Call for SMEs to Join the Frontier AI Grand Challenge

The Frontier AI Grand Challenge is a European Commission and EuroHPC Joint Undertaking initiative under the AI-BOOST project designed to bridge the strategic gap in high-end artificial intelligence research within Europe. The challenge invites European tech companies to propose the development and training of sovereign, large-scale AI models that can outperform state-of-the-art systems across multiple tasks and applications. These models are expected to be general-purpose and adaptable across domains while leveraging Europe’s world-class supercomputing infrastructure.

Eligible proposals must demonstrate experience in large-scale AI model development, including modular architectures and substantial parameter scale (at least 400 billion parameters). Participants must also commit to European values, open science principles and compliance with the EU AI Act. A single project will be selected and awarded strategic access to up to 2.5 % of the total EuroHPC computing capacity on one or more high-performance supercomputers for one year, enabling the training of the frontier AI model.

Eligibility criteria

• One or more industrial players that are established in the EU and under EU control, optionally with academic/research partners
• Track record in developing and deploying large-scale AI models and modular architectures
• Commitment to open science, EU AI Act compliance, and broad community access to resulting models

Funding and resources

• Strategic access to advanced EuroHPC supercomputing resources for one year (up to 2.5 % of capacity)
• Access to specialised AI Factory services associated with EuroHPC facilities

Please follow this link for more information on the scope of the call and the procedural requirements for the applications.

The deadline for application is 13 April 2026.