Telenor Unveils Norway’s Pioneering AI Factory
Norwegian telecommunications provider Telenor has launched the nation’s first ‘AI factory,’ a high-performance computing (HPC) system powered by Nvidia GPUs. The facility, which opened in November, allows organizations to process sensitive data within Norway’s borders while also furthering Telenor’s sustainability objectives.
The company’s commitment to the AI sector was highlighted by a partnership with Nvidia announced last year. The agreement designated Telenor as a sovereign AI cloud partner, with plans to develop a green AI center for the Nordic region and provide AI solutions built on Nvidia hardware.
Kaaren Hilsen, Telenor’s CIO and head of the AI factory, discussed the initiative on Nvidia’s AI podcast. She revealed that the project moved from conception to completion in under a year and now serves clients in various sectors, including logistics and public services. Initially, the AI factory was designed to support Telenor’s internal AI requirements.
“We saw this capability [as being] fundamental for Telenor to accelerate its own AI journey,” Hilsen stated. “Telenor holds a significant amount of critical information and data that we need to protect and ensure remains within Norway.”
While Hilsen did not disclose specifics about the clusters deployed at the factory, she mentioned plans to construct a data center in Oslo. This new center will operate on renewable energy and repurpose excess heat for district heating in nearby residential buildings.
“While some suggest AI can solve climate change, I believe we must be responsible and build data centers in a sustainable manner, considering the growing demand for compute power and data centers,” Hilsen explained.
To realize this sustainable data center, Telenor has partnered with power company Huisman and renewable energy investor HitecVision. This collaboration aims to create a ‘state-of-the-art, modern’ facility.
