AI Factory Antennas

Expected Impact:

The AI Factory Antennas will strengthen the network of EuroHPC AI Factories. The AI Factory Antennas will provide relevant support services, algorithmic support, training activities, access to talent and other support services to the national AI ecosystem(s) while also ensuring remote computing access to AI-optimised supercomputing capacity of the linked AI Factory. These services will also contribute to the mission and objectives of an ‘established AI Factory’ to which the AI Factory Antenna is associated.

An ‘established AI Factory’ is an AI Factory which has been selected via Calls EUROHPC-2024-CEI-AI-01 and EUROHPC-2024-CEI-AI-02. For the purposes of this call, an ‘established AI Factory’ may also be referred to as an ‘AI Factory hosting entity’.

Expected Outcome:

The present Call for proposals is launched for the selection of an entity or a consortium of entities to establish an AI Factory Antenna. This call is launched in accordance with the EuroHPC JU Regulation, taking into account the EU Financial Regulationand where relevant on the basis of Financial Rules of the EuroHPC JU^.

For the purposes of this call, an AI Factory Antenna is an entity, or a consortium of entities from a single EuroHPC Participating State.

The AI Factory Antennas will strengthen the network of EuroHPC AI Factories. The AI Factory Antennas will provide relevant support services, algorithmic support, training activities, access to talent and other support services to the national AI ecosystem(s) while also ensuring remote computing access to AI-optimised supercomputing capacity of the linked AI Factory. These services will also contribute to the mission and objectives of an ‘established AI Factory’ to which the AI Factory Antenna is associated.

An ‘established AI Factory’ is an AI Factory which has been selected via Calls EUROHPC-2024-CEI-AI-01 and EUROHPC-2024-CEI-AI-02. For the purposes of this call, an ‘established AI Factory’ may also be referred to as an ‘AI Factory hosting entity’

The call is open to entities or consortia of entities fulfilling cumulatively the following activities as defined in Article 4 (h) (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii) and conditions as defined in Article 9 (5a) of the EuroHPC Regulation:

1. The applicant entity or entities shall represent one single EuroHPC Participating State that has agreed, with a Letter of Intent, to contribute to participating in an established ‘AI Factory’.
2. The applicant entity that represents the ‘AI Factory Antenna’ and the coordinator of the established AI Factory shall enter into an agreement which, if successful, will form the basis of Memorandum of Understand to this effect.
3. The applicant entity that represents the ‘AI Factory Antenna’ has to be registered as a legal entity in one of EuroHPC’s Participating States.
4. The applicant entity or entities that are identified in the application as being part of the ‘AI Factory Antenna’ must have a legal personality on the date of the deadline for submission of applications and must be able to demonstrate their existence as a legal person. In case the application is submitted by several different legal entities from the same Participating State, this criterion (c) applies to all entities.
5. Applications should include the provision of appropriate supporting documentation proving the commitment of the Participating State and to cover the share of the total cost of the participation in the established AI Factory that is not covered by the Union contribution or by the hosting member state where the established AI factory is located as set out in Article 5 of the Regulation or any other Union contribution as set out in Article 6 of the Regulation. Such commitment documentation should be provided by an authorised representative of the Participating State. A commitment letter template will be provided for applicants (to be added later).
6. In the case of an AI Factory Antenna ‘consortium’, the agreement shall take the form of a partnership between the legal entities from the Participating State, of which the consortium leader will take the lead and act as coordinator of the consortium. The coordinator will act as an intermediary for all communications between the established AI Factory, the EuroHPC JU and the AI factory Antenna. However, if selected, the partners of AI factory Antenna consortium as well as the Hosting Entity of the AI Factory are jointly responsible for implementing the action(s) resulting from the awarded grant agreement. To implement the action(s) properly, they must make appropriate internal arrangements. The AI Factory Antenna must be given power of attorney by the applicant entities to represent it to sign and administrate the grant agreement (consortium leader).
7. The AI Factory Antenna shall assume full liability towards the EuroHPC JU for the implementation of the AI Factory Antenna services as a whole, including financial and operational liability.

Scope:

To be eligible under this call, proposals by EuroHPC Participating States for establishing an AI Factory Antenna must fulfil the following two conditions:

• The Participating State has not yet been selected to host an AI Factory or be already partner of a selected AI Factory;
• The proposal must include a (pre- agreed) association with an established AI Factory.

All selected AI Factory Antennas under this call will thus be in a position to provide AI-optimised computing capabilities and services for the large-scale training and development of general-purpose AI models, and other AI applications/ solutions to their national stakeholders and users of their countries. Where relevant, an AI Factory Antenna may under this call also acquire and provide (small scale) AI compute resources for the fine tuning, testing and validation of AI applications, complementing the AI-optimised computing resources provided by its linked AI Factory.