CLUSSTER the first French cloud initiative for academic and industrial research in artificial intelligence

THE CLUSTER¹ The project aims to strengthen the French and European cloud industry by creating a cloud dedicated to artificial intelligence, high-performance computing and quantum computing. As a single entry point, the CLUSSTER project will bring together a range of digital resources for the academic and industrial communities. The project is led by a consortium of French academic and industrial researchers in numerical computation and AI: GENCI, CEA, CNRS and Inria, as well as industrialists Eviden (Atos Group), OVHcloud, CS Group, ActiveEon and Qarnot.

At a time when the availability of cloud computing technology is accelerating, this secure, unified and scalable system, available from 2024, comes as a response to the demands of artificial intelligence (AI) and high performance computing (HPC). It will then be extended to also include quantum computing.

This as-a-service model for HPC, AI and quantum computing in the cloud will provide access to one of the largest portfolios of computing services and supercomputing, encouraging and enabling the democratization of advanced computing by simplifying the use of public and private data centers.

For the first time, this project will help ensure a continuum between open research, confidential research and industrial activity. It also aims to connect both academic and industrial sovereign infrastructures, as well as value-added “Expertise as-a-service” and “Learning as-a-service” services (support, business expertise, training, technology monitoring).

The first partners to make their computing resources available are France’s public organizations, GENCI, CNRS-IDRIS and Inria, as well as OVHcloud and Qarnot for the private sector.

CLUSSTER will also provide access to resources and services available in France and Europe, thanks to the convergence of European initiatives on sovereign cloud platforms such as GAIA-X and EOSC (European Open Science Cloud).

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The CLUSSTER portal will be based on Evidence’s “JARVICE™ XE HPC Enterprise Software” solution, which offers a set of flexible and secure HPC as-a-service solutions. It will be complemented by additional services (vertical business services and/or horizontal technical services) provided by ActiveEon as well as tools to measure energy consumption and carbon footprint of all infrastructure available in the CLUSSTER federation to report on the footprint of completed operations.

Thanks to the expertise of the various players in the consortium, the CLUSSTER project will provide specific software environments via business verticals, especially in the geospatial area (CS Group), climate (CEA), risk calculation and 3D rendering (Qarnot) and digital simulation. With additional funding from the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research, this cluster will be complemented by extensions, for example in artificial intelligence with processing of large language models (LLM), or digital health, as well as other areas of the earth sciences in collaboration with the GaiaData national infrastructure .

High added value services will also be made available for as-a-service training and as-a-service technology watch (MesoNet project, GENCI Technology Watch Unit and Grid’5000/SLICES-FR).

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“This initiative is fully in line with Eviden’s strategy, and we are honored to be part of it together with our various partners. The hybridization of technologies and the development of as-a-service computing capabilities is a priority for the group in order to these technologies more accessible to our customers and to promote innovation and research in both the academic and industrial worlds.”
Emmanuel Le Roux, SVP, Global Head of HPC, AI and Quantum at Eviden, Atos Group

“A continuous access to high-performance digital simulation resources and artificial intelligence technology is a fundamental requirement for research and development of knowledge and technology. The joint public-private proposal put forward by CLUSSTER comes at a time of very strong demand growth. Its potential to open up the quantum field already shows a spirit of anticipation for the future.
Philippe Lavocat, CEO of GENCI

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About the Evidence ²

Eviden is the next generation technology leader in data-driven, reliable and sustainable digital transformation with a strong portfolio of patented technologies. With worldwide leadership positions in advanced computing, security, AI, cloud and digital platforms, it provides deep expertise for all industries in more than 47 countries. By bringing together 53,000 world-class talent, Eviden expands the possibilities for data and technology across the digital continuum, now and for generations to come. Eviden is an Atos Group company with an annual turnover of approx. 5 billion euros.

About GENCI

GENCI (Grand Equipement National de Calcul Intensif) is a large research infrastructure created in 2007 to democratize the use of digital simulation through high-performance computing, today associated with the use of artificial intelligence and to support scientific and industrial competitiveness.

GENCI supports three missions:

• Implementation of the national strategy to equip France with funds for supercomputers, storage and processing of massive data associated with AI technologies and future quantum technologies for the benefit of French and European open scientific research in collaboration with the three national computing centers;

• Support the realization of an integrated HPC, AI and quantum ecosystem on a national and European scale;

• Promote digital simulation through HPC among academic open research teams and industry.

GENCI is a civil company owned 49% by the French State represented by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, 20% by CEA, 20% by CNRS, 10% by France Universités and 1% by Inria.

Press contacts
Evidence: Constance Arnoux – constance.arnoux@atos.net – +33 (0)6 44 12 16 35
GENCI: Nicolas Belot – nicolas.belot@genci.fr – +33 (0) 7 60 99 95 10

1 Sovereign Unified Cloud of Services, Technologies and Infrastructures
² Eviden’s business is conducted through the following brands: AppCentricATHEA, Cloudizecloudreach, Cryptovision, DataSentics, BuildingEnergy4U, Engage ESM, Evidian, ForensicsIDEAL GRP, In BelieveIpsotek, Maven Wave, Profit4SF, SEC Consult, Visual BI, Worldgrid, X-Perion. Eviden is a registered trademark. Eviden is a registered trademark. © Eviden SAS, 2023.

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