating technology transfer.
CZAI delivers long-term impact through a sustainable operational and governance model, ensuring post-project continuity and financial viability. A distributed AI Training Academy and campus network will build human capital, address skills shortages, and enhance workforce resilience. Acting as a national hub and a European node, CZAI integrates Czech expertise into EuroHPC, TEFs, EDIHs, and other AI initiatives, laying a robust foundation for future large-scale developments, including cross-border AI programmes and potential evolution towards an AI Gigafactory.
The project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 101314740, within the topic HORIZON-JU-EUROHPC-2025-AI-01-IBA-01.
