ANKARA / BRUSSELS 

The European Union on Friday announced eight locations across Europe that will house supercomputer centers, the first of its kind in the continent.

Europe aims to be the Mecca of supercomputing with almost a billion-dollar investment.

The hosting sites are announced as Sofia (Bulgaria), Ostrava (Czechia), Kajaani (Finland), Bologna (Italy), Bissen (Luxembourg), Minho (Portugal), Maribor (Slovenia), and Barcelona (Spain).

“These sites, a strategic resource for the future of European industry, will help us advance in future-oriented technologies like the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, robotics and data analytics,” said Andrus Ansip, European Commission vice-president for the Digital Single Market.

The global supercomputing industry is currently dominated by the U.S. and China.