Canada to Join European Supercomputer Network in AI Computing Partnership
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in Brussels on Thursday that Canada will become part of the European Union's supercomputer network. The partnership concerns computing power, a key element for training artificial intelligence models.
Von der Leyen said the move enables Canadian industry, startups and researchers to access European supercomputing. Paired with Canada's pioneering AI industry, she said, it would allow the two sides to develop highly competitive, innovative and safe AI systems.
The EU supercomputing network is run by the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking, a public-private vehicle with a budget of 8.2 billion euros. The network consists of 14 supercomputers, some ranked in the global top 10, 19 AI-focused AI factories and 10 quantum computers.
The vehicle will also run seven massive AI data centre hubs, known as AI gigafactories, set to be built next year with a total investment cost of 30 billion euros.
Anton Leicht, a technology and international affairs fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said compute cooperation is one of the most obvious short-term middle-power cooperation plays in AI. He warned, however, that for now it does not put a dent in the actual dependence on the United States.
Leicht said that as long as the United States builds gigawatt-scale clusters, no amount of cooperation that does not result in massive buildouts will help reduce that dependence.
Canada's engagement in the EU supercomputing network builds on Canada's previous partial involvement in Horizon Europe, the EU's flagship research and development programme.
To date, 38 countries have participated in the EU supercomputing network: the 27 EU member countries plus non-EU countries including Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Israel and Turkey.
