Schwarz Digits and Bull partner up to build European AI computing services

By Leo Marchandon

Nov ‌3 (Reuters) - Supercomputer ​maker ​Bull and Schwarz Digits, the technology arm of Lidl-owner Schwarz Group, signed ‌a preliminary agreement on Tuesday to jointly develop ⁠AI computing services that would operate entirely under ‌European jurisdiction, a link-up of ‌two companies with big AI bets.

Under the agreement, Schwarz Digits will offer the service ​through its STACKIT business, which rents out computing power and data storage over the internet. ⁠Bull, the state-owned French maker of Europe's fastest supercomputers, will handle manufacturing.

The ​two companies plan to design servers filling the data centres together, and could ​eventually offer business software from ‌Germany’s SAP through the partnership, they said. Financial terms of the deal ⁠were not disclosed.

Companies and public bodies using STACKIT will also be able to use Bull’s software ⁠for building and running AI applications directly on the service.

Bull in ​October doubled production capacity in the only plant in Europe dedicated to building supercomputers, while Schwarz is leading ‌a C$7 billion ($5 billion) funding round for Canadian AI lab Cohere, which is ‌expanding in Europe through the acquisitions of ⁠German AI startup Aleph ‌Alpha and Czech-based cybersecurity ​firm Aisle.

($1 = 1.3979 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Leo Marchandon in Gdansk, editing by Milla ‌Nissi-Prussak)

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