New Deep Learning Cluster for AI Research

Deep learning is a core research area of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Freiburg, including the team led by Prof. Dr Frank Hutter, Professor of Machine Learning. In addition, Artificial Intelligence is also a key interdisciplinary topic for the University of Freiburg. Large computing resources are necessary to learn strong models. The new high-performance cluster with powerful, energy-efficient GPU and CPU computing units and expanded storage capacities creates new opportunities for developing innovative methods of Machine Learning, which can be used for generative language models, autonomous driving and robotics, learning from small amounts of data or medical image processing, to name a few examples.

World-leading research in basic models

The projects focus on research into so-called base models for various modalities such as language, images, robotics, bioinformatics and tabular data. ‘Freiburg is a world leader in the booming field of predictions on tabular data such as Excel files, and the new infrastructure will further strengthen this,’ says Hutter. The new deep learning cluster will also benefit the Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) “Small Data” and the research initiatives “BrainWorlds” and “Adaptive Futures – Emerging Technologies and Adaptive Governance” at the University of Freiburg.

The project is being funded with a total of 4,477,103.20 euros. The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the state of Baden-Württemberg are supporting the acquisition. ‘This investment enables decisive progress in AI development for science and society,’ says Hutter.