Council Regulation (EU) 2024/1732 of 17 June 2024 amending Regulation (EU) 2021/1173 as regards a EuroHPC initiative for start-ups in order to boost European leadership in trustworthy artificial intelligence

‘5a An existing hosting entity may apply to become an AI factory. Following a call for expression of interest, an existing hosting entity shall be selected by the Governing Board through a fair and transparent process based, inter alia, on the selection criteria described in Article 9(5), second subparagraph, and provided that the hosting entity can demonstrate that its EuroHPC supercomputer has enough computing resources for training large scale, general-purpose AI models and emerging AI applications.’

‘6a For the AI-optimised supercomputers referred to in Article 12a, the hosting entity shall create a one-stop shop for users, including startups, small and medium-sized enterprises and scientific users, to facilitate access to its support services.’

1 The Joint Undertaking shall acquire AI-optimised supercomputers and shall own them.

2 The Union financial contribution referred to in Article 5(1) shall cover up to 50 % of the acquisition costs plus up to 50 % of the operating costs of the AI-optimised supercomputers. The operating costs include the costs for AI-oriented supercomputing services. The remaining total cost of ownership of the AI-optimised supercomputers shall be covered by the Participating State where the hosting entity is established or by the Participating States in the hosting consortium, possibly supplemented by the contributions referred to in Article 6.

3 The selection of the supplier of the AI-optimised supercomputers shall address the security of the supply chain. It shall be based on tender specifications that are demand-driven and that take into account the user requirements and the general system specifications provided by the selected hosting entity in its application for the call for expression of interest.

4 The Joint Undertaking may act as first user of AI-optimised supercomputers that integrate technologies primarily developed in the Union.

5 The Governing Board may decide in the work programme, if duly justified for security reasons, to condition the participation of suppliers in the acquisition of the AI-optimised supercomputers in accordance with Article 12(6) of Regulation (EU) 2021/694, or to limit the participation of suppliers for security reasons or where the actions directly relate to the Union’s strategic autonomy in accordance with Article 18(4) of that Regulation.

6 The AI-optimised supercomputers shall be located in a hosting entity of a EuroHPC supercomputer or a supercomputing centre located in the Union.

7 Without prejudice to the winding up of the Joint Undertaking, as referred to in Article 23(4) of the Statutes, at the earliest five years after the successful acceptance test by the AI-optimised supercomputer installed in a hosting entity, the ownership of the AI-optimised supercomputer may be transferred to that hosting entity or the AI-optimised supercomputer may be sold to another entity or decommissioned upon decision of the Governing Board and in accordance with the hosting agreement. In the case of transfer of ownership of an AI-optimised supercomputer, the hosting entity shall reimburse the Joint Undertaking the residual value of the supercomputer that is transferred. If there is no transfer of ownership to the hosting entity but a decision to decommission the AI-optimised supercomputer, the relevant costs shall be shared equally by the Joint Undertaking and the hosting entity. The Joint Undertaking shall not be liable for any costs incurred after the transfer of ownership of the AI-optimised supercomputer or after the sale or decommissioning of the AI-optimised supercomputer.’

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.