A decisive step for the future of Artificial Intelligence in Italy and Europe.
IT4LIA AI Factory is moving into its next phase with the development of a new AI and HPC infrastructure. EuroHPC JU has signed a procurement contract with E4 Computer Engineering and Dell Technologies for the implementation of the new IT4LIA supercomputer, optimized for artificial intelligence and co-funded by EuroHPC JU, the Italian Ministry of University and Research, and the National Cybersecurity Agency (ACN). The supercomputer will be installed at the DAMA Tecnopolo Data Manifattura Emilia-Romagna and operated by CINECA within the framework of the IT4LIA AI Factory.
A next-generation infrastructure
The new system is designed to support demanding AI workloads, combining high performance, scalability and energy efficiency within a reliable and secure environment. With a peak performance of over 160 Exaflops for AI inference, it will rank among the most advanced infrastructures in Europe.
The IT4LIA supercomputer will be integrated by E4 Computer Engineering and manufactured by Dell Technologies, leveraging the liquid-cooled NVIDIA GB200 NVL4 architecture. By combining NVIDIA Grace CPUs with NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs and scaling through NVIDIA Quantum-X800 InfiniBand networking, the system will incorporate the VAST Data platform, enabling a unified data layer for all AI workloads. It will also include a dedicated inference partition featuring AI-optimised inference accelerators from European-based Axelera AI, complemented by European-designed SiPearl CPUs.
A dedicated European partition will enable efficient AI inference and contribute to strengthening European AI capabilities.
This signature marks another important milestone for Europe’s HPC and AI ambitions. With the IT4LIA system, we are making a significant investment in cutting-edge infrastructure that will empower startups, SMEs, and the research community to develop and deploy advanced AI applications at scale. IT4LIA will not only expand our computational capabilities, but also strengthen collaboration across the European innovation ecosystem, playing an important role in reinforcing Europe’s competitiveness and leadership in AI.”
Anders Jensen, Executive Director, EuroHPC Joint Undertaking
CINECA is proud, together with all members of the IT4LIA consortium, to contribute to the next phase of the IT4LIA AI Factory, a milestone for the European AI ecosystem and a significant step in strengthening Italy’s role in the global technological landscape. By hosting this infrastructure at the DAMA Tecnopolo Data Manifattura Emilia-Romagna, we will offer the research community, public administrations, SMEs and startups advanced, scalable and energy-efficient computing resources, enabling a peak AI inference performance of over 160 Exaflops. We are building a secure, sovereign and high-performance environment where European innovation can thrive, fully aligned with European values on data privacy and technological autonomy.”
Gabriella Scipione, HPC Director, CINECA
Accessible to startups, SMEs and research
The system is primarily designed for startups and SMEs, with the aim of making advanced AI accessible to those who do not have their own infrastructure. It will also be open to the research community, supporting the development, release and management of AI applications in full compliance with European data sovereignty and privacy standards.
IT4LIA AI Factory has been operational since April 2025, providing computing resources and services to European SMEs and startups through its existing infrastructure, in particular leveraging the Leonardo supercomputer. The AI Factory offers specialised services in key vertical sectors — agritech, cybersecurity, meteorology and climate, and manufacturing — complemented by a complete suite of horizontal services: tools for secure data management and analysis, metadata creation, regulatory compliance verification, training initiatives and innovation support.
The IT4LIA supercomputer: technical details
The joint offer led by E4 Computer Engineering together with Dell Technologies was selected following a public procurement tender launched in October 2025.
The new supercomputer will be co-funded with a total budget of €290 million, with EuroHPC JU covering 50% of the costs through the Digital Europe Programme, and the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR) and the National Cybersecurity Agency (ACN) among the co-funders.
E4 will be responsible for overall project management: from integration design to the supply and installation of the main system partitions together with Dell Technologies — including the full European technology partition — through to the integration of the AI software stack. During the initial phase, E4 acted as the bridge between its own expertise, that of enterprise partners, research partners such as the University of Bologna and the University of Turin, and partners for next-generation European technologies. In the operational phase, E4 will take on the role of Single Point of Contact (SPOC) with CINECA for all vendors involved, with a permanent on-site presence at the Tecnopolo, replicating and expanding the model already in place for the Leonardo, Lisa and Gaia supercomputers.
Dell Technologies will support E4 in the deployment of the IT4LIA cluster with specialised professional services and will provide a dedicated rack integration service, handling the complete assembly of racks through highly qualified personnel, ensuring high levels of quality, reliability and consistency of implementation.
For the entire duration of the maintenance period, Dell Technologies will also provide an onsite residency service, supported by the availability of spare parts and a further dedicated fixed presence exclusively for the timely replacement of faulty components, ensuring operational continuity and optimised recovery times for a critical exascale-class infrastructure.
Being awarded this contract — as the first Italian company in the context of the EuroHPC AI Factories — is a fundamental milestone for us, a recognition that allows us to bring our expertise to the highest international levels. We are proud to play a leading role alongside our IT4LIA partners in building a sovereign infrastructure that represents an incredible opportunity for the widespread adoption of AI and for the competitiveness of our country. We will continue to work with our partners, with whom we have built a winning proposition, and we will keep investing in research and innovation to remain — as in this case — at the frontier of European technologies.”
Cosimo Damiano Gianfreda, CEO, E4 Computer Engineering
Europe’s AI ambitions depend on fundamental infrastructures capable of providing startups, researchers and public administrations with the secure, high-performance computing and data management capabilities they need to innovate and scale. IT4LIA AI Factory is a milestone for the European AI ecosystem and an important step in building it; the planned installation at the DAMA Tecnopolo of Bologna, at the heart of Europe’s Data Valley, represents a strategic investment in European competitiveness, innovation capacity and sovereignty. Dell Technologies is helping to make this commitment possible alongside E4 and CINECA through advanced AI infrastructures designed to support sovereign, scalable and energy-efficient innovation. Together, we are helping to lay the foundations for trustworthy AI progress across Europe.”
Marco Fanizzi, CEO, Dell Technologies Italia
An investment for the future
The IT4LIA supercomputer represents a strategic investment in European competitiveness, innovation capacity and technological sovereignty. Rooted in the heart of Italy’s Data Valley and with a distinctly European vocation, IT4LIA AI Factory establishes itself as the reference point for those who want to develop, adopt and scale Artificial Intelligence solutions in a secure, sovereign and accessible way.
