Ireland has reached a major milestone in advanced computing capabilities with the successful completion of the AI Factory Antenna bid by the Irish Centre for High-End Computing (ICHEC) at the University of Galway.
The new supercomputer, called Casp LR, will succeed the supercomputer Kay, which was commissioned in 2018. The facility has signed a hosting agreement to acquire the new system.
The AI Factory Antenna project has secured €5 million in European funding following assessment by the European High Performance Computing (EuroHPC) Joint Undertaking. The government confirmed Ireland’s achievement in securing this investment in advanced computational infrastructure.
The project is being implemented by a consortium led by ICHEC, with partners including Cedar (Ireland’s Centre for AI), Portershed, Dogpatch Labs, RDI Hub, Republic of Works, Advanced Innovation in Manufacturing, and Digital Skills Networks (Innovation Technology Atlantic Gateway, Digital Technology Skills Limited).
Minister for Higher Education and Science James Lawless congratulated ICHEC and Galway University on the achievement, saying the supercomputer will provide researchers, developers and public institutions with access to state-of-the-art facilities, expert support and European AI networks. He noted it will accelerate innovation across the economy and society in areas including climate, health, transport and advanced manufacturing.
Professor David Burn, President of Galway University, said the new supercomputer contract marks a new era for Ireland’s research community.
The supercomputer will significantly enhance Ireland’s capacity for high-performance computing, supporting computational research across academia, industry and public institutions while strengthening connections to European research networks.