Poland Wants an Alternative to Google or Microsoft. Expert Warns of Threat

• - Limitations on access to semiconductors are a warning signal - Poland must invest in the development of its own technologies so as not to become dependent on external players from the US or China in the future - argues Marek Magryś, head of the Academic Computer Centre Cyfronet AGH.
• The unit will apply for funding for a second AI factory in Poland. The first will be built in Poznań .
• - Supercomputers will be available not only to scientists, but also to companies - announced Magryś in an interview with WNP during the 17th European Economic Congress.
• Enterprises are to benefit not only from computing power, but also from tailored expert support – this is an opportunity for the development of the Polish AI and startup ecosystem.

Poland is taking part in a program to build a European network of so-called AI Factories , or high-performance computers optimized for applications related to artificial intelligence. The first factory will be built in Poznań. Poland also has shares in the Finnish one, which will be built on the basis of the LUMI computer. Cyfronet AGH from Kraków will apply for funding for the next one.

Polish supercomputing centers offer not only GPUs but also support

- We need artificial intelligence factories first of all because we need local GPU resources, a lot of computing power - explains Marek Magryś, director of Cyfronet. - More importantly, we also need to develop competences and services for startups - he adds.

- We are in a very unique place in Europe. We are a large country with a very high level of technological awareness, with very advanced study programs. Let's use this. Let's build a Polish startup ecosystem and conduct research that we will not have to be ashamed of compared to our colleagues from other European countries. Then we will not have to depend on large solutions, on large technology suppliers from the United States or China - emphasizes Magryś.

As the director of Cyfronet AGH argues, entrepreneurs will also benefit from investments in supercomputers. - Firstly, within the projects we implement, it is possible to access computing power for proof of concept purposes, i.e. to check whether such computing power is what a given entrepreneur needs. On the other hand, we have commercial access - he says.

How should entrepreneurs apply? As Marek Magryś explains, the easiest way is to contact the National Center for Computational Competence, which will redirect the entrepreneur to a supercomputing center in Poland that has the competences in the area of ​​the company's operations.

- If we have companies from the space industry, we will direct them to those centers that have experience in supporting this type of activity. If someone conducts research in the field of searching for new drugs, we also have teams that have competences in this area - says Magryś and adds that offering computing power itself is simple, but the advantage of Polish supercomputing centers is that they also offer domain support .

- We can provide services that are better tailored to the needs of a given company - emphasizes Marek Magryś.

Calculations made in Poland are exposed to lower risks

According to the director of Cyfronet, the construction of Polish supercomputers will not exclude global technology players from the market - they will prove themselves as suppliers of solutions such as e-mail or instant messaging.

- Let's remember, however, that our resources are located in Poland, they belong to organizations that are Polish, so there is also a certain political or business risk here related to the fact that our data will leak, it is slightly different than in the case of using hyperscaler solutions. However, I am not saying that hyperscalers are bad. They are a very important part of this ecosystem - our interlocutor does not hide.

As we wrote in WNP , the obstacle to building AI Factories may be the restrictions imposed by the American administration. This concerns the limits on the import of semiconductors. Magryś explains that it is not about the quantity itself, but, for example, extending the delivery time. For Poland, this is a problem, because not only will it build high-performance computers itself, but it is also participating in a consortium with Finland, which is expanding its machine.

- We have an ambitious goal to be co-owner of the fastest supercomputer in the world in two years - says the expert.

Magryś also argues that the limits should be a lesson for the future. - We need to take a more serious approach to the development of sovereign computing technologies, to the development of sovereign chip technologies. In the long term, the lack of such an alternative will be a huge threat to us - he says.

- Developing this type of product will take years, if not decades, so we need to get started as soon as possible - he emphasises.