The antenna is described as Ireland’s national programme connecting the Irish AI ecosystem to European AI Factories infrastructure.

Ireland has launched its AI Factory Antenna (AIF IRL-Antenna), described as the country’s “national gateway to Europe’s AI network” and offering Irish organisations access to advanced computing capabilities required to develop, test and deploy AI solutions at scale.

Supported by €10m in joint European and Irish Government funding, the initiative aims to grow adoption of and innovation through AI in the country while securing a foothold within the wider European AI ecosystem as part of a network of AI Factories and high-performance computing facilities.

The antenna will “serve as Ireland’s national access point to Europe’s advanced AI and high-performance computing infrastructure” and “provide start-ups, SMEs, researchers and public sector organisations with streamlined access to world-class AI resources, technical expertise, training programmes and innovation support”, according to the press release.

The antenna is described as Ireland’s national programme connecting the Irish AI ecosystem to European AI Factories infrastructure under the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU), providing AI-optimised high-performance computing and the relevant expertise needed to turn ideas into deployable AI.

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science James Lawless, TD – whose department contributed to funding – said: “The launch of the AI Factory Antenna marks an important step forward for Ireland’s digital future.

“By bringing together businesses, researchers and public sector organisations, it will help create an environment where innovation can thrive and where organisations of all sizes can access the support they need to make the most of AI.”

The antenna will be operated by the Irish Centre for High-End Computing (ICHEC) at University of Galway, in partnership with CeADAR, Ireland’s Centre for AI.

ICHEC director Prof Jean-Christophe Desplat said: “The AIF IRL-Antenna leverages Ireland’s leading centres for advanced computing and artificial intelligence to streamline access to EU sovereign AI platforms and services, and to promote their adoption within the Irish start-up and scale-up ecosystem.

“The partnership involves seven regional innovation hubs, which ensures that all companies can equally benefit, irrespective of their location.”

The project’s aim is to scale and accelerate AI innovation by lowering barriers to adoption and supporting national strategies on advanced computing, HPC, AI, data spaces and quantum computing, while aiming to accelerate digital and green transformations across sectors such as energy, agriculture, climate, healthcare, smart cities and manufacturing.

The EuroHPC JU is a wider European Union effort to strengthen AI excellence, foster innovation and ensure that businesses, researchers and public sector organisations across member states can benefit from access to cutting-edge AI technologies and infrastructure.

Updated, 11.15am, 2 July 2026: This article was amended to clarify that Ireland doesn’t have an AI Factory.

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