Finland is set to become home to a €387.8 million artificial intelligence supercomputer as Europe accelerates efforts to strengthen its AI and high-performance computing infrastructure.
Europe is moving forward with a major AI infrastructure investment in Finland as the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking has signed a contract with French technology company Bull to deliver the new LUMI-AI supercomputer.
The €387.8 million project is designed to significantly expand Europe’s computing capacity for artificial intelligence, scientific research and industrial applications, supporting the region’s efforts to compete with the United States and China in advanced technologies.
Six European Countries to Finance the Project
The investment will be financed jointly by the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking and a six-country consortium comprising Finland, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Norway and Poland.
Around half of the project’s funding will come from EuroHPC, while the remaining financing will be provided by the participating countries. The system will be owned by EuroHPC, with Finland’s public technology center CSC responsible for its operation.
LUMI-AI will be installed at CSC’s data center in Kajaani, alongside the existing LUMI supercomputer. The new system is expected to become operational in the second half of 2027.
AI Computing Capacity to Increase Tenfold
LUMI-AI will build on the capabilities of the existing LUMI system, one of Europe’s leading supercomputers.
The new infrastructure is expected to increase AI-focused computing capacity by approximately 10 times, while traditional high-performance computing capacity is projected to nearly double.
The system will use BullSequana XH3500 architecture, AMD Instinct MI430X accelerators and sixth-generation AMD EPYC processors. IBM will provide storage infrastructure, while Nokia will contribute networking technology.
The infrastructure will also provide API access, allowing companies and startups to integrate LUMI-AI’s computing resources into their own software and development environments.
Supporting Businesses, Startups and Research
LUMI-AI is intended to serve more than academic research. Companies, startups and SMEs will be able to use the infrastructure for AI development and computationally intensive applications.
Potential use cases include healthcare, pharmaceuticals, energy, automotive technologies, climate modelling, advanced materials and large language models.
The broader LUMI AI Factory ecosystem is designed to bring together computing resources, data and expertise, enabling companies and researchers to develop, test and scale AI solutions.
Sustainability Built Into the Infrastructure
Sustainability is another key component of the project.
LUMI-AI will be powered by renewable electricity and use liquid cooling technology to improve energy efficiency. Heat generated by the supercomputer will also be recovered and supplied to Kajaani’s district heating network, allowing waste heat from computing operations to contribute to local heating.
The new system is also expected to work alongside the LUMI-IQ quantum computing platform, creating an ecosystem that combines conventional high-performance computing, AI and quantum technologies.
Strengthening Europe’s AI Infrastructure
The LUMI-AI investment forms part of Europe’s broader strategy to expand its AI infrastructure and reduce dependence on computing capacity outside the region.
The EuroHPC AI Factories programme is developing a network of AI-focused computing facilities across Europe. The growing infrastructure is intended to provide researchers, startups and businesses with access to the computing power required to develop next-generation AI applications.
For Finland, the investment further strengthens Kajaani’s position as a European hub for high-performance computing and AI innovation.
With LUMI-AI expected to enter operation in 2027, the project could significantly expand Europe’s capacity to train advanced AI models, conduct large-scale scientific simulations and support businesses developing computationally intensive technologies.