The HunAIFA consortium, established under the strategic leadership of the HUN-REN Hungarian Research Network and led by the HUN-REN Institute for Computer Science and Control (HUN-REN SZTAKI), has been awarded support under the EuroHPC AI Factory Antenna programme. The initiative aims to build the ecosystems required to develop AI around Europe’s existing supercomputing capacity. The HunAIFA project will be implemented with technical support from the Jülich Supercomputing Centre in Germany, where Europe’s first exascale supercomputer—capable of performing a billion billion operations per second—was inaugurated in September.
As a result of the successful application by the consortium—established under the leadership of HUN-REN HQ, coordinated by HUN-REN SZTAKI, and comprising the HUN-REN Wigner Research Centre for Physics, Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCCI) and the Neumann Technology Platform—Hungarian researchers, educators and developers, innovative enterprises and public-sector institutions will now have access to the same cutting-edge AI tools and state-of-the-art supercomputing infrastructure used by Europe’s most competitive players.
Roland Jakab, CEO of HUN-REN, said: ‘This success is a clear signal that the joint efforts of Hungary’s science, technology and industry are internationally competitive. It will enable Hungarian researchers and developers to work with state-of-the-art infrastructure and connect to the European knowledge network, where AI and supercomputing are jointly shaping the future for the benefit of society.’
The one-exaflop supercomputer can perform a billion billion operations per second — around 200 times Hungary’s current maximum capacity. In line with the John von Neumann Programme and the updated Artificial Intelligence Strategy, the priority sectors are healthcare, energy, agriculture, manufacturing technology and autonomous systems. For the latter, the HunAIFA project is collaborating with ZalaZONE.
Róbert Lovas (HUN-REN SZTAKI), consortium leader of the Hungarian AI Factory Antenna, said: ‘This strategically significant funding award is the result of an exceptionally strong consortium with complementary expertise. It will enable us — in partnership with the Jülich Supercomputing Centre — to further expand our capabilities and experience in AI, research computing infrastructure and technology transfer, and to help bring them into widespread use across Hungary.
HunAIFA is a three-year project with a budget of approximately €10 million. As a result of the successful application, Budapest and the HUN-REN research network could, in the longer term, become one of Central Europe’s leading AI and HPC players by expanding partnerships, thereby strengthening Hungary’s position in Europe’s digital transition.
This article was first published on 13 October by HUN-REN.