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Mexico’s SECIHTI and the ATDT have established a National High-Performance Computing and AI Cluster that connects leading universities and research centers to coordinate infrastructure, talent, and computing resources for strategic scientific and technological development.
Mexico’s Ministry of Science, Humanities, Technology and Innovation (SECIHITI) and the Digital Transformation and Telecommunications Agency (ATDT) signed a Letter of Intent with universities and public research centers to create the National High-Performance Computing and AI Cluster.
Rosaura Ruiz, Ministry of Science, Humanities, Technology and Innovation, says the cluster will strengthen collaboration among institutions with advanced computing capabilities while supporting projects such as the Mexican supercomputer Coatlicue. “It is the beginning of a historic advance and, together with Coatlicue, the cluster will foster a break from current technology,” said Ruiz during the signing ceremony.
The creation of the National High-Performance Computing and AI Cluster marks a federal effort to consolidate Mexico’s fragmented computing and AI resources into a coordinated national framework. Beyond infrastructure sharing, the initiative introduces a governance model intended to expand access to advanced computing resources, strengthen scientific collaboration, and develop specialized talent in strategic technology fields.
For universities, public research institutions, government agencies, and organizations involved in data-intensive research, the cluster creates a mechanism to coordinate investments and computing capacity at a national scale. The initiative also aligns with broader efforts by the federal government to increase domestic technological capabilities while reducing dependence on external infrastructure for advanced computing and AI research.
Institutions Forming the Cluster
The initiative is jointly coordinated by SECIHITI and the ATDT, bringing together institutions that already operate high-performance computing infrastructure and specialized research programs.
According to SECIHITI, Mexico’s AI cluster integrates some of the country’s largest academic and scientific institutions. Some of the most notable institutions are the UNAM, the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM), the Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada (CICESE), the Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (Cinvestav), and the la Universidad de Guadalajara (UAG).
Leonardo Lomeli Vanegas, Rector, UNAM, says the initiative creates an opportunity to expand access to computing resources through mechanisms based on scientific merit and expected research impact. According to Lomeli, this approach could help reduce disparities in access to advanced research infrastructure across institutions.
The participation of multiple universities and research centers also reflects the government’s strategy of leveraging existing assets rather than creating a centralized computing facility from the ground up.
A National Network for Advanced Computing
Additional details presented during the launch indicate that the cluster will function as a national network of high-performance computing nodes distributed across participating institutions. According to by La Jornada, the project aims to strengthen existing infrastructure, expand access to advanced computing resources, and facilitate collaboration on high-impact scientific and technological projects.
Hector Benitez Perez, Director General of Computing and Information and Communication Technologies, UNAM, and coordinator of the initiative, says the project will also focus on workforce development, technical training, infrastructure enhancement, and connectivity improvements.
The initiative is expected to establish cooperation mechanisms that allow institutions to share resources and participate in projects requiring significant computational power, including artificial intelligence applications and large-scale data analysis. Benitez identifies four foundational pillars for the cluster: governance and ethics, telecommunications and cybersecurity, processing and storage infrastructure, and research and collaboration.
These pillars suggest that the initiative extends beyond computing hardware and includes operational frameworks for managing data, securing infrastructure, and coordinating institutional participation.
Supporting Coatlicue and Future Research Programs
A central component of the strategy is the integration of the cluster with Coatlicue, the Mexican supercomputer project highlighted by federal authorities during the announcement. While government officials have not yet disclosed a complete operational roadmap for Coatlicue, the supercomputer is positioned as a strategic asset within Mexico’s broader scientific infrastructure agenda.
The combination of distributed institutional resources and a national supercomputing platform could provide researchers with access to computational capabilities required for artificial intelligence training, climate modeling, health research, engineering simulations, and large-scale data analytics.
Luis Antonio Salazar Olivo, Director General, Instituto Potosino de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica, says high-performance computing is increasingly necessary for processing large volumes of data associated with national challenges.
As data-intensive research becomes more common across scientific disciplines, demand for advanced computing infrastructure continues to increase globally. Governments, universities, and research organizations have expanded investments in supercomputing systems to support artificial intelligence development, advanced modeling, and scientific discovery.
Sovereignty, Collaboration, and Talent Development
Federal officials framed the initiative as part of a broader effort to strengthen Mexico’s scientific and technological sovereignty. Ruiz noted that science remains an international and collaborative activity, emphasizing that strengthening domestic capabilities does not imply reducing international cooperation. Instead, the objective is to increase Mexico’s ability to contribute to global scientific networks while maintaining stronger national infrastructure and expertise.
Gustavo Pacheco Lopez, Rector, UAM, says the country requires additional high-performance computing capabilities to address complex challenges and support technological sovereignty.
Beyond infrastructure, the cluster is expected to contribute to workforce development. Participating institutions plan to expand training opportunities for researchers, engineers, technicians, and specialists working in artificial intelligence and advanced computing fields.
Building a Coordinated Innovation Ecosystem
The National High-Performance Computing and AI Cluster represents one of Mexico’s largest institutional coordination efforts focused on advanced computing infrastructure.
According to SECIHITI, the initiative seeks to connect existing capabilities rather than replicate them, creating a shared platform through which institutions can coordinate research activities, infrastructure investments, and talent development programs.
Celina Peña Guzman, Deputy Minister for Technological Development, Linkage and Innovation, SECIHITI, describes the initiative as a bridge connecting infrastructure, expertise, and human capital already present across the country. As the governance structure and operational mechanisms are defined, participating institutions are expected to establish procedures for resource allocation, collaboration, project prioritization, and access to computing infrastructure.
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