The University of Utah, in partnership with the State of Utah, is launching a sovereign AI factory powered by HPE and NVIDIA to accelerate medical research and drive regional economic development. The initiative will more than triple the university’s computing capacity, enabling groundbreaking advances in healthcare, including research into cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, mental health, and genetics through generative AI and agentic AI technologies. This project is part of a broader state-led effort to expand AI infrastructure across Utah, aiming to attract high-tech businesses and skilled talent to the region. The sovereign AI factory is built using HPE’s full-stack AI infrastructure, delivered via HPE GreenLake cloud and supported by HPE services. It is designed specifically for public sector institutions, ensuring complete data control, policy compliance, and security. The system is based on HPE Cray XD670 servers and NVIDIA Hopper GPUs, providing high-performance computing for large language model training, natural language processing, multimodal AI workloads, and other complex research tasks. The solution includes advanced cooling, storage, networking, and software components such as HPE OpsRamp and HPE Morpheus Enterprise Software, which streamline IT operations and support a shared, multi-tenant environment for researchers across the university. By deploying the infrastructure through HPE GreenLake at a colocation facility managed by DataBank, the University of Utah gains a scalable, energy-efficient, and rapidly deployable platform. The colocation site is strategically located near the university and capable of handling high-density workloads, serving as both a research engine and a community innovation showcase. Trish Damkroger, senior vice president and general manager of HPC & AI Infrastructure Solutions at HPE, emphasized the importance of data sovereignty in academic research, stating that the solution enables institutions to meet compliance requirements while accelerating discovery. Taylor Randall, president of the University of Utah, highlighted the institution’s legacy of innovation and its vision to create a robust, scalable AI ecosystem that benefits higher education, drives medical breakthroughs, and fuels entrepreneurship across the state. Dion Harris, senior director of HPC, Cloud and Infrastructure Solutions at NVIDIA, noted that the university’s strong foundation in medicine, engineering, and data science, combined with the new infrastructure, will turn ideas into real-world impact. The project is being jump-started by a major philanthropic gift from Brynn and Peter Huntsman and the Huntsman Family Foundation, which will help launch the initiative and inspire further investment. This sovereign AI factory represents a strategic investment in both scientific discovery and economic growth, positioning Utah as a leader in responsible, high-impact AI innovation.