The European Commission announced today the launch of “Artificial Intelligence Centers” (AI Factories Antennas) in seven EU member states — Belgium, Cyprus, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Malta, and Slovakia.

In addition, partner countries including Iceland, Moldova, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, North Macedonia, and Serbia will also host such centers, expanding the European AI infrastructure beyond the EU’s borders.

Today’s announcement falls under the “AI Continent” Action Plan, complementing the EU’s investment in future AI Gigafactories and supporting the Apply AI Strategy, which aims to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence across Europe’s economy and public administration.

Cyprus will host one of the newly established AI Factory Antennas, named Pharos-CY, marking a significant milestone in integrating the country into the European AI innovation ecosystem.

Pharos-CY will act as a bridge between Cyprus and Greece’s AI Factory, enhancing collaboration and enabling Cypriot researchers, startups, and public sector organizations to access AI supercomputing resources. The initiative is expected to stimulate AI research, innovation, and digital skills development in Cyprus, aligning with EU priorities for digital transformation and competitiveness.

“Pharos-CY aims to accelerate the development and adoption of reliable, high value-added AI solutions in key sectors such as health, sustainability, culture, and language,” the Deputy Ministry of Research and Innovation stated. 

In the field of language technology, Cyprus and Greece will collaborate on the training and optimization of large language models (LLMs) for the Greek language and cultural context. The partnership will also extend to areas of common strategic interest, including healthcare and clean energy technologies (clean tech).

At the same time, the Cypriot ecosystem of SMEs and startups will benefit from access to Pharos-CY, gaining entry to the “DAEDALUS” supercomputing infrastructure, as well as advanced AI tools, services, and specialized support to help them integrate innovative AI technologies into their business operations.

Greece has been selected as one of the first seven EU countries to host an AI Factory, named Pharos. The facility will utilize the DAEDALUS supercomputer, currently under development, to address both national and European AI needs across critical sectors such as health, culture, language technologies, and sustainability — including energy, environment, and climate.

>>Introducing Pharos: The Greek AI Factory<<

The project emphasizes ethical and trustworthy AI, ensuring all datasets and services comply with EU laws and sector-specific regulations. By integrating Cyprus’ Pharos-CY Antenna with Greece’s Pharos Factory, the two countries will form a regional AI innovation corridor within the wider European network.

AI Factories are advanced digital ecosystems that bring together computing power, data, and talent to develop trustworthy, cutting-edge artificial intelligence models and applications.

They operate within the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (JU) — the EU’s high-performance computing framework — providing secure access to powerful AI-optimized supercomputers. By connecting universities, research institutions, SMEs, industry, and financial actors, AI Factories serve as innovation hubs supporting AI-driven progress in fields such as healthcare, manufacturing, climate science, finance, and space technologies.

The European Commission has identified AI Factories as a strategic priority, outlined in the 2024 AI Innovation Package. This initiative aims to make Europe a global leader in trustworthy AI, reinforcing ethical standards through the AI Act while supporting startups and SMEs in developing and deploying AI applications aligned with EU values.

According to the Commission, the newly announced AI Factory Antennas will work closely with existing AI Factories, providing national AI communities with remote access to advanced supercomputing infrastructure.

Fully integrated into the EuroHPC ecosystem, these Antennas will help expand access to AI talent, infrastructure, and innovation across Europe.

Last Friday, the Commission also announced a major expansion of the European AI network, adding six new AI Factories, bringing the total to 19 centers across 16 member states.

The AI Factory initiative was launched to empower European researchers, industries, and governments with supercomputing resources dedicated to AI development.

Between 2025 and 2026, at least 15 AI Factories and multiple Antennas will become operational, ensuring a pan-European AI ecosystem. In this context, nine new AI-optimized supercomputers are being procured, tripling Europe’s AI computing capacity under the EuroHPC JU.

Over the 2021–2027 period, total investments in supercomputing infrastructures and AI Factories across the EU and associated countries are expected to reach €10 billion.

Additionally, the upcoming InvestAI Facility — a €20 billion European fund — aims to create up to five AI Gigafactories dedicated to next-generation AI models containing trillions of parameters. These large-scale centers will leverage over 100,000 advanced AI processors, focusing on energy efficiency, automation, and secure innovation environments.