A supercomputing hub furnished with high-performance machines will be at the heart of a new collaborative venture focused on artificial intelligence at the University of Alberta.

The U of A received $2.5 million Thursday from the federal government for an AI-supercomputing hub for academic and industry collaboration. The hub, linking academics and industry, will include computers that can process raw data in hours, as opposed to days, according to a news release from Western Economic Diversification Canada.

The investment builds on Edmonton’s reputation as one of the top AI research hubs in the world. Last year for example, DeepMind, Google’s London-based AI research division, announced it would set up its first international research lab in downtown Edmonton in partnership with the U of A.

Thursday’s news is aimed at helping speed up the development and commercialization of new tech in a cost-effective way, attracting and keeping AI talent in Western Canada and supporting marketing initiatives that support the AI sector. “We expect hundreds of students, faculty and small- and medium-sized enterprises to benefit from this supercomputer facility,” Edmond Lou, an associate professor in U of A’s department of electrical and computer engineering, said in a statement.