BOSTON – Today, the Healey-Driscoll Administration joined with representatives of the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC) in Boston to announce the selection of Cambridge Computer in partnership with Dell Technologies and VAST Data to create the Artificial Intelligence Compute Resources (AICR) environment at MGHPCC. This resource will serve as the backbone of the Massachusetts AI Hub by supporting startups, businesses, researchers and educators with access to sustainable, high-performance compute resources required for AI innovation.
In May 2025, the Healey-Driscoll administration announced a $31 million grant to MGHPCC through the Massachusetts AI Hub to establish AICR. Located in Holyoke, AICR will be comprised of hundreds of NVIDIA B200 and RTX GPUs with hardware and software fine-tuned for AI workloads. This represents one of the largest systems to be deployed through a state-level AI initiative in the country.
“AICR will enable the public and private sector to share resources, compute power and collaborative spaces as we explore new ways to drive innovation in the field of AI,” said Governor Maura Healey. “With the help of Cambridge Computer, Dell Technologies, NVIDIA, and VAST, MGHPCC members and the state of Massachusetts will be able to marshal the resources needed to build more responsible artificial intelligence solutions. Their efforts will create workforce development opportunities across regions and drive innovations that will benefit our economy in the long run.”
MGHPCC’s six university members – Boston University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northeastern University, University of Massachusetts and Yale University – will match that initial investment. By 2030, the total funding is expected to exceed $120 million. This collaboration will provide those partner higher education institutions, the state and the region with access to significant compute resources that will drive AI discovery and economic growth.
“Our state’s AI ecosystem stretches from the Berkshires to the Bayside,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “The AICR environment in Holyoke, in partnership with Cambridge Computer, will help catalyze the local economy while expanding access to cutting-edge tools for students, researchers and startups.”
MGHPCC will oversee the construction and installation of AICR. Cambridge Computer will provide integration services for the systems manufactured by Dell Technologies and VAST. The AICR environment will be powered by 100 percent carbon-free energy from Holyoke Gas and Electric’s hydroelectric facility.
“Massachusetts will leverage AICR to support research that fuels innovation, job creation and new business formation across Massachusetts,” said Economic Development Secretary Eric Paley. “This partnership is a key component of the state’s strategy to stay ahead of the curve as AI reshapes how we work and live. We are building a pipeline to attract talent, startups and small businesses from across the world to every corner of the state. Massachusetts is competing to lead on AI.”
“By investing in world-class compute capacity at the MGHPCC, we are ensuring that our researchers have access to the cutting-edge tools they need to develop groundbreaking work in fields like life sciences and energy,” said Technology Services and Security Secretary Jason Snyder. “The new infrastructure will democratize access to high-performance computing for universities, startups and research institutions that might not otherwise afford large-scale high-performance computing infrastructure. And that embodies the core mission of the Massachusetts AI Hub: expanding opportunity, accelerating discovery and ensuring that the benefits of AI are shared across every corner of the state.”
“The system will be a significant asset for the research and development and talent development served by the MGHPCC ecosystem,” said MGHPCC Executive Director John Goodhue. “It is a terrific example of what can be achieved when government, industry and higher education join forces to invest in competitive-edge fields like AI.”
“For 34 years, Cambridge Computer has supported higher education and research computing communities,” said Deena A. Berton, Chief Executive Officer, Cambridge Computer. "Through AICR, we’re proud to continue delivering multi-vendor solutions that help Massachusetts institutions remain leaders in science and discovery."
Today’s announcement builds on recent momentum through the AI Hub, including an announcement in October 2025 of $2.8 million in grants to support seven projects through the Massachusetts AI Models Innovation Challenge grant program. This flagship initiative leverages domain-specific AI models to solve real-world problems within key sectors of the economy.
“Massachusetts is setting the national standard for responsible AI innovation, showing that best-in-class compute power can be delivered in a 100% carbon-free, sustainable way,” said Massachusetts AI Hub Director Sabrina Mansur. “AICR development provides statewide access to the infrastructure needed for breakthrough discoveries that will shape the future. This added dimension is going to strengthen the Massachusetts AI Hub.”
Statements of Support:
"I applaud Governor Healey’s visionary commitment to expanding access to AI resources for the Commonwealth’s research institutions, residents, businesses and startups,” said Boston University President Melissa Gilliam. “At Boston University, our researchers have already leveraged AI to achieve breakthroughs in areas such as Alzheimer’s treatment and skin cancer detection. This year, we launched our Artificial Intelligence Development Accelerator to empower our students and workforce with essential AI literacy, and to encourage collaboration and partnerships as we grow in understanding how to use AI for good. The expansion of the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center will further strengthen and accelerate these important initiatives and others like them across the Commonwealth.
