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CERNA.AI Festival: LUMI AI Factory co-organised Czechia’s biggest AI event of the year

3 mins read

Ostrava’s multifunctional Gong hall hosted the Czech AI scene on Tuesday, 15 September 2026. Attracting a sell-out crowd of 2,200 attendees, the CERNA.AI Festival presented an extensive schedule comprising 100 speakers across seven stages, over 20 hands-on workshops, specialist panels, and interactive side events. LUMI AI Factory co-organised this milestone event.

LUMI AI Factory managed part of the programme on the purple stage, where the afternoon session focused on how AI Factories are reshaping artificial intelligence capabilities across Europe. Opening the track, Per Öster from CSC detailed the strategic importance of AI Factories within the broader European tech landscape, whilst offering a preview of forthcoming high-performance computing assets: the LUMI-AI platform and the LUMI-IQ quantum system.

CSC’s Per Öster opening the afternoon AI Factories session on the purple stage with his presentation, ‘What are AI factories and what is their role in Europe. Photo: Jiri Zerzon

The broader festival schedule further underscored LUMI AI Factory’s value to the commercial sector. Jan Tyl, representing Alpha Industries, emphasised their partnership with LUMI AI Factory, praising the local team’s role in streamlining access to the LUMI supercomputer. In a similar vein, Vectorama’s AI Transformation Leader, Marianna Barcak Hajna, recounted her experience with the business support offered by LUMI AI Factory. She joined the IT4Innovations National Supercomputing Center Director Vit Vondrak on the panel “How can AI Factories support companies?”, where he elaborated on how LUMI AI Factory empowers commercial entities and start-ups through computational power, AI adoption, and dedicated expert support. Vit Vondrak later delivered remarks during the closing showcase on the main white stage, once again highlighting the importance of the LUMI AI Factory.

Vit Vondrak from IT4Innovations National Supercomputing Center during the closing remarks in the Big Finish session. Photo: Martin Grobe

Earlier in the day, a full-capacity audience attended the workshop “Run your own AI models on a supercomputer without technical barriers”, led by IT4Innovations’ Tomas Martinovic, who guided participants through deploying workflows on Karolina—the most powerful supercomputer in the Czech Republic.

Tomas Martinovic from IT4Innovations National Supercomputing Center guiding participants through the workshop ‘Run your own AI models on a supercomputer without technical barriers’. Photo: Pavla Gajdova

Throughout the event, the LUMI AI Factory exhibition booth served as a key networking hub. Representatives engaged with scores of delegates exploring collaboration in supercomputing access, technical training, data guidance, and AI governance, whilst also introducing the newly launched LUMI AI Factory Hub co-working space.

We are glad to have co-hosted such an inspiring event and would like to thank all the speakers, partners, and attendees who joined us in Ostrava. We look forward to driving the future of European artificial intelligence together.

Watch the highlight video here.

Thumbnail photo by Lukas Kabon.