4 SMEs Selected for Supercomputing Accelerator Programme at ICHEC

The Irish Centre for High End Computing (ICHEC) at NUI Galway, the national high performance computing centre, will host a webinar for Irish small and medium enterprises (SMEs) interested in availing of its expertise in high-performance computing (HPC), data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) under a new SME Accelerator programme.

This complimentary event will take place on Wednesday, 7th April and will feature four companies across a range of domains and technologies selected for the pilot phase of the project who will discuss the benefits of this programme for SMEs. The companies will each develop a technical solutions model over a six month period with hands-on assistance from the European Competence Centre (EuroCC) SME Accelerator at ICHEC.

—  Ubotica Technologies provides technical solutions in the areas of Computer Vision and Machine Learning in embedded systems at the Edge.

—  Telenostic specialists in rapid-on farm animal infection testing.

—  Nuritas combines AI and peptidomics to discover bioactive peptides with extraordinary health benefits. Inspired by nature, delivered through technology.

—  Evercam which provides time-lapse and project management solutions for construction projects.

In September 2020, ICHEC launched a dedicated programme for the academic community it serves under the EuroCC Initiative. The Academic Flagship has already been filled with seven Higher Level Institutions being supported by ICHEC, the national HPC centre. The SME Accelerator will prioritise upskilling and advancing technical solutions in the SME sector under the EuroCC, which is co-funded by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation, and Science and the European Union.

Peter Woods, Business Development and Public Sector Manager, ICHEC said,

“EuroHPC allows ICHEC to bring new and exciting technologies including world-class HPC, data analytics and AI to Irish SMEs through this co-funded SME Accelerator. This is a fantastic opportunity to work with these four rapidly growing companies in building a technical innovation solution assisting in their future development. We have issued an Open Call for companies interested in joining the SME Accelerator.”

Fintan Buckley, CEO of Ubotica said, ”The SME Accelerator is a great opportunity for Ubotica and all SMEs, we are really looking forward to working with ICHEC to develop our technical solutions model as a POC”

The SME Accelerator programme is co-funded by the Irish Government and the European Union. ICHEC is one of 32 additional European Competence Centres across Europe appointed under the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking to increase competitiveness in HPC, high-performance data analytics and AI.

The SME Accelerator aims to,

—  Increase the innovation potential of SMEs, using advanced HPC platforms, tools and services.

—  Provide access to national and European expertise and services in HPC and data to a wide range of users for new and emerging data and compute-intensive businesses and applications.

—  Foster wider innovations by exchanging and promoting best practices and experiences.

—  Provide an effective mechanism for inclusion of innovative, agile SMEs and startups by lowering the barrier for their adoption of HPC, data analytics and AI technologies to enter the market and exploit new business opportunities.