Italy is home to one of the first platforms in Europe dedicated to artificial intelligence, IT4LIA AI Factory, which today, 5 September, officially entered its operational phase at DAMA Tecnopolo in Bologna. The launch event, a significant occasion for the entire national innovation community, was attended by European Commission Vice-President Henna Virkkunen and Italian Minister of University and Research Anna Maria Bernini, together with the President of the Emilia-Romagna Region Michele de Pascale and representatives of the institutions involved in the project. The event was preceded by a visit by the institutional delegation to the facilities of the Tecnopolo managed by Cineca and the Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), which host the machines that will provide the computing resources for the new project: from Leonardo supercomputer to Gaia cloud computing machine, from the forthcoming Quantum IQM computer to the INFN-CNAF data centre. The visit was followed by discussions on national development strategies and on today’s most relevant computing topics, including supercomputing, cybersecurity and quantum computing, along with presentations of specific experiences from both public research and the private sector.
“The launch of IT4LIA is yet another demonstration of Italy’s commitment to supporting digital technological sovereignty. It marks an important step towards our goal of making Europe the continent of safe Artificial Intelligence, driving competitiveness and generating new services and applications to support the growth of our enterprises and start-ups. It is proof that together, we are greater than the sum of our parts”, commented European Commission Vice-President Henna Virkkunen.
“With IT4LIA AI Factory, Italy reaffirms its role as a leader in artificial intelligence and supercomputing in Europe and worldwide. It is a new addition to the beating heart of innovation that is Bologna Tecnopolo, already home to the Leonardo supercomputer and its upgrade Lisa, the National Centre for HPC, Big Data and Quantum Computing, and two of the most advanced quantum computing systems in Europe”, underlined Italian Minister of University and Research Anna Maria Bernini. “Alongside this, we are working to bring to Italy one of the gigafactories that the European Union will establish to promote AI development, strengthening our country’s role as a strategic hub for innovation. This integrated system of infrastructures, aligned with the national strategies on artificial intelligence and quantum technologies, is capable of generating concrete transformations for SMEs, start-ups and public administration in vital sectors such as agri-food, cybersecurity and manufacturing. It is proof that when Italy works as a team, it can lead change”, Minister Bernini concluded.
“The National Cybersecurity Agency continues its intensive work to strengthen the security of digital services, also pursued through the creation of an artificial intelligence ecosystem at both Italian and European levels”, commented ACN Director General Bruno Frattasi. “The IT4LIA AI Factory project, supported by significant dedicated funding, will unlock extraordinary new opportunities for growth and development for administrations, enterprises, SMEs and start-ups, thanks to the services and computing power of the Factory”, added Director Frattasi. “This is part of an ambitious plan designed to foster the most favourable conditions for our country’s strategic autonomy to gain new momentum, following the activation of the Megaride supercomputer in Naples”.
IT4LIA AI Factory represents the evolution of a strategy launched with foresight in 2017 and made possible thanks to decisive national and European contributions, with the aim of making Italy one of Europe’s key hubs for technological innovation in advanced computing and artificial intelligence. At the core of the project is a supercomputer optimised for artificial intelligence, to be installed at DAMA Tecnopolo in Bologna, already a European reference point for supercomputing, big data, artificial intelligence and quantum computing. The advanced infrastructure of IT4LIA AI Factory will be one of the first in the world, and a European leader in AI processing capacity.
“It was an honour and a pleasure to welcome European Commission Vice-President Henna Virkkunen together with Minister Bernini and Regional President de Pascale to DAMA Tecnopolo, home to the new project dedicated to artificial intelligence for society IT4LIA AI Factory”, said Antonio Zoccoli, President of the Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics and of the ICSC Foundation. “With Vice-President Virkkunen and Minister Bernini, we discussed projects already completed, thanks to both European and national investments led by MUR, as well as future initiatives such as our national strategy on quantum technologies, a field that will prove revolutionary. Thanks to the joint commitment of all parties, Europe, Italy, the Emilia-Romagna Region, institutions, research and industry, today we can confidently affirm that our country is one of Europe’s reference hubs for supercomputing, big data, quantum computing and artificial intelligence”, Zoccoli concluded.
“IT4LIA AI Factory marks a fundamental milestone in Europe’s digital innovation strategy, consolidating Italy’s role as a leader in artificial intelligence. We are very proud of this achievement, the result of a strategy that began with Leonardo supercomputer, inaugurated in November 2022, and which in recent years has seen extraordinary infrastructure development with unprecedented investments”, commented Cineca President Francesco Ubertini. “It is a virtuous model of collaboration between institutions, research, industry, SMEs and start-ups, strengthening our country and positioning it at the forefront in Europe and globally. A special thanks goes to European Commission Vice-President Henna Virkkunen for her visit today, and to Minister Anna Maria Bernini for her strong commitment to this initiative. I would also like to thank all IT4LIA partners for their valuable contributions, beginning with the Director of the National Cybersecurity Agency and the President of the Emilia-Romagna Region. Bologna Tecnopolo is the driving force of this ecosystem and increasingly a catalyst for the development of advanced skills”, Ubertini concluded.
Promoting the adoption of AI solutions in key sectors such as agri-food, cybersecurity, Earth sciences and manufacturing is among IT4LIA AI Factory’s goals. Through a “one-stop shop” organisational model, IT4LIA AI Factory will simplify access, for many public and private users, to relevant data and a wide range of services, thereby encouraging collaboration between the research community, the information technology sector, start-ups and SMEs.
IT4LIA AI Factory benefits from a total investment of around €420 million, equally contributed by the European Commission through the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking and the Italian Government. The initiative has been promoted by the Ministry of University and Research (MUR) together with the National Cybersecurity Agency (ACN), with contributions from Austria and Slovenia and other key institutions: the Emilia-Romagna Region, the Cineca Consortium, the National Institute for Nuclear Physic (INFN), the ItaliaMeteo Agency, the AI4Industry Foundation and the Bruno Kessler Foundation. Other strategic partners include the ICSC – National Research Centre in HPC, Big Data and Quantum Computing, four universities (Modena and Reggio Emilia, Bologna, Turin and Sapienza), Confindustria, ART-ER (Attractiveness Research Territory Emilia-Romagna) and the International Foundation Big Data and Artificial Intelligence for Human Development (IFAB).
“The operational start of the IT4LIA AI Factory project represents a strategic achievement for Emilia-Romagna and for the entire country. Bologna Tecnopolo, with its cutting-edge infrastructures such as Leonardo supercomputer, confirms itself as the beating heart of European innovation in supercomputing, artificial intelligence and advanced research. It is a unique infrastructure, today enriched by a new, essential element, the result of collaboration between institutions, science and business. IT4LIA AI Factory is a tangible model of technological development serving the community and enterprises, capable of generating knowledge, opportunities and high-quality jobs. It is a system of excellence in which the Emilia-Romagna Region will continue to invest, in order to face the challenges of innovation and digital transition, and to lead competitive, inclusive and internationally oriented development”, commented the President of the Emilia-Romagna Region Michele de Pascale.
DAMA Tecnopolo is a space dedicated to digital innovation, created and managed by the Emilia-Romagna Region. This international and European hub of supercomputing and big data now hosts Italy’s most important scientific institutions. Thanks to European, national and regional funds, it was created through the restoration of the former Manifattura Tabacchi, designed by architect Pier Luigi Nervi, and the urban redevelopment of the surrounding area.
