Austria's "AI Factory" Ready to Launch - Co-Working Space Arises in Vienna
"Currently, we are in start-up mode. The kick-off will take place in September, and from October we will offer initial services," said Andreas Kugi, scientific director of the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT). Further steps will include extensive support offerings and a new computing infrastructure. This is not comparable to the "AI Gigafactory," for which Vienna recently applied: "The AI Factory will be a workshop and test lab that supports taking the next step in innovation," said Kugi. The Gigafactory, on the other hand, is about large-scale industrial development and huge computing power.
Co-Working Space to be Located in Vienna
For the "AI Factory Austria," an AI hub will initially be established, serving as a one-stop-shop, coworking space, and central contact point for the community. Additionally, the purchase of a new AI-optimized supercomputer is planned. According to project manager Mario Drobics, 50 million euros will be invested for the purchase and operation over five years. It is expected to be available in January 2027. The location is planned to be the Technical University (TU) Vienna. Initially, the focus will be on biotechnology, industrial production, physics, and public administration.
An additional 30 million will be invested in software services for data management and AI applications, as well as the AI hub, which will include consulting, support for using the supercomputer, training, and ethical and regulatory guidance. The co-working space, a physical meeting point of 1,500 to 2,500 square meters for start-ups, researchers, and companies, will be located in Vienna and accessible from January 2026, explained Markus Stöhr, also a project manager.
The project is led by Advanced Computing Austria (ACA) and the AIT in collaboration with scientific and industrial partners. Funding is provided through the European High Performance Computing (EuroHPC) Joint Undertaking program of the European Union. According to previous information, 40 million euros will come from the EU, which is to be doubled by the federal government. In total, there are AI factories in 13 EU countries or are under construction.
"AI Gigafactory": Start in Vienna 2028
In addition to AIT and ACA, a subsidiary of TU Vienna, University of Vienna, and the HPC Austria association, the "AI Factory Austria" involves TU Vienna, the universities of Vienna, Innsbruck, and Linz, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (Boku), TU Graz, the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), Academy of Sciences (ÖAW), the high-tech incubator INiTS, and the EODC Earth Observation Data Centre for Water Resources Monitoring GmbH.
Another significantly larger piece of the puzzle on the path to Europe's competitiveness are the "Gigafactories." Just a few days ago, the city of Vienna applied for the establishment of a corresponding AI data center. In total, up to five of these so-called "AI Gigafactories" are to be created in the EU with investments amounting to 20 billion euros. These build on the "AI Factories" initiative but would have significantly more computing power, data resources, and automation to develop, train, and operate complex AI models. It is said that more than 100,000 specialized AI processors per Gigafactory would correspond to a multiplication of current European capacities.
Investments of up to five billion euros per "AI Gigafactory" are to be covered by at least 65 percent from the private sector and up to 35 percent from public funds. The project enables companies and research institutions to access powerful computing capacity and thus complements the existing network, the city informed in a release on Friday, referring to a coalition of the federal government, the city of Vienna, social partners, and companies. The next step is a detailed selection and application process by the EU in the fourth quarter of 2025. A possible start date for the "AI Gigafactory" is mentioned as 2028.
(APA/Red.)
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