HLRS has joined KI-D@ARENA2036-X as an official partner

“The ‘KI-D@ARENA2036-X’ IT and data infrastructure is another key component of our innovation ecosystem. The University of Stuttgart is contributing to the success of this project through its Technical Information and Communication Services and as a partner of ARENA2036,” says Prof. Peter Middendorf, Rector of the University of Stuttgart. "I am therefore particularly pleased that the High-Performance Computing Center Stuttgart (HLRS) is now joining as another strong partner. With its powerful computing infrastructure, HLRS will support companies and start-ups in testing and optimizing state-of-the-art AI applications.”

The KI-D@ARENA2036-X program is designed to enable “AI as a service” from concept to production at a competitive price, with a particular focus on strengthening the innovation and competitiveness of startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This initiative establishes a scalable, transparent, and collaboratively developed system in Baden-Württemberg, built on three main pillars: First, the ability for participants to contribute their own hardware, enabling flexible expansion of computing capacity tailored to individual needs; second, a scalable, collaborative data space – including marketplaces – where datasets, models, and use cases can be jointly developed across organizational boundaries; and third, high-performance computing resources that support the training and deployment of even the largest AI models.

The KI-D@ARENA2036-X program is being implemented jointly by ARENA2036, Cyber Valley GmbH, DeepScenario, waveye, and the Technical Information and Communication Services (TIK) of the University of Stuttgart. The program is being funded by the Stuttgart Region Association as part of its co-financing program for artificial intelligence, with a total of 685,000 EUR in funding from 2024 to 2027.

The goal is to establish a collaborative infrastructure that will advance AI innovation in Baden-Württemberg more quickly, more securely, and in an economically sustainable manner. Following the successful establishment of the basic infrastructure during the first year of the project, the program will provide operational access to the available computing and data resources starting in 2026.