Vertiv, Nvidia, and iGenius are teaming up to deploy an AI supercomputer in Italy.

Dubbed Colosseum, the supercomputer will be an Nvidia DGX AI supercomputer powered by the Nvidia Grace Blackwell chips.

The system is expected to be deployed this year, and will be located in southern Italy.

The cluster will use Vertiv’s 360AI reference architecture infrastructure platform for power and cooling, designed for the Nvidia GB200 NVL72 systems. The 360AI was released in late 2024 and is described as a “modular and scalable system.”

The reference architecture is for a 7MW deployment, supporting up to 132kW per rack.

The exact compute capacity of the AI supercomputer has not been shared in the most recent release, but the companies describe it as one of the world’s largest Nvidia DGX AI supercomputers with Nvidia Grace Blackwell Superchips. Previous reports suggested that the system would comprise 80 Nvidia GB200 NVL72s and deliver 115 exaflops of computer power.

The system will be used to meet the compute demands of highly regulated sectors in the area, including finance, healthcare, and public administration.

“Harnessing the power of Nvidia’s cutting-edge accelerated computing and Vertiv’s innovative infrastructure expertise, Colosseum stands as a testament to the transformative potential of sovereign AI,” said Uljan Sharka, CEO of iGenius. “We’re demonstrating how modular systems and software-specific infrastructure enable a new era of mission-critical AI.”

“The unit of compute is no longer the chip – it’s the system, the AI Factory,” added Karsten Winther, president of Vertiv, EMEA. “We are proving the efficiency and system-level maturity of delivering the data center as a unit of compute, unlocking rapid adoption of AI-native power and cooling infrastructure as a catalyst for AI at scale.”

The supercomputer, prior to deployment, was simulated into a digital twin using the Nvidia Omniverse Blueprint for AI factory design and operations, enabling real-time collaboration between Vertiv, iGenius, and Nvidia. According to Vertiv, this will reduce deployment time by up to 50 percent.

iGenius is a deep-tech company specializing in artificial intelligence solutions for companies operating in highly regulated industries, including financial services, government, or heavy industry.

The company announced plans for a major data center project in southern Italy in January of this year, which would see $1 billion in investment over a period of five years and host Nvidia hardware. At the time, CEO Sharka told Reuters: “Keeping the current pace, we aim to complete the project this summer.” Sharka added that iGenius had picked southern Italy as a location thanks to a surplus of renewable energy capacity.

https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/vertiv-nvidia-and-igenius-partner-on-ai-supercomputer-colosseum/