An engineer working in a laboratory wearing a special uniform and protective gloves holds new processor in hands and examines it- Credit: Amavlael / Depositphotos - License: DepositPhotos

Government agency for technological investment to spend €40 million on energy-saving AI

NADI, the National Agency for Disruptive Innovation, is making 40 million euros available for teams from the Netherlands and Europe to develop the next energy-efficient AI chips. In addition, the design of these Artificial Intelligence (AI) chips is to be sped up from years to weeks.

It is NADI’s first program since the announcement made by Economic Affairs Minister Heleen Herbert on Budget Day. With the NADI, the Cabinet wants to finance technological breakthroughs that are currently unable to get funding from universities or companies. A total of 500 million euros has been budgeted for the NADI from the government.

For the first program, NADI is working with SPRIND, the German Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation, which has been in existence since 2019. The agencies want to use the program to make Europe less dependent on foreign AI chips and reduce the energy usage of the current generation of AI chips.

“Europa mainly uses foreign chips for its AI, while we have one of the strongest chip ecosystems in the world,” said Beau-Anna Chilla, co-founder of NADI. The fact that the newest AI chips are not coming from Europe is not due to a lack of knowledge, she claims, but due to a lack of financing in the early stages of design. A start-up is often too risky for entrepreneurs during this phase, and NADI wishes to fill this gap.

“If Europe wants to develop the technology for the future, then we need to work together. NADI’s first program shows that this is possible. Together with SPIND we will pool our powers over borders to develop new AI chips together,” Prime Minister Rob Jetten said.

The registration period for the program is from September 23 to November 30. Seven teams will be selected, and they will each be given 2.6 million euros. After eight months, the best three teams will be chosen, who will then receive another seven million euros per team. In addition to funds, the teams will also be given technological and commercial guidance.