🇨🇭 Switzerland launched the world’s largest open science AI initiative — and it has serious computational firepower
The Swiss AI Initiative started in December 2023 with an initial investment of +10 million GPU hours and 20 million CHF from the ETH Domain (which includes ETH Zürich and EPFL).
🔬 What makes it special?
- Open science + open source — all code, models, and data are transparent and reusable
- Real scale: the Alps supercomputer with over 10,000 GH200 GPUs (one of the world’s most powerful for AI)
- 800+ researchers, 70 AI-focused professors from 10+ Swiss institutions
- It’s the first project of the Swiss National AI Institute (ETH AI Center + EPFL AI Center)
🎯 Who benefits? SMEs, startups, and Swiss organizations needing access to trustworthy foundation models, developed with European standards for privacy and transparency.
📢 3rd large project call is open — If you research foundation models or AI applications, the next call opens in 2026.
💡 Explanation in a nutshell#
The most powerful AI models are developed by private companies in the US. The Swiss AI Initiative is Europe’s bet on having frontier-level open source alternatives, developed with scientific transparency and without depending on a single company. A strategic move for European technological sovereignty.
More information at the link 👇
