TNO contributes expertise to Netherlands’ first AI Factory

First in the Netherlands

In October 2025, it was announced that the AI Factory – a national AI expertise centre and supercomputing facility – would be established in Groningen in the northern Netherlands. The AI Factory has been designed as a public-focused initiative with a non-economic mission. In fact, it aims to make a strong contribution to a society in which new business activities, innovation, and European values can be combined for better, more widespread success.

The AI Factory will make crucial AI development technology and expertise more accessible to Dutch and European organisations, to accelerate innovation and drive economic impact. Consortium partners will also develop robust frameworks, tools, guidelines, and standards for wider-scale, transparent, and trustworthy AI development.

Unique expertise

TNO has extensive – and rare – experience in the complex world of AI development, including the creation of GPT-NL – the Netherlands’ first Dutch Large Language Model, built from scratch. As one of the only organisations in the Netherlands with in-depth practical experience in developing AI models at this scale, TNO will act as the AI Factory’s dedicated Expertise Centre. In addition to general support and advice, our experts will work with participating organisations on:

• Data management & integration: the crucial foundation for interoperability, collaboration, and trusted data sets for the training of AI models
• AI support & advisory services: the design, development, and testing of AI models in a variety of conditions and for a variety of industries, as well as skills and capacity-building
• Trustworthy AI development: robust frameworks, tools, guidelines, and standards for AI algorithm development that is aligned with European principles and regulations

Support for ecosystem growth

Projects explored within the factory will be conducted at a pre-competitive level. The AI Factory will not run AI services or aim for commercial launch. The aim, instead, is to foster collective knowledge and experience across Dutch and European businesses, knowledge institutions, and government bodies. And also, to address the challenges of developing large, diverse and complex AI systems. These include sector-specific solutions that can advance innovation in health, energy, mobility, and industry.

TNO’s participation aligns with some of the principles of our Responsible AI That Works vision. Within AI Factory, we will also provide the expertise to help respond to issues of responsibility, compliance, and security. Our work will address critical research questions, including how (generative) AI can operate reliably and accurately in complex, high-stakes environments. And how we can train and implement AI at scale, while also addressing cybersecurity and sustainability concerns.

AI Factory partners and structure

EuroHPC, Nij Begun and three Dutch Ministries (Economic Affairs, Defence, and Education, Culture and Science) are providing funding for the AI Factory. It will be housed in the Niemeyer Factory in Groningen, an IT hub selected for its proximity to world-class technological expertise, including the TNO office that will support the Expertise Centre.

The Dutch AI Factory Foundation is leading the AI Factory consortium. Consortium partners include SURF, who will offer supercomputer management; AIC4NL, the Dutch AI ecosystem orchestrator; Samenwerking Noord, providing regional anchoring, and TNO, as the Expertise Centre contributor. Supercomputer time will be divided equally among EuroHPC calls and Dutch projects selected through open call procedures.

Building Europe’s AI future

By sharing knowledge and experience among as many partners as possible, and providing the technological infrastructure and expertise for responsible development, the AI Factory will help drive sovereign European technologies and innovations that make Europe a global competitor in the AI ecosystem. Want to know more about AI Factory and the opportunities available there? Get in touch to learn more.