“The Artificial Intelligence Compute Resources environment will provide the capacity needed to accelerate discovery, educate the next generation of talent and support the Commonwealth’s leadership in responsible AI. This investment reflects the power of collaboration across higher education, government and industry to build infrastructure that benefits both science and society,” said Klara Jelinkova, Vice President and University Chief Information Officer, Harvard University.
"The Governor’s establishment of AICR as a shared statewide resource will further bolster Massachusetts' economic and scientific competitiveness," said MIT Vice President for Research Ian Waitz. “Scholarship and innovation are increasingly fueled by computation. The broad access to hardware at MGHPCC provided by this collaboration will support the pursuit of new artificial intelligence discoveries, practices and solutions that can benefit the state and the nation."
"AI is transforming every sector of our economy and society and is central to Northeastern University's research commitment to addressing global societal challenges,” said Snell Professor and Interim Senior Vice Provost for Research at Northeastern University, Akram Alshawabkeh. "By partnering with the Commonwealth and MGHPCC members and investing in AICR, Northeastern is strengthening Massachusetts’ position as a national AI innovation hub while providing our researchers the computational power to drive breakthrough AI discoveries at unprecedented scale."
“The University of Massachusetts is proud to be a partner in the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center, a national model since 2008 for how partnerships between the state, research universities and private industry drive advances in research and technology that benefit the state’s economy. By creating an Artificial Intelligence Compute Resources environment, the Healey-Driscoll Administration is positioning the Commonwealth to be a national leader in AI,” said UMass President Marty Meehan. “We are grateful to Governor Healey and the Legislature for recognizing the impact AI will have on education and research and making investments that will allow educators, researchers, and businesses to work together to develop responsible and ethical AI solutions that benefit us all.”
"Yale is proud to be a partner in this initiative, which strengthens our region's leadership in leveraging AI to advance discovery and innovation, enhance national competitiveness, drive economic growth, and create jobs. Together with university, industry and government partners, we are expanding access to computational resources, so our students and faculty can accelerate AI research that will have lasting and far-reaching benefits for all sectors and for individuals and communities across our region and country,” said Yale University President Maurie McInnis.
"With Dell Technologies’ infrastructure and expertise, the Massachusetts AI Hub will drive advancements in AI, scale research in higher education and create transformative opportunities for students," said Dell Technologies Global Chief Technology Officer and Chief AI Officer John Roese. "Our strong partnerships and extensive ecosystem uniquely position us to empower institutions nationwide to drive and scale innovation. Collaboration on the Massachusetts AI Hub initiative underscores this ability and highlights the power of academia, government and industry working together to shape the future."
“At VAST, we're proud to help power the Mass AI Hub, delivering a statewide AI computing resource that empowers researchers and innovators alike across state agencies and research institutions in Massachusetts,” said VAST Data Head of Americas Higher Education & Research Christopher Ginder. “With the support of six world-renowned universities across the region, the Commonwealth is ensuring a broad community of scientists, entrepreneurs and students have access to industry-leading AI infrastructure. The VAST AI Operating System unifies performance, capacity and data access across a single global namespace – allowing researchers everywhere to work with massive datasets seamlessly – accelerating advancements in AI, life sciences, and beyond, while removing the traditional barriers of scale and complexity.”
About the Massachusetts AI Hub
The Massachusetts AI Hub is Massachusetts’ central nexus for AI innovation and governance across industry, academia and the private sector. The AI Hub, supported by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, harnesses state resources and the top-tier talent to drive transformative change in the sector. With a focus on responsible AI development at its core, the AI Hub is committed to supporting Massachusetts as a global leader in fostering a collaborative, inclusive and ethical AI ecosystem. For more information, visit masstech.org/aihub.
About MGHPCC
The Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC) provides state-of-the-art infrastructure for computationally intensive research that is indispensable in the increasingly sensor and data-rich environments of modern science and engineering. The MGHPCC hosts millions of virtual experiments each month supporting tens of thousands of researchers around the world. The MGHPCC was developed through an unprecedented collaboration among the most research-intensive universities in the region (Boston University, Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northeastern University, the University of Massachusetts system, and Yale University); the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; and private industry (Cisco and Dell EMC). The member universities fund the ongoing operation of the data center.
About Cambridge Computer
For over 34 years, Cambridge Computer has been a trusted partner to the research and enterprise computing communities, delivering high-performance solutions that drive groundbreaking research and innovation. Cambridge has been honored with numerous industry awards, including NVIDIA’s 2025 Innovation Partner of the Year, VAST Data’s 2025 Partner of the Year for Academic Research, and Dell’s 2025 Marketing Partner of the Year. Building on this expertise, Cambridge is proud to provide the foundation for the Massachusetts AI Hub, supporting the state’s vision to become a global leader in applied AI innovation.
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