The OpenEuroLLM Project, an initiative aimed at creating open-source artificial intelligence (AI) models, was unveiled on Monday. Supported by the European Commission, the project has received the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) Seal, which acknowledges its significance as a key technology endeavor. The primary objective of the alliance is to develop a range of multilingual large language models (LLMs) that will be adept in all languages spoken within the European Union (EU). These models will be crafted with transparency and in accordance with the EU’s regulatory framework.
European Commission Endorses the OpenEuroLLM Initiative
In a recent tweet, the European Commission’s official account revealed the OpenEuroLLM Project has been awarded this year’s inaugural STEP Seal. The STEP Seal is a prestigious quality label granted to outstanding projects that meet specific standards within the Digital Europe Programme. Projects earning this distinction are highlighted on the STEP platform and are promoted by the EU to facilitate investor attraction.
According to a press release, the OpenEuroLLM Project commenced its efforts to develop AI models on February 1. This initiative is a collaborative effort involving a consortium of 20 European research institutions, businesses, and EuroHPC centres, coordinated by Jan Hajič from Charles University in the Czech Republic, alongside co-lead Peter Sarlin, Co-Founder and CVP at AMD Silo AI.
The project aims to create a suite of high-performance multilingual LLMs, which will be made available to the open-source community for commercial, industrial, and public sector applications. It has been emphasised that all activities will comply with the EU’s stringent regulatory policies and that transparency in data acquisition will be maintained.
Upon the release of the AI models, comprehensive documentation, training and testing code, as well as evaluation metrics will also be made publicly accessible. This initiative is designed to enable the fine-tuning and instruction tuning of the LLMs to cater to specific needs within various industries and public sectors.
“The transparent and compliant open-source models will democratise access to high-quality AI technologies and enhance the capacity of European companies to compete on a global scale while aiding public organizations in delivering impactful services,” the press release states.
It’s noteworthy that the European Commission has already allocated funding to the OpenEuroLLM project through the Digital Europe Programme, with expectations of attracting more investors in the upcoming weeks. Currently, there is no definitive timeline regarding the release of the models or the specific focus areas they will address.
