G42, iGenius to build €1B AI supercomputer in Italy
The massive AI supercomputer will be powered by NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs
#Italy #HPC - Core42, a UAE-based leader in sovereign cloud and AI infrastructure,, has formed a strategic partnership with Italian AI pioneer iGenius to deploy Europe's largest artificial intelligence compute cluster, with an investment of €1 billion ($1.12b). The collaboration will establish the Colosseum supercomputer, a high-performance GPU cluster powered by thousands of NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs, creating Italy's most powerful AI computing facility scheduled to go live this summer.
SO WHAT? - This landmark partnership represents a significant advancement in Europe's AI sovereignty ambitions, creating computing infrastructure crucial for developing large language models and advanced AI applications without reliance on US or Chinese technology giants. The deployment of over 100 exaflops of compute power specifically designed for sovereign AI workloads positions Italy as a continental leader in AI infrastructure while deepening strategic UAE-Italy relations following February's $40 billion bilateral investment agreement.
G42 Group sovereign cloud and AI infrastructure company Core42 and Italian AI pioneer iGenius have announced a strategic partnership to deploy the Colosseum supercomputer, Europe's largest artificial intelligence compute cluster.
The strategic partnership was announced at the 3rd Edition of Investopia Europe in Milan, witnessed by senior officials including H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy and Chairman of Investopia, H.E. Adolfo Urso, Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy, and H.E. Alia Bint Abdulla Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of State for Entrepreneurship.
The Colosseum supercomputer has ben designed as a blueprint for sovereign AI factories capable of handling use cases demanding the highest levels of security, reliability, and accuracy across European industries including financial services, manufacturing, and public sector.
Italy's Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy, H.E. Adolfo Urso, indicated that the country’s southern region of Puglia is likely to host the Colosseum supercomputer.
As both both strategic technology partner and lead financier for the initial phase of the Colosseum project — and with the recently announced plans to build an AI data centre cluster in Switzerland — the deal firmly positions G42 as a global player for building out state-of-the-art AI infrastructure.
This collaboration represents another step in Core42's strategy to deliver sovereign, enterprise-grade AI infrastructure across Europe, supporting the region's growing demand for secure, scalable, high-performance computing aligned with digital sovereignty objectives.
ZOOM OUT - The partnership wit G42 builds upon iGenius's ambitious vision first announced in December 2024, when the Italian deep tech company first unveiled plans for the Colosseum supercomputer. Originally designed to deliver 115 exaFLOPS of computational performance powered by renewable Italian energy, the system will feature NVIDIA DGX GB200 systems with thousands of Grace Blackwell Superchips for real-time trillion-parameter inference and training. Since its founding in 2016, iGenius has positioned itself as a pioneer bridging the gap between people and data through AI solutions for regulated industries. The company’s flagship Crystal product has become the AI solution of choice for numerous Fortune 500 companies. The collaboration with G42 significantly accelerates iGenius's mission to democratise enterprise AI, empowering European companies with fast AI compute.
[Written and edited with the assistance of AI]