BRUSSELS — The European Union has awarded French state-owned technology company Bull a contract worth €387.8 million—approximately US$449.4 million—to build a supercomputer designed for artificial-intelligence applications.
The system will be installed at Finland’s national supercomputing centre and is scheduled to begin operating during the second half of 2027. It will support AI research, model development and advanced computing projects involving participating European countries.
Financing will be divided between the EU’s EuroHPC programme and a consortium of six countries. The order is the largest contract received by Bull and comes as demand for advanced computing power exceeds the capacity currently available in Europe.
The project forms part of a broader European strategy to build domestic technological infrastructure and reduce dependence on American and Chinese computing platforms.
Why it matters: Access to large-scale computing power is essential for developing competitive AI systems. The new machine could give European researchers and companies greater control over sensitive data and advanced technology.
