Czech AI Factory has launched in Ostrava. FIT BUT is helping to build the Czech artificial intelligence infrastructure

The Czech AI Factory project, the Czech node of the European AI Factories network being built as part of the EuroHPC JU initiative, was officially launched in Ostrava on Tuesday, May 12. The project combines the new KarolAIna supercomputer with a comprehensive portfolio of services for the development and deployment of artificial intelligence in the Czech Republic. The resulting infrastructure is intended to serve companies, startups, public administration, and research organizations, helping them utilize AI without the need to build their own extensive computing infrastructure. It will offer users access to computing capacities optimized for AI, expert support, data services, AI solution testing, and educational programs. The total project budget amounts to nearly 1 billion Czech crowns, with half of the funding provided by the European EuroHPC JU partnership and the other half by the Czech Republic through the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports.

The consortium led by VŠB – Technical University of Ostrava and the IT4Innovations center includes six leading Czech institutions, including Brno University of Technology, whose participation is coordinated by Prof. Jan Černocký from the Faculty of Information Technology. “The Czech AI Factory represents a crucial step for the development of artificial intelligence in the Czech Republic. By combining cutting-edge computing infrastructure, excellent research, and close collaboration with industry, an environment is being created that will accelerate the transfer of AI research results from the laboratory to practical application. For BUT, participation in the project is an opportunity to actively shape the future of European AI, support new talent, and assist companies and startups, as well as public institutions,” said Černocký, commenting on the significance of the project’s launch.

On Tuesday in Ostrava, Černocký presented one of the first concrete solutions that IT4Innovations and BUT are jointly developing for the Fire and Rescue Service of the Czech Republic. This involves the development of an AI voicebot for the 112 emergency hotline. FIT VUT is one of the project’s key technical pillars: it is involved in the development of AI services (in the fields of speech technologies and cybersecurity), as well as educational activities and the translation of laboratory prototypes into practical applications.

The Czech AI Factory project will focus, among other things, on industry, healthcare, energy, public administration, cybersecurity, and transportation, and aims to strengthen the Czech Republic’s position in the European ecosystem of trustworthy and practically applicable artificial intelligence.

For more information, see the official press release.

We previously wrote about the CZ AI Factory project last fall.