Principal investigator (ÚFAL): 

Pavel Pecina

Project Manager (ÚFAL): 

Petr Polanský

Provider: 

HE

Grant id: 

101314740

Duration: 

2026-2029

CZAI

The Czech AI Factory (CZAI) establishes a national AI Factory as a strategic part of the European AI and HPC ecosystem and a node in the network of European AI Factories. It responds to the shortage of dedicated AI infrastructure in Central and Eastern Europe. CZAI combines two closely linked components: the AI-optimised supercomputer KarolAIna and an AI Factory Service Hub that provides computing capacity, advanced software, curated data and expert support. The hub is a single access point for research institutions, companies and public administration, with a particular focus on SMEs and startups. Its services target industry, health and life sciences, sustainable energy, public administration, cybersecurity and future mobility.

CZAI supports the whole AI lifecycle, from data preparation and large-scale model training to deployment and validation. Throughout, it emphasises trustworthy, explainable and energy-efficient AI in line with the AI Act and European data governance rules. The project offers secure access to AI-ready datasets and develops open base models for text, speech, vision and multimodal applications, which users can adapt to their own needs. A distributed AI Training Academy will help address the shortage of AI skills. The project also connects Czech expertise to EuroHPC, the Testing and Experimentation Facilities (TEFs), the European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs) and other European AI initiatives.

ÚFAL leads the work package on AI tools, models and algorithms. Its own focus is on large language models for Czech and other languages of the region, building on its experience from projects such as HPLT and OpenEuroLLM.

Project website: https://www.eurohpc-ju.europa.eu/czechia_en

The project is co-funded by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic.

Consortium partners:

• VSB – Technical University of Ostrava (coordinator)
• International Neurodegenerative Disorders Research Center
• Czech Technical University in Prague
• Charles University
• Brno University of Technology
• Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IOCB Prague)