The Grand Équipement National de Calcul Intensif (GENCI) is a leading French organization dedicated to the promotion and management of high-performance computing infrastructures for scientific and academic research. As a strategic entity, GENCI plays a crucial role in the European high-performance computing (HPC) ecosystem, supporting innovative projects and facilitating access to cutting-edge computing resources for various stakeholders, including researchers, SMEs, and large industrial groups.
Established in 2007, GENCI is a civil company primarily owned by the French State, with shares held by CEA, CNRS, French universities, and Inria. Its main objective is to support France's scientific and technological competitiveness by providing high-performance computing resources to the scientific community. GENCI manages several world-class supercomputers, including Jean Zay, a convergent infrastructure between high-performance computing and artificial intelligence (AI), which is one of the most powerful systems in Europe.
GENCI is recognized for its expertise in managing and operating supercomputers, with the capability to integrate cutting-edge technologies to meet the growing needs of intensive computing research. Among its achievements, the organization played a key role in the BigScience project, which led to the development of Bloom, the largest open science multilingual language model ever trained. This project illustrates GENCI's ability to support large-scale collaborative research initiatives by providing the necessary infrastructure for massive computations.
Among recent contributions, GENCI was involved in the MINERVA project, which won the SKAO Data Challenge 2021 thanks to an innovative algorithm developed with the help of the Jean Zay supercomputer. This project demonstrates the importance of GENCI in supporting radio astronomy and the analysis of large data volumes. Additionally, GENCI is actively participating in the EuroHPC initiative, aiming to strengthen Europe's position in the field of high-performance computing.
GENCI holds a strategic position in the European technological ecosystem, acting as a coordinator of large-scale projects and facilitator of international collaborations. Its involvement in the EuroHPC initiative and partnerships with entities such as CNRS, Inria, and CEA, enhance its capacity to mobilize resources for ambitious projects. Furthermore, GENCI contributes to Europe's digital sovereignty by supporting the development of exascale supercomputers, such as the Jules Verne project.
GENCI continues to expand its capabilities with investments in new supercomputers and research projects. For example, the Adastra supercomputer at CINES is one of the recent initiatives aimed at enhancing computing capabilities to support advanced research in AI and scientific modeling. GENCI is also involved in the development of quantum computers, positioning the organization at the forefront of emerging technologies.
In conclusion, GENCI is an essential pillar of the high-performance computing landscape in France and Europe. Through its state-of-the-art infrastructures and strategic collaborations, GENCI significantly contributes to technological and scientific innovation, supporting a wide range of disciplines from astrophysics to artificial intelligence.
GENCI est la Très Grande Infrastructure de Recherche qui permet aux chercheurs et industriels d’accéder à des supercalculateurs pour leurs travaux de pointe.
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