ESA and OVHcloud renew partnership to support space start-ups in AI

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Roubaix, November 6th, 2024 - OVHcloud, a global cloud player and the European Cloud leader, and the European Space Agency (ESA) today announce an important new chapter in their long-standing collaboration, which includes a renewed commitment to support innovative space start-ups in AI, with an increasingly prominent focus on sustainability.

The renewal of the partnership is part of the ESA Partnership Initiative for Commercialization (EPIC) goals to boost entrepreneurship and enhance business opportunities for European start-ups, involving ESA's Business Incubation Centers (BIC), Technology Brokers and Phi-LabNET, as well as ESA's original Φ-lab and InCubed - and of the synergies with OVHcloud Startup Program, which has been instrumental in supporting the transition of start-ups and scale-ups to a reliable cloud for a decade now.

The constant collaboration between ESA and OVHcloud is focused on innovation, with an approach that allows start-ups to benefit from best-of-breed technologies with a seamless and simple access to technology. For this reason, one of the objectives of the partnership is to promote the use of OVHcloud AI Solutions, including OVHcloud AI Endpoints within the ESA Commercialisation Networks. Designed with simplicity in mind, OVHcloud AI Endpoints enables developers to easily enhance their applications with off-the-shelf AI APIs. The serverless platform, which requires no AI expertise or dedicated infrastructure, hosts a range of cutting-edge AI models, such as LLMs, language processing, translation, voice recognition, image recognition, and more.

Space start-ups and scale-ups that benefit from the ESA-OVHcloud collaboration will also be able to apply to the OVHcloud Fast Forward AI Accelerator, which will provide additional technical and go-to-market support for selected AI start-ups and scale-ups. This support includes 1-on-1 time with OVHcloud's AI engineers, extra cloud credits, as well as engagement with venture capitalists and corporate partners. The first cohort of the AI Accelerator will run from January to April 2025 and applications close on 24 November 2024.

Sustainability is another shared value where both ESA and OVHcloud have established strong traditions. Defined as the pursuit of a mindset coupled with clear goals and specific targets aimed at driving meaningful global change, sustainability is a core focus for both organizations. OVHcloud's selection as a partner is a natural fit due to its commitment to green practices and sustainable operations. Similarly, ESA is looking to integrate sustainability criteria into its selection process for supporting start-ups, promoting a sustainability-oriented mindset and enhancing collective awareness on these crucial issues.

On its end, OVHcloud stands out in the technological landscape for its integrated industrial model, which enables a sustainable cloud by design. With technologies such as water-cooling, enabling to set high standards with best-in-class PUE of 1.26 and WUE of 0.37 for the Group global datacentres, all the while lowering our overall carbon impact. The Carbon Calculator allows users to obtain monthly reports on the carbon emissions linked to their cloud usage as well.

"Today's is a landmark date for our partnership with ESA. Not only are we strengthening a long-term partnership, we are also focusing even more strongly on innovation and sustainability, a combination embodied by the most virtuous Start-ups in the space sector. These companies will be able to take advantage of our support and those based in Italy, can benefit from the services available in the new Local Zone in Milan" commented John Gazal, Vice President Southern Europe and Brazil at OVHcloud.

"Extending this partnership with OVHcloud under the EPIC framework after a couple of fruitful years will bring further benefits in the realm of innovation to both ESA supported start-ups and OVHCloud. The partnership is now also integrating building blocks such as sustainability and AI to make the European space start-up ecosystem fully thrive in a commercial and responsible manner", commented Geraldine Naja, Director for Commercialisation, Industry and Competitiveness at ESA.

OVHcloud and the ESA Earth Observation Programme Directorate have a long-lasting and privileged collaboration that has contributed to innovative advances in Earth Observation research. The use of OVHcloud cloud infrastructure has enabled the storage, management and analysis of vast amounts of Earth Observation data gathered by satellites and will allow ESA researchers to better understand and respond to climate change, natural disasters and ecological challenges, in agreement with the sustainability goals promoted by this partnership.

"The ongoing collaboration between ESA and OVHcloud demonstrates the power of innovation and technology. By uniting these two great areas of interest - Earth observation and cloud computing - we are demonstrating how cutting-edge digital solutions can empower our ambitious efforts to explore and learn, paving the way for a smarter, more connected future", said Simonetta Cheli, Director of ESA Earth Observation Programmes.

This collaboration already extends to cutting-edge technologies, such as Quantum Computing, where space startups can now access quantum computer emulators on OVHcloud. In the future, Quantum Computing will accelerate space-use cases related to optimizations or simulations, and this collaboration will help entrepreneurs access these cutting-edge technologies.

Resources

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About OVHcloud

OVHcloud is a global cloud player and the leading European cloud provider operating over 450,000 servers within 43 data centers across 4 continents to reach 1,6 million customers in over 140 countries. Spearheading a trusted cloud and pioneering a sustainable cloud with the best performance-price ratio, the Group has been leveraging for over 20 years an integrated model that guarantees total control of its value chain: from the design of its servers to the construction and management of its data centers, including the orchestration of its fiber-optic network. This unique approach enables OVHcloud to independently cover all the uses of its customers so they can seize the benefits of an environmentally conscious model with a frugal use of resources and a carbon footprint reaching the best ratios in the industry. OVHcloud now offers customers the latest-generation solutions combining performance, predictable pricing, and complete data sovereignty to support their unfettered growth.

European Space Agency

The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe's gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe's space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. ESA is an international organisation with 22 Member States. By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, it can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country. ESA's 22 Member States are Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Slovenia, Slovakia, Latvia and Lithuania are Associate Members. Canada takes part in some projects under a cooperation agreement. Five other EU states have Cooperation Agreements with ESA: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Malta.

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Media relations - Julien Jay

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