Fain Tech Startup Launches Advanced Research Using HPC Resources

Fain Tech, a startup specializing in computer vision, with the support of the NCC Montenegro team, which is implementing the EuroCC2/EuroCC4SEE project, has successfully gained access to Leonardo BOOSTER HPC resources for a period of three months through the EuroHPC Benchmark public call. This access will support research on the Enfield: European Lighthouse to Manifest Trustworthy and Green AI project, aimed at developing advanced models for defect detection on PCBs.

Another SME to utilise European HPC resources

With these resources, the team will focus on optimizing neural networks to create solutions that perform effectively even with limited data, minimizing the risk of overfitting. The team will demonstrate their capability to effectively use advanced computing resources, contributing to the development of reliable and sustainable technologies in industrial processes.

EuroCC2/EuroCC4SEE project presented at Research Day 2025 @ UDG

The 13th Research Day, held on April 4, 2025, at the University of Donja Gorica (UDG), once again brought together a vibrant community of researchers, students, and professionals committed to advancing knowledge, innovation, and research.

Organized in collaboration with the Statistical Office of Montenegro – MONSTAT and the Public Opinion Research Agency – DAMAR, the event served as a dynamic platform for sharing ongoing projects and research initiatives. This year’s focus was placed on the strategic use of statistical data, interdisciplinary research approaches, digital tools and data-driven decision-making. The MONSTAT presented in-depth socio-economic analyses based on the latest Census results in Montenegro, while the DAMAR-LAB initiative showcased advanced neuromarketing research potential, using eye-tracking technologies.

Among UDG’s flagship research projects, the EUROCC2/EuroCC4SEE was featured, demonstrating the increasing relevance of HPC and AI technologies for predictive analytics, complex simulations and scenario modelling. A representative of NCC Montenegro highlighted the growing capabilities in HPC/AI-driven research excellence, industry applications, training opportunities, and key findings from the HPC4SME market study.

Events like this strengthen collaboration between academia, industry, and public institutions, laying the foundation for smarter and sustainable ecosystem of research, development, and innovation.

https://www.cdm.me/drustvo/povodom-dana-studenata-udg-monstat-i-damar-organizuju-trinaesti-dan-istrazivanja

https://www.gov.me/clanak/obiljezen-dan-istrazivanja-2025

FiveG gained access to HPC resources through the support of NCC Montenegro

Five Group company has established itself as one of the leading IT companies in Montenegro in the field of 3D design, gaming industry, application of AI/ML in various business areas, for innovative IT solutions in the field of education, military industry, etc. With the support of the NCC team of Montenegro, Five Group company submitted an application for access to HPC resources on the Leonardo supercomputer, within the Benchmark call. As a result of the successful application for the project called “Wasco AI – Custom AI Assistant Optimization via HPC”, access to the Leonard Booster partition for three months, in the amount of 3500 node-hours, was granted.

Successful submission for Benchmark call “Wasco AI”

Wasco AI is an intelligent, customized AI assistant designed for business applications. It supports multimodal interaction (text, video, images, and documents) and provides adaptive support to various industries. Through this project, benchmarking, training optimizations and fine-tuning of large language models (LLM) will be performed to ensure scalable performance, using EuroHPC resources.

AI Heal Project: Successful Application for LUMI Supercomputer access

After the initial meeting held in December 2024 at the premises of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Montenegro, NCC Montenegro team had several online meetings with representatives of One AI start-up company, in order to provide them support in writing application for access to HPC resources. One AI company has obtained grant from Innovation Fund of Montenegro for their project “AI Heal “, where they are developing a smart-phone application for monitoring different health parameters and obtaining AI advices based on the experiences of doctors across the world. Thus, the project deals with great amount of data which are going to be used for the training of AI Heal model. This cooperation with NCC Montenegro resulted in successful application on Development Call for resources on LUMI supercomputer.

HPC Montenegro @ STP: Connecting with Innovative Companies and the Startup Ecosystem during Open Day

On April 3, 2025, representatives of HPC NCC Montenegro attended the Open Day hosted by the Science and Technology Park (STP) of Montenegro, seizing the opportunity to connect with innovative companies, startups, and entrepreneurs with the potential to leverage HPC for AI-driven projects.

