May 16, 2025, Milan, Italy - In a major step toward deepening the UAE-Italy strategic relations, G42, the leading AI technology group from Abu Dhabi, through its subsidiary Core42, today announced a strategic partnership with iGenius, a pioneer in AI models for highly regulated industries, to deliver the largest AI compute deployment in Europe. The partnership reflects the growing momentum in bilateral ties, aligned with both nations’ leadership vision to drive innovation, enable economic advancement, and create shared value through advanced technology and knowledge exchange.
The agreement is intended to establish a robust framework for collaboration, positioning G42 and iGenius as trusted enablers of global digital transformation. G42 is serving both as a strategic partner and lead financier of the initial phase of Colosseum, reflecting the shared ambition to embed AI into critical value chains, which foster regional resilience and long-term sustainable growth.
The announcement was made on the sidelines of 3rd Edition of Investopia Europe, in the presence of senior Italian ministers and UAE officials such as H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy and Chairman of Investopia, H.E. Adolfo Urso, Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy, and H.E. Alia Bint Abdulla Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of State for Entrepreneurship, among others along with the leadership team of G42, Core42, and iGenius. At the heart of the partnership is the deployment of a high-performance GPU cluster powered by thousands of NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs, a major milestone in enabling sovereign AI infrastructure for the European market, thanks to the contribution of iGenius’s Colosseum, the first data center with over 100 Exaflops of compute designed specifically for sovereign AI workloads. The envisaged pan-European AI rollout will be enabled and operated by Core42, a G42 company specializing in sovereign cloud, AI infrastructure, and digital services. iGenius is redefining the digital landscape through Colosseum. The supercomputer is scheduled to go live in Italy this summer. The initial build-out is more than a data center. It’s a blueprint for sovereign AI factories designed for use cases demanding the highest levels of security, reliability, and accuracy.
H.E. Adolfo Urso, Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy, stated: “This agreement, which will lead to the creation of a supercomputer in our country, marks a decisive step forward in relations with the United Arab Emirates, confirming and enhancing both Italy’s leading role in the global development of artificial intelligence and our contribution to European AI. There is a strong likelihood that Puglia will host this significant investment, but the cooperation of all local institutions will be essential to ensure the necessary energy support for its operation. Italy is on the right path and is building its industrial future with vision, through strategic alliances and cooperation in emerging technologies.
The compute cluster will serve as a foundational layer to accelerate AI training, inferencing, and application development across key European industries, including financial services, manufacturing, and the public sector. It is purpose-built to meet the region’s growing demand for secure, scalable, and high-performance infrastructure, aligned with Europe’s digital sovereignty objectives.
Commenting on this development, H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy and Chairman of Investopia, said, “The signing between G42 and iGenius is a testament to the strong economic cooperation between the UAE and Italy, and to our shared commitment to building partnerships in new economic sectors, like AI, that are driving global transformation. The UAE is at the heart of this shift, and we are proud to see this MoU signed at Investopia, a platform designed to accelerate partnerships and investment in the new economy.”
“This partnership with iGenius marks a new chapter in boosting the European AI economy,” said Kiril Evtimov, Group Chief Technology Officer, G42 and Chief Executive Officer, Core42. “By combining Core42’s sovereign AI infrastructure expertise with Italy’s innovative leadership, we are laying the groundwork to support the next generation of AI innovation in Europe. It reflects both our commercial promise and the strategic trust between the UAE and Italy in advancing the global AI ecosystem.”
Uljan Sharka, CEO at iGenius, said, “Our alliance with G42 is a strategic step toward building sovereign AI capacity for Europe. Together, we are combining world-class compute infrastructure with deep AI expertise to deliver impactful solutions across industries, while strengthening Italy’s role as a hub for responsible and transformative AI innovation. This powerful infrastructure will serve as both the brain and the engine of intelligence, driving the Made in Italy transformation in this new AI industrial revolution.”
The new collaboration with iGenius marks another pivotal step in Core42’s journey to deliver sovereign, enterprise-grade AI infrastructure across the continent.
As AI adoption accelerates across Europe, trusted, high-performance infrastructure will be key to realizing the region’s digital ambitions. This collaboration between Core42 and iGenius reflects a shared commitment by the UAE and Italy to contribute meaningfully to that vision, enabling responsible, scalable, and sovereign AI solutions that support Europe’s long-term competitiveness and technological leadership.
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