Eviden signs a 50-million-euro contract to build Serbia’s National AI Factory

Eviden will provide a comprehensive set of Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities, including supercomputing power, software, and use-case development.

Eviden has announced a contract worth 50 million euros with Serbia’s Office for IT and eGovernment to establish a National AI Factory. This initiative focuses on deploying an AI Center of Excellence and a supercomputing platform to accelerate Serbia's AI capabilities and promote innovation across various sectors, enhancing technological autonomy with European technologies.

The AI Factory will encompass a variety of AI-dedicated assets such as talent, expertise, software, and hardware aimed at fostering AI innovation. This contract will equip Serbia with the resources necessary to meet the growing demands of AI.

This National AI Factory marks a pioneering effort in the Balkan region, combining supercomputing resources, advanced software layers, and specialized expertise in use-case design. These resources will be accessible to public institutions, academics, and businesses in Serbia, focusing on challenges in health, energy, transportation, and administration.

The project includes the deployment of Eviden’s BullSequana XH3000 supercomputer, which can perform up to 25 PetaFlops of operations per second and features 300 GPUs and 2.5 Petabytes of storage. This supercomputer will form the foundation of the AI Center of Excellence, enabling the development of AI applications.

The rollout also encompasses the implementation of Eviden’s BullSequana AI platform, which is designed to facilitate the development of AI applications. This will integrate assets from Mistral AI, which supplies generative models to support various use cases.

The collaboration highlights an array of vertical expertise from Eviden’s teams to ensure effective application of AI in Serbia’s strategic sectors. These experts will also aid in training engineers and academics, creating a sustainable environment for ongoing AI innovation.

Mihailo Jovanovic PhD, Director of the Office for IT and eGovernment in Serbia, noted, “This partnership with Eviden represents a significant moment for our country’s digital future, reinforcing our commitment to innovation and technology in accordance with our national program.”

Emmanuel Le Roux, Head of Advanced Computing at Eviden, stated, “This project exemplifies Serbia’s commitment to AI research and its strategic cooperation with France, underlining the importance of technological sovereignty.”