Latest news with #InvestAI
Calgary Herald
7 days ago
- Business
- Calgary Herald
What is ‘sovereign AI' and why is it a priority for Canada in the age of Trump?
Article content Countries with the resources and know-how to forge ahead on AI development and deployment are building AI factories, which are hubs that unite computing power (known as compute), data, researchers and companies to advance AI models and applications. Article content 'The AI factory will become the bedrock of modern economies across the world,' Jensen Huang, founder and chief executive of AI chip giant Nvidia Corp., said during a media Q&A in 2024. Article content The European Union's InvestAI initiative launched in February will mobilize a 200 billion euro AI investment, with 20 billion euros of that reserved for AI gigafactories. At least 15 AI factories are expected to be operational in the EU in 2025 and 2026, including sites in Germany, Finland, France, Italy and Spain. Article content Stargate LLC, the AI joint venture between OpenAI Inc., SoftBank Group Corp., Oracle Corp. and Metagenomi Inc., said it will invest US$500 billion in the coming years to boost the U.S.'s AI infrastructure and to 'secure American leadership in AI.' Article content Article content Canada, meanwhile, announced the Canadian Sovereign AI Compute Strategy in December 2024, which will dole out more than $2 billion over five years to support the domestic AI industry. About half of those funds are earmarked to build out the country's lagging computing infrastructure. Article content Industry leaders and policymakers have for years lamented that while the foundations of AI have their roots in Canada, the country has largely failed to transform its early research lead into tangible economic benefits. Article content The Mark Carney government said it aims to change that. It remains committed to Ottawa's sovereign AI strategy and has also made new promises, such as tax credits to help small businesses adopt AI and to integrate the technology into the public sector. Article content So far, the federal government has only allotted up to $240 million to Toronto's Cohere Inc. to help the company invest in and buy AI compute at a new multi-billion-dollar Ontario data centre to be opened this year and operated by New Jersey-based cloud provider CoreWeave Inc. Article content Article content Evan Solomon, Ottawa's recently minted minister of AI and digital innovation, has said that building Canada's sovereign AI does not require every piece of the tech stack to be Canadian. Article content CIGI's Araya argued the government should fund homegrown tech firms first. Article content 'I wouldn't go looking outside Canada for procurement, (as) it undermines our economic development over time,' he said. 'It also limits our capacity to know exactly how we're managing our data; a huge portion of our data has to go through U.S. infrastructure.' Article content Solomon has also said Canada requires foreign partners, companies and capital to fulfil its vision of sovereign AI. He cited the need to work with the U.S., the United Kingdom, France and Germany, and has signalled that Saudi Arabia could be a potential investor in Canadian AI. Article content Forging strategic alliances is key for Canada's long-term AI strategy, especially if the country can leverage its AI intellectual property (IP) to play from a position of power, said Daniel Wigdor, a University of Toronto computer science professor and the cofounder and chief executive of Axl, a venture studio that aims to build 50 AI companies over the next five years. Article content He said the bulk of AI patents filed in Canada leave the country, with 75 per cent of them going to the tech giants, while only seven per cent of the remaining quarter are assigned to Canadian companies. Article content 'If we can start to recapture that … this strategy can pan out,' he said. 'But if we're just going to sell our stuff to the highest bidder and be dependent on them, there's a big danger in that.' Article content What might sovereign AI look like in the future? Article content Much of the current discussion on sovereign AI revolves around building AI data centre infrastructure and obtaining the energy and cutting-edge chips required to power them. Article content It's a highly costly endeavour, with McKinsey & Co. Inc. estimating in an April report that companies in the compute value chain will need to invest US$5.2 trillion in data centres by 2030 to satiate global AI demand. Article content Araya said Canada is right to invest in data centres, but needs to think beyond that. Article content Article content 'We can't just say we'll take all our public tax dollars and put them into data centres,' he said. 'We've got to think about how we make more money. It's one thing to have the infrastructure in place, but we need the service economy that sits on top of that.' Article content As GenAI models advance, some scholars and industry voices are advocating for an alternative vision of AI that is less power-hungry and more equitable over the bigger-is-better mentality espoused by Silicon Valley's AI giants. Article content Sovereign AI, Wigdor said, doesn't just mean owning the data layer or developing large language models (LLMs). Article content 'If we're going to be spending Canadians' money to establish a sovereign AI play, it should be to leverage our lead in applied computing in AI — applying the technology to solve real-world problems — valuable to people and businesses, and let private industry pay for the rest,' he said. 'That's where we can leap ahead.'
