Europe’s drive to strengthen its artificial intelligence infrastructure has taken a decisive step forward with the signing of a major procurement contract to upgrade the MareNostrum 5 supercomputer. The European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) has confirmed the agreement with a consortium led by FSAS Technologies and Telefónica, setting the stage for a significant transformation of one of Europe’s flagship supercomputers. Hosted and operated by the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), MareNostrum 5 is a core pillar of the BSC AI Factory initiative. With the contract now in place, the project enters a new phase that will reshape the system into a dedicated platform for advanced AI research and innovation. From supercomputing powerhouse to AI specialist Since April 2025, the BSC AI Factory has been supporting European startups and small and medium-sized enterprises by helping them access AI-ready data, high-performance computing resources, and expert technical guidance. The upgrade of MareNostrum 5 is designed to support this mission directly, evolving the system from a general-purpose supercomputer into an AI-optimised environment capable of handling the most …