Paid MNE

Among the STP residents who participated in the event and presented their ideas were ONEAI, Artificial Intelligence Software Solutions, Azoteq, G Consulting, the Institute of Contemporary Technologies of Montenegro, Logik Montenegro, Modrone, Montezuma, Uhura, Paid.mne, Ninamedia Clipping, Sjever.me, the Center for Finance, and Web Falcon.

One AI

It was inspiring to hear testimonials from Uhura, Paid.mne, and ONEAI, who already benefit from access to leading EuroHPC supercomputers, including LUMI and LEONARDO. These success stories are the result of fruitful collaboration with NCC Montenegro and the support received through Development Calls.

Uhura

In this vibrant setting, HPC NCC Montenegro representatives engaged with prospective companies and innovative teams to raise awareness of the Montenegrin NCC and European HPC resources, explore potential collaborations and training opportunities, and support access to advanced computing infrastructure for research, development, and innovation.

The NTP Open Day proved to be a dynamic platform for identifying HPC/AI potential, strengthening partnerships, and accelerating digital innovation in Montenegro [link].

Visit to COINIS: Exploring Opportunities for HPC and AI Collaboration

On 8 April 2025, the NCC Montenegro team—Tomo Popović, Ivan Jovović, and Elvis Taruh—visited COINIS, a leading Montenegrin digital marketing and ad tech company, to discuss potential collaboration in high-performance computing (HPC) and AI. We were warmly welcomed by our hosts, Ms. Tamara Pavlović and Ms. Aida Ismailisufi.

Visit to Coins to discuss HPC opportunities

The NCC team introduced the EUROCC2/EUROCC4SEE project and discussed how COINIS could leverage HPC resources for advanced data analytics, AI-driven personalization, and generative AI applications. Opportunities through EuroHPC calls, including FFPLUS, were presented, alongside examples of successful industry use cases.

Further collaboration was discussed, including POC project support and joint capacity-building activities. A follow-up is planned to define a concrete use case and collaboration with regards to a possible application process.

There was around 10 people from the company interested in the presentation

Empowering the Future with AI: Workshop on Chatbots and LLMs at NCC Montenegro

As part of the ongoing H2020-MSCA TRACEWINDU initiative to foster digital innovation and transparency across value chains, a hands-on workshop on chatbot development using Large Language Models (LLMs) and the Azure platform was held at the National Competence Center for High-Performance Computing (NCC Montenegro), hosted by the University of Donja Gorica (UDG).

This workshop was implemented as a cross-collaboration of TRACEWINDU and EUROCC2/EUROCC4SEE ptojects

The workshop brought together a vibrant group of PhD, Master’s, and Bachelor students, alongside AI and HPC researchers and mentors from UDG—key TRACEWINDU and EUROCC4SEE project partners—highlighting the growing interest and expertise in cutting-edge AI technologies across disciplines.

Leading the session were Ms. Daliborka Nedić and Ms. Senka Gajinov from DunavNET, an innovation-driven technology company and core partner in the TRACEWINDU consortium. Their expert lecture provided attendees with valuable insights into the rapidly evolving world of generative AI and practical guidance on building intelligent chatbot solutions using Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI services.

Around 20 people attended, mostly PhD, MSc and BSc researchers interested in AI and HPC

The workshop covered key concepts such as:

  • The fundamentals of Large Language Models (LLMs) and their applications in chatbot development
  • Integration of LLMs within the Azure AI ecosystem
  • Best practices in prompt engineering and knowledge grounding
  • Real-life use cases aligned with transparency, automation, and user engagement in value chains

Beyond chatbot development, the discussion extended to the integration of computer vision models—particularly those aimed at automating data collection in value chains—and the use of HPC resources to support their deployment. Participants explored ideas for combining conversational AI interfaces with real-time computer vision capabilities, opening up possibilities for smarter, more interactive systems across agri-food and other sectors.

This collaborative brainstorming set the stage for future joint initiatives, where chatbots could serve as intuitive front-ends to complex AI models running on high-performance computing infrastructures—bridging accessibility and computational power for impactful solutions. This workshop is part of a broader capacity-building effort within TRACEWINDU and EUROCC4SEE, designed to empower young researchers and professionals with the tools and knowledge needed to innovate responsibly in the age of AI TRACEWINDU continues to bridge digital technologies and real-world value chain transformation.

Ms Daliborka Nedic and Ms Senka Gajinov from DNET at UDG