Henna Maria Virkkunen, Vice-President of the European Commission, presented yesterday, April 9, the AI Continent Action Plan, the EU’s strategy to strengthen the adoption of artificial intelligence tools in businesses.
In this context, Italy will play a key role with the implementation of IT4LIA, one of the two European AI Factories among the 13 presented, in addition to the Finnish one, which involves the acquisition of a supercomputer optimized for artificial intelligence applications. The procurement process for the new supercomputer, which will operate alongside the Leonardo system, is already underway to ensure that the first partition of the new system becomes operational by the end of 2025 at the Cineca data center, located within the DAMA Tecnopolo Data Manifattura Emilia-Romagna complex in Bologna.
Details
By May, the first calls for access to the computing services and specialized support provided by the IT4LIA project will be launched and activated. The IT4LIA AI Factory is an open ecosystem and will serve as a reference point for the development and implementation of artificial intelligence in Italy and Europe, ensuring access to advanced AI services for companies, with particular focus on SMEs and start-ups, as well as for public administration and research. The initiative aims to strengthen the competitiveness and innovation of the industrial ecosystem through specialized services and the availability of a highly specialized supercomputing infrastructure.
The project is co-financed 50% by the European Commission and 50% by the Italian participation of the Ministry of University and Research, the National Cybersecurity Agency, the Emilia-Romagna Region, the National Institute for Nuclear Physics, the Italian Institute of Artificial Intelligence for Industry, the Bruno Kessler Foundation, the ItaliaMeteo Agency, and Cineca, which acts as the hosting entity and project coordinator.
Who participates
Strategic partners also participating in the project include ICSC – National Research Centre in HPC, Big Data and Quantum Computing, Confindustria, IFAB, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, University of Turin, Sapienza University of Rome and Ar-TER.
Stakeholders also involved include the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, the Agency for Digital Italy, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti Venture Capital, with additional participants expected to join. The initiative will also rely on a network of aggregators distributed across the national territory, acting as entry points (gates) and involving Industry 4.0 Competence Centers, Digital Innovation Hubs, testing and experimentation facilities, and centers of excellence in HPC.
The initiative will be tasked with building an innovation ecosystem capable of accelerating Italy’s competitiveness in the field of artificial intelligence and fostering technology transfer across the country’s entire productive system.
Commenti di Bernini e Frattasi
“With IT4LIA,” declared the Minister of University and Research, Anna Maria Bernini, “our country confirms its leadership role in the field of artificial intelligence. We strongly wanted this initiative to offer businesses, public administration, and the academic and research world a cutting-edge infrastructure that will strengthen the national system. It is an extraordinary result, the fruit of a strategic vision shared between institutions and private partners, demonstrating Italy’s ability to lead change. IT4LIA will facilitate access to the most advanced technologies, breaking down barriers and prioritizing SMEs, start-ups, and regions that want to grow. The Ministry of University and Research is proud to be a protagonist of this revolution: an investment that places Italy at the center of Europe’s digital transformation. Today our country is thus a driver of progress, innovation, and the future.”
“With this achievement, Italy confirms its leading role in technological planning for artificial intelligence,” declared Bruno Frattasi, Director General of ACN. “A milestone, reached today, that is the result of an intense effort to strengthen the digital capabilities of our ecosystem, on which the National Cybersecurity Agency has been working for some time, also together with the project partners. IT4LIA is an extraordinary opportunity for administrations, SMEs, and start-ups to leverage the computing power developed by the Factory, as well as a virtuous example of collaboration between Public Administration, Institutions, Universities, and the research world.”
Comments by Ubertini and Zoccoli
“The milestone achieved today,” added the President of Cineca, Francesco Ubertini, “was made possible thanks to the valuable support and coordination of the Minister of University and Research, Anna Maria Bernini, the work of the National Cybersecurity Agency, and the commitment of all partners involved. Now before us lies a broad opportunity, accompanied by an equally significant responsibility. The real challenge begins now: our success will be measured by our ability to effectively guide SMEs, start-ups, and public administration in adopting the most advanced technologies that will be at the core of the IT4LIA project.”
“For years, with great vision, Italy has been investing in supercomputing and AI according to a clear national strategy, aimed at promoting our country’s leadership and autonomy in one of the key sectors for our society, fully integrated into the broader European strategy,” emphasized Antonio Zoccoli, President of the National Center ICSC and INFN. “The creation of the IT4LIA AI