Euronews
30-06-2025
- Business
- Euronews
Most interest in AI gigafactory builds is European, Commission says
The 'vast majority' of responses to a European Commission call for interest to invest in artificial intelligence gigafactories is European, despite global investors also being permitted to participate in the public-private partnerships, EU Commissioner for Technology told journalists at a press conference on Monday. Henna Virkkunnen updated plans announced by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen earlier this year to mobilise €200bn for investment in artificial intelligence through an InvestAI fund. Of this, €20bn will be earmarked for four to five AI gigafactories, needed to allow for 'collaborative development' with the most complex AI models, according to the Commission. The aim is to enable even small companies to access large-scale computing power for future development. The proposals received so far 'are immense in scale', Virkkunen said, adding that together the companies are ready to invest more than €230 billion. 'It does not mean that all of them will materialise, but it is positive news,' she added. The Commission will now enter into discussions with the respondents to the Commission's call, as well as the member states. An official call will come later this year, as part of the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking - a joint initiative between the EU, member states and private partners. Competition The Commission announced plans to build seven AI factories last year, but the larger gigafactories will have around 100,000 last-generation AI chips, around four times more than the AI factories currently being set up. The gigafactories funded through InvestAI aim to be the largest public-private partnership in the world for the development of trustworthy AI, according to the EU executive. The Commission's initial funding for InvestAI will come from existing EU funding programmes which have a digital component, such as the Digital Europe Programme, Horizon Europe, and InvestEU. EU member states can also contribute by committing investment from existing earmarked cohesion funds. That call came after other regions in the world, including the US, outperform Europe when it comes to AI funding and investment. Earlier this year, US President Donald Trump also announced a joint venture, with Stargate, OpenAI, Oracle and Softbank, to invest billions of dollars in AI infrastructure in the country. The joint venture team will set up a separate company, deploying $100bn (€96bn) immediately and increasing the investment up to $500bn (€480bn) over the coming four years.
Business Standard
25-06-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Schneider Electric Accelerates the Development and Deployment of AI Factories at Scale With NVIDIA
VMPL Paris [NVIDIA GTC], June 25: Schneider Electric, the leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, today announced it is collaborating with NVIDIA to serve the growing demand for sustainable, AI-ready infrastructure. Together, Schneider Electric and NVIDIA are advancing research and development (R & D) initiatives for power, cooling, controls, and high-density rack systems to enable the next generation of AI factories across Europe and beyond. This unique global partnership, announced during NVIDIA GTC Paris, brings together the world leaders in sustainability and accelerated computing to support the European Union's AI infrastructure ambitions and its "InvestAI" initiative, which plans to mobilize a EUR200 billion investment in AI. Leveraging its expertise in AI-ready infrastructure, sustainability, and grid coordination, Schneider Electric and NVIDIA are together responding to the European Commission's "AI Continent Action Plan," which outlines a shared mission to set up at least 13 AI factories across Europe, while establishing up to five AI gigafactories. "Schneider Electric and NVIDIA are not just partners -- our teams are driving advanced R & D, co-developing the infrastructure needed to power the next wave of AI factories globally," said Olivier Blum, CEO of Schneider Electric. "Together, we've seen tremendous success in deploying next-generation power and liquid cooling solutions, purpose-built for AI data centers. This strategic partnership -- bringing together the world leaders in sustainability and accelerated computing -- allows us to further accelerate this momentum, pushing the boundaries of what's possible for the AI workloads of tomorrow." "AI is the defining technology of our time--the most transformative force reshaping our world," said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO, NVIDIA. "Together with Schneider Electric, we are building AI factories: the essential infrastructure that brings AI to every company, industry, and society." New NVIDIA-Enabled Infrastructure Solutions In support of today's announcement, Schneider Electric has also unveiled a suite of AI-ready data center solutions, including new EcoStruxure™ Pod and Rack Infrastructure. Designed to accelerate AI developments globally, the Prefabricated Modular EcoStruxure Pod Data Center is a scalable, pod-based architecture, enabling rapid AI data center deployment. As part of this, a new Schneider Electric Open Compute Project (OCP) inspired rack system has also been developed to support the NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 platform that uses the NVIDIA MGX modular architecture, integrating Schneider Electric into NVIDIA HGX and MGX ecosystems for the first time. These announcements build on a series of milestones shared by the two global leaders earlier this year, including Schneider Electric and ETAP unveiling the world's first digital twin for electrical and large-scale power systems in AI factories using the NVIDIA Omniverse Blueprint. Together, Schneider Electric and NVIDIA have also co-developed a series of full electrical and liquid cooling-based reference designs as an approved CDU vendor for NVIDIA -- many of which also include solutions from Motivair's liquid cooling portfolio, following its acquisition by Schneider Electric in March 2025. Through this expanded and deepened strategic partnership, Schneider Electric and NVIDIA will continue to accelerate their infrastructure initiatives, fast-tracking new product rollouts and reference designs to build the AI factories of the future.
