Romania explores the opportunity to develop a national AI Factory (p)

The National Institute for Research and Development in Informatics – ICI Bucharest hosted today, May 19, 2025, a working meeting dedicated to exploring opportunities for Romania’s involvement in the European initiative EuroHPC – AI Factories.

The meeting took place in the context of the initiative of the Vice-President of the European Parliament, Victor Negrescu, aiming to support the inter-institutional dialogue on the creation of a national AI Factory – a strategic infrastructure aimed at supporting the development and application of artificial intelligence (AI) in various areas of public and economic interest, through integration into the European High Performance Computing (HPC) network.

“Romania has the opportunity to become an active player in the European network of AI Factories, contributing to the consolidation of European capacities in the field of artificial intelligence. It is encouraging to observe a convergence of expertise, interest and institutional involvement around this initiative, which has the potential to support Romania’s digital transition in a strategic and sustainable way” said Adrian-Victor Vevera, General Manager of ICI Bucharest.

The discussions focused on identifying the main elements that could form the basis of a national proposal: the operational structure of the AI ​​Factory, the co-financing possibilities, the governance mechanisms and the strategic areas of application. The potential of Romania to become a relevant player in the European AI network was highlighted, by capitalizing on local expertise and existing capacities. The meeting is part of a consultation and collaboration process that will continue in the coming period, with the aim of building a solid and competitive proposal at European level.

The event was attended by Victor Negrescu, Vice President of the European Parliament, Mihnea Costoiu, Rector of the National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest, Adrian Curaj, General Director of the Executive Unit for Financing Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation (UEFISCDI), Dan Nicula, General Director of the Bucharest-Ilfov Regional Development Agency, Florin Jianu, President of the National Council of Small and Medium-sized Private Enterprises in Romania, Bianca Muntean, Cluster Manager of Transilvania IT Cluster, and representatives of the Ministry of Economy, Digitalization, Entrepreneurship and Tourism.