Bulgarian supercomputer Discoverer upgraded with artificial intelligence systems
The high-performance machine now offers a new class of specialized services for business and the scientific community in Bulgaria and Europe
The upgrade of the Bulgarian supercomputer Discoverer has been successfully completed and the machine now has new systems that enable it to provide additional specialized services in the field of artificial intelligence to business, the scientific community and the public sector in the European Union. This was announced during a press conference on the occasion of the completion of the Discoverer modernization project, which is part of the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU).
It is the first supercomputer in the EU network to be upgraded since its creation in 2021. The modernization of the high-performance machine is in the context of the EuroHPC JU Europe's mission to deploy a world-leading supercomputing infrastructure. With the new capabilities, Discoverer+ will be a strategic asset for the development of science and will support the development of applications of industrial and societal importance for Europe
“The availability of such capacities, technical capacity and human potential in the field of artificial intelligence is one of the factors that will directly determine the competitiveness of our economy in the coming years. We must be able to use it in the best way. With what Sofia Tech Park is currently doing and with the Artificial Intelligence Factory, which will start next year, we will enter a new reality. The best is yet to come. Together we will work for success,” said the Minister of Innovation and Growth Tomislav Donev. He thanked the Sofia Tech Park team, all partners and the European Commission for making the Bulgarian supercomputer more powerful, smarter and faster today.
“Bulgaria and Europe have another tool that provides new opportunities for applied scientific research and lays the foundations for a knowledge industry in all sectors,” said the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Sofia Tech Park and the Manager of the Petascale Supercomputer Bulgaria Consortium, Petar Stattev.
Discoverer+ features a new class of functionalities, GPUs and memory, and its performance has been significantly increased. The machine is now specialized for training neural networks, working with large language models, artificial intelligence, creating digital twins, machine learning and other intensive computing tasks. To date, Discoverer has participated in over 80 projects and actively supports the scientific and business community in Bulgaria and Europe. The upgrade of the machine confirms the role of our country as a reliable partner in building a competitive and innovative European infrastructure for high-performance computing.
It will be part of the Bulgarian BRAIN++ artificial intelligence factory, a project that was approved in March by the EuroHPC JU. The factory will join a network of 13 EU artificial intelligence centers. It will include an advanced Discoverer++ supercomputer specialized for work in the field of artificial intelligence and robotics, and a center that will offer training and consultations to government and private organizations and companies.
The following components have been added to the current Discoverer systems:
- GPUnew Long Term Storage and Flash Storage systems for long-term data storage and for tasks requiring intensive calculations. Discoverer currently has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) partition, which is one of the largest in Europe.
- Discoverer's UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) components have been improved by supplementing the existing uninterruptible power supply systems.
The event was also attended by the Minister of Education and Science Krasimir Valchev, the Chairman of the EuroHPC JU Board of Directors Rafal Dučmal, the Executive Director of EuroHPC JU Anders Dam Jensen, representatives of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and higher education institutions, Bulgarian and international high-tech companies and organizations, and local authorities. The European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation Ekaterina Zaharieva made a video address on the occasion of the successful completion of the project.