Austria's AI factory: This is how Vienna becomes a hotspot for artificial intelligence!

Austria's AI factory: This is how Vienna becomes a hotspot for artificial intelligence!

In a pioneering step for the domestic innovation landscape, the “AI Factory Austria” is being launched in Austria. This ambitious project, which is being implemented under the umbrella of Advanced Computing Austria (ACA) and AIT, aims to strengthen the AI ​​ecosystem in Austria. The kick-off for the AI ​​Factory is scheduled for next September, which will lay the foundation for a variety of services in the field of artificial intelligence. The first services will be available from October, as our colleagues from Krone.de report.

The EU is contributing a significant amount of 40 million euros to finance the project, supported by a doubling of funds by the federal government. A total of 30 million euros will flow into software services for data management, AI applications and the development of an AI hub that will offer comprehensive advice and support on ethical and regulatory issues. In the future, Vienna will have a central contact point for everyone involved in AI.

The AI ​​hub as the heart of the project

The AI ​​hub will be much more than just an office. It is designed as a co-working space and will cover an area of ​​1,500 to 2,500 square meters, which will be available from January 2026. Innovators will come together here to work on joint projects, receive training and use access to the supercomputer. Markus Stöhr, the project manager, emphasizes that the AI ​​Factory is intended to function as a workshop and laboratory for new ideas - a real meeting place for researchers, start-ups and companies.

But that's not all: The plan is also to purchase an AI-optimized supercomputer, whose investment of 50 million euros is also future-oriented. It is scheduled to go into operation at the Vienna University of Technology in January 2027. The project's fields of application are diverse and range from biotechnology to industrial production to questions in the area of ​​public administration.

A European network in focus

The AI ​​Factory Austria is part of a large-scale European project that includes a total of 13 AI factories in different EU countries. These factories are intended to increase Europe's competitiveness in the field of artificial intelligence, as the European Commission emphasizes. “We want to become a global leader in AI,” explains Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the Commission, who recently looked at developments at the JUPITER AI Factory in Germany. Deutschland.de reports on her visit, during which the goals and visions for the European AI future were discussed.

The focus is not only on large companies, but also on small and medium-sized companies as well as start-ups, which should be able to develop trustworthy AI models with the support of the new AI hub. With a clear focus on ethical standards and innovation, the EU wants to ensure not only technological but also economic competitiveness in global competition.

Vienna has also successfully applied to establish an “AI Gigafactory”, which will have even greater computing power and automation capacities. Up to five such gigafactories are to be built in Europe, which represents an exciting prospect for Austria. The next steps in the selection process are planned for the fourth quarter of 2025, with possible commissioning in 2028.

The future of artificial intelligence in Austria is taking shape - and it will be exciting to see how the AI ​​Factory Austria will develop!