Romania launches RO AI Factory to enhance AI capabilities
Romania is officially set to implement the RO AI Factory project on September 1st, paving the way for a significant advancement in the country's artificial intelligence capabilities.
Hosted by ICI Bucharest, the RO AI Factory aims to operationalize by the end of 2027, providing a dedicated infrastructure for the development of AI applications. This initiative is funded by the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) under the Horizon-Ju-Eurohpc-2025-AI funding call.
A key objective of the RO AI Factory is to democratize access to advanced AI resources. The project will provide high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure, data services, and libraries of algorithms to support the development and training of AI models.
The consortium behind the RO AI Factory includes ICI Bucharest, the National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, and several research and industry organizations. This collaboration aims to reduce technological and skill barriers for access to large-capacity AI infrastructures.
The services offered by the RO AI Factory will cater to universities, research organizations, startups, SMEs, technology companies, industries, and public institutions. By supporting startups and SMEs in transitioning from users to developers of AI technology, the project seeks to foster innovation and growth in the sector.
In addition to infrastructure, the RO AI Factory will provide technical expertise, training programs, mentorship, and support for AI product development. Integration into the European network of AI Factories will allow Romania to participate in the exchange of resources, data, expertise, and best practices across Europe.
As the implementation of the infrastructure progresses, ICI Bucharest will oversee the setup and operation of high-performance computing resources, ensuring that Romania's AI ecosystem becomes competitive, secure, and sustainable. The initial stages will focus on preparing hosting capabilities and installing hardware systems before integrating services and connecting to national and European infrastructures.