On July 17th, 2025, Pharos AI Factory Consortium delegation visited the IDRIS (Institut du Développement et des Ressources en Informatique Scientifique) facility in Paris, the national computing center that operates Jean Zay – France’s flagship supercomputer dedicated to artificial intelligence and scientific computing, under the stewardship of GENCI.
During the visit, the Pharos delegation had the opportunity to take a tour of the facilities housing the French supercomputer Jean Zay and to gain first-hand insights into the architecture, capabilities and use cases of one of Europe’s most advanced AI-focused supercomputing infrastructures. Discussions with IDRIS experts focused on the convergence of AI and high-performance computing, the technical challenges of scaling large models and the operational frameworks supporting trustworthy and efficient AI development, while the interaction model between users and the French AI Factory was also demonstrated. Finally, the goals and specific characteristics of both the French and Greek AI Factories were presented, and the plan for the platform of Pharos was introduced.
Pharos AI Factory Consortium delegation consisted of: Ilias Hatzakis and Angelos Christodoulopoulos from the National Infrastructures for Research and Technology – GRNET (Pharos Coordinator); Stelios Karozis and Ilias Zavitsanos from National Centre For Scientific Research Demokritos (Pharos Technical Coordinator); Naya Boltetsou from partner Growthfund – The National Investment Fund of Greece; Ioannis Konstantinou, Giorgos Filandrianos and Dimitris Katsimpris from the National Technical University of Athens; and Sokratis Sofianopoulos and George Paraskevopoulos from the Athena Research Center.
The visit marks an important step in Pharos AI Factory’s commitment to connecting applied AI innovation with cutting-edge infrastructure.
Read more about Jean Zay supercomputer here.
