Bulgaria invests 170 million BGN in artificial intelligence

Over the next 10 years, Bulgaria will invest 170 million BGN in the first of its kind in Eastern Europe Institute for Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Technology INSAIT. It is a partnership between Sofia University and two of the leading universities of technology in the world – the Swiss ETH Zurich and EPFL.

INSAIT was officially opened today, April 11, in Sofia.

The world's leading technology companies Google, DeepMind and Amazon Web Services recognize the importance of INSAIT for the development of research and innovation in Eastern Europe and for the first time support such a project in the region with more than 12 million BGN. Google and DeepMind will invest close to BGN 6 million in INSAIT over the next three years and Amazon Web Services close to BGN 7 million.

INSAIT's vision is fully supported by the technology sector in Bulgaria. So far, the institute has attracted BGN 12 million in funding from SiteGround, one of the leaders in the international web hosting market based in Bulgaria, and BGN 1.3 million from other well-known technology entrepreneurs and investors.

The architect of INSAIT is prof. Martin Vechev from ETH Zurich - a world-leading scientist in the field of computer science and artificial intelligence.

"When I graduated from Cambridge in 2003, I wished, in 20-30 years, to create a world-class centre in Bulgaria, like the one in Cambridge. Through this institute, Bulgaria became a pioneer in Eastern Europe. Our priority is to revitalise and transform Bulgaria. Like other Western institutes, INSAIT has the potential to have a major impact on the development of the economy, social policy and education in Bulgaria, as well as on the role and prestige of the country," said Prof. Vechev at the opening ceremony.

The ceremony was attended by Bulgaria’s President, Rumen Radev, Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Education and Research and President of Switzerland (2021) Guy Parmelen, EU Commissioner Maria Gabriel, leading scientists from Switzerland, USA, Israel and Bulgaria, academics and business representatives from Bulgaria and abroad. Among them were the winner of the Turing Prize ("computer Nobel") Prof.. Shafi Goldwasser from MIT and Berkeley, Nobel Prize winner and driver of the Israeli startup revolution Dan Shechtman.