Last week, the Serbian IT and eGovernment Office signed a 50 million EUR contract with the French company Bull SAS, part of the Eviden Group, for the procurement of a new supercomputer. This move marks the second supercomputer Serbia is acquiring for its National Data Center in Kragujevac. The deal, which also includes AI development, is part of a broader intergovernmental agreement between France and Serbia.
According to Mihailo Jovanović, Director of the IT Office, the new supercomputer will significantly enhance Serbia’s national platform for AI development, providing 20 times more superchips and nearly 30 times more data storage than the first supercomputer acquired in 2022. This positions Serbia as one of the leading nations in the region in terms of national supercomputing capacity.
Prime Minister Miloš Vučević emphasized that this investment will not only support scientific advancements but also encourage entrepreneurship by providing better infrastructure for startup founders and businesses.
The partnership aims to create a National AI Factory in Serbia, integrating AI excellence with supercomputing resources to accelerate AI capabilities and foster innovation across key sectors. This initiative will position Serbia as a regional leader in AI, with plans to strengthen its technological autonomy through European technologies. The National AI Factory will combine advanced AI software, hardware, and expertise to drive large-scale AI applications and innovation.
Eviden Group, a global leader in supercomputers, has been involved in major projects, including the first European exascale supercomputer. For Serbia, Eviden will deploy the BullSequana KSH3000 supercomputer, capable of 25 petaflops of computational power and supporting AI development with 300 GPUs and 2.5 petabytes of storage.
Additionally, Serbia is negotiating the acquisition of a third supercomputer, set to be completed by 2026.
This development aligns with Europe’s strategic efforts to build AI infrastructure, with plans for at least 15 AI factories across the EU by 2025-2026. These initiatives are part of a larger European AI ecosystem aimed at fostering innovation, ensuring access for AI startups, and supporting small and medium-sized enterprises.
This partnership is a significant step for Serbia as it strengthens its position in the global AI and supercomputing landscape.