Time of India
23-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Schneider Electric and NVIDIA join hands to power Europe's AI Future
Schneider Electric , an energy management and automation company, on Monday announced its collaboration with NVIDIA to serve the growing demand for sustainable, AI-ready infrastructure to meet the escalating demand for sustainable, AI-ready infrastructure. This strategic partnership, unveiled during NVIDIA GTC Paris, will significantly advance research and development (R&D) in power, cooling, controls, and high-density rack systems, laying the groundwork for the next generation of AI factories across Europe and beyond. According to the joint statement, the alliance is set to play a crucial role in supporting the European Union's ambitious 'InvestAI' initiative, which aims to mobilise a €200 billion investment in AI. 'Together, we've seen tremendous success in deploying next-generation power and liquid cooling solutions, purpose-built for AI data centers . This strategic partnership — bringing together the world leaders in sustainability and accelerated computing — allows us to further accelerate this momentum, pushing the boundaries of what's possible for the AI workloads of tomorrow,' said Olivier Blum, CEO of Schneider Electric This global partnership leverages Schneider Electric's extensive expertise in AI-ready infrastructure, sustainability, and grid coordination. By combining forces with NVIDIA's leadership in accelerated computing, the collaboration aims to provide the essential infrastructure needed to power the burgeoning AI ecosystem, the statement noted.
Channel Post MEA
23-06-2025
- Business
- Channel Post MEA
NVIDIA And Schneider Electric Partner To Develop AI Factories
Schneider Electric has announced a partnership with NVIDIA to accelerate the development and deployment of sustainable, AI-ready infrastructure, known as 'AI factories.' Both companies are advancing research and development (R&D) initiatives in cooling, power, building management, and control systems for both digital and physical AI data centers. Leveraging its expertise in AI-ready infrastructure, sustainability, and grid coordination, Schneider Electric and NVIDIA are together responding to the European Commission's 'AI Continent Action Plan,' which outlines a shared mission to set up at least 13 AI factories across Europe, while establishing up to five AI gigafactories. This unique global partnership brings together the world leaders in sustainability and accelerated computing to support the European Union's AI infrastructure ambitions and its 'InvestAI' initiative, which plans to mobilize a €200 billion investment in AI. 'Schneider Electric and NVIDIA are not just partners — our teams are driving advanced R&D, co-developing the infrastructure needed to power the next wave of AI factories globally,' said Olivier Blum, CEO of Schneider Electric. 'Together, we've seen tremendous success in deploying next-generation power and liquid cooling solutions, purpose-built for AI data centers. This strategic partnership — bringing together the world leaders in sustainability and accelerated computing — allows us to further accelerate this momentum, pushing the boundaries of what's possible for the AI workloads of tomorrow.' 'AI is the defining technology of our time—the most transformative force reshaping our world,' said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO, NVIDIA. 'Together with Schneider Electric, we are building AI factories: the essential infrastructure that brings AI to every company, industry, and society.' Schneider Electric has also unveiled a suite of AI-ready data center solutions, including new EcoStruxure™ Pod and Rack Infrastructure. Designed to accelerate AI developments globally, the Prefabricated Modular EcoStruxure Pod Data Center is a scalable, pod-based architecture, enabling rapid AI data center deployment. As part of this, a new Schneider Electric Open Compute Project (OCP) inspired rack system has also been developed to support the NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 platform that uses the NVIDIA MGX modular architecture, integrating Schneider Electric into NVIDIA HGX and MGX ecosystems for the first time. These announcements build on a series of milestones shared by the two global leaders earlier this year, including Schneider Electric and ETAP unveiling the world's first digital twin for electrical and large-scale power systems in AI factories using the NVIDIA Omniverse Blueprint. Together, Schneider Electric and NVIDIA have also co-developed a series of full electrical and liquid cooling-based reference designs as an approved CDU vendor for NVIDIA — many of which also include solutions from Motivair's liquid cooling portfolio, following its acquisition by Schneider Electric in March 2025. Through this expanded and deepened strategic partnership, Schneider Electric and NVIDIA will continue to accelerate their infrastructure initiatives, fast-tracking new product rollouts and reference designs to build the AI factories of the future.
