Kraków is on its way to standing among Europe’s emerging artificial intelligence hubs with the official launch of the Gaia AI Factory project: a major new AI infrastructure initiative centered around a 10-exaflop supercomputer powered by more than 1,000 GPU accelerators.

The project is being developed by the AGH University of Science and Technology, overseen by the Academic Computer Centre Cyfronet in cooperation with national and European partners under the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking program.

The Importance of Gaia AI Factory

The infrastructure is expected to become operational in 2027 and will significantly expand Poland’s high-performance computing capabilities for AI development. The project, valued at approximately PLN 300 million (€70 million), is being co-financed by Poland and the European Union.

Gaia AI Factory is designed to support the development of advanced AI models and applications across public administration, healthcare, education, and industry. During the launch event, Cyfronet director Marek Magryś said the initiative aims to create a new AI ecosystem in Poland:

“We are combining infrastructure, data, and competencies to enable innovation development on a European scale. Thanks to this investment, Polish scientists and entrepreneurs will gain access to tools that until recently were available only to the largest global technology players.”

Gaia as a Part of Poland’s AI Strategy

The investment also aligns with Europe’s broader push for digital sovereignty and independent AI infrastructure. Gaia will become part of the growing network of European AI Factories being developed through the EuroHPC initiative. Poland is simultaneously expanding its wider HPC and AI ecosystem, including the previously launched PIAST AI hub in Poznań.

The Kraków project is also connected to Poland’s national strategy focused on treating AI as critical infrastructure. In one of our articles, we mentioned that the government is exploring the creation of a regional AI “gigafactory” that could become one of Central and Eastern Europe’s most important advanced computing centers. The initiative could involve cooperation with Baltic and Central European partners and potentially receive support through the EU’s InvestAI framework.

Poland Bets on Infrastructure to Become Europe’s Next AI Powerhouse

Industry experts say that the global AI race is no longer driven solely by language models but by access to computing infrastructure, energy capacity, and advanced data centers. Poland is aiming to leverage its engineering talent and growing digital infrastructure to establish itself as a regional AI powerhouse within Europe.

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