As one of the 13 European Union (EU) countries, Latvia strengthens its position in the digital space in Europe, receiving support for the implementation of a strategic national initiative aimed at strengthening artificial intelligence (AI) capacity and competences. This is an important achievement in the field of digital development and innovation in Latvia, demonstrating our country's ability to integrate into the European network of artificial intelligence and excellence in high-powered computing.
Support from the European Commission (EC) and the European High performance computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC Joint Undertaking) has been granted for the implementation of the project “artificial Intelligence Factory antenna — Latvia” (AI Factory Antenna — Latvia, AIFA-LAT) from 2026 to 2028.
The aim of the project is to establish a national competence centre, which will strengthen Latvia's MI ecosystem and connect it to the “LUMI AI Factory” consortium established in Finland, in which Finland, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Norway and Poland already operate. Latvia will have access to European-level supercomputer capacity, algorithmic support and opportunities for development of MI skills.
The planned budget of the project is EUR 8.4 million, including co-financing of the Ministry of Education and Science from the State budget – EUR 3.98 million, as well as private co-financing.
The initiative will be implemented by Riga Technical University (RTU) in cooperation with the University of Latvia, the Centre for Culture Information Systems Centre, the national Digital Development Agency, the Association of artificial Intelligence Latvia, the Latvian information Technology Cluster and the Centre for artificial Intelligence.
Latvia is already specialising in several areas of the MI niche:
1) language technologies where MI is used in translation, speech recognition and text analysis solutions;
2) health care data analytics, where MI helps analyze genomics, microbiome and diagnostic images,
3) in cyber security, where MI solutions are used to monitor and identify threats in the country's critical infrastructure.
The AIFA-LAT project will help develop and strengthen these areas by providing access to powerful MI and computing capabilities, as well as promoting cooperation between science, business and public administration.
Education and Science Minister Dace Melbarde stresses: “The inclusion of Latvia among the 13 European countries that have received support for the implementation of this ambitious project is an important achievement – it demonstrates the competence and credibility of our country in the digital space of Europe. Joining the international consortium and connecting the artificial Intelligence plant “antennas” is a strategic initiative. It will contribute to the development of a national centre of competence for artificial intelligence and promote closer integration into Europe's digital infrastructure. ”
This project marks an important milestone in the development of science and innovation in Latvia, strengthening capacity, developing human capital, technologies and digital skills in order to promote economic growth of the region, development of innovations and creation of new enterprises and products. It is an investment in the future – the smartest, most innovative and most digitally powerful in Latvia.
As reported, the creation of the national MI competence Centre will facilitate cooperation between science and entrepreneurship, strengthen the digital sovereignty of the country and enable our researchers and engineers to work together with Europe's top experts, creating new solutions right here in Latvia.
“Strengthening artificial intelligence capacity in science and industry is one of the prerequisites for competitiveness. Latvia's inclusion in the European Plan for Development of artificial Intelligence expands our cooperation and innovativeness and provides an opportunity to strengthen Latvia's role in further steps. Strengthening the capacity of artificial intelligence in the Baltics will increase the growth of digital skills in society, innovation development and economic growth of the region, including development of new companies and products in a wide range – from dual-use cybersecurity solutions, satellite technologies and autonomous systems to personalised precision medicine solutions and tools for preserving Latvians and other small EU languages, “says RTU Recorder Tālis Juhna.
Minister of Intelligent Administration and Regional Development Raimonds Choudars:
The creation of the artificial Intelligence competence Centre is a strategic contribution to the development of the country, bringing additional resources and competences to research, development and deployment of artificial Intelligence in economic sectors. Public administration will also benefit, which through artificial intelligence solutions will be able to train and develop services. In collaboration with the national Digital Development Agency and the Centre for artificial Intelligence, the project aims to provide the public sector with several million hours of artificial intelligence training, which will allow public authorities to make efficient use of these resources, reducing budget costs and accelerating the deployment of innovation and artificial intelligence in public administration.
Context in Europe
This project is part of the European High performance computing Joint Undertaking Initiative “MI factories” (“AI factories”), which aims to strengthen European countries' artificial intelligence ecosystems.
This autumn, 13 “antennas” have been selected in countries including Latvia to expand access to MI-adapted supercomputer resources across Europe. These “antennas” will complement existing MI plants by building a single network that supports research, innovation and industrial applications across sectors.
By mid-2026, all selected “antennas” and their partners will sign a Memorandum of Understanding setting out the principles of cooperation with relevant MI plants.
The initiative is in line with the Digital Transformation Guidelines, the EU Digital decade Strategy and the objectives of the European Green deal, while strengthening Latvia's competitiveness and innovation growth.
Ministry of Education and Science
Communication Unit
prese@izm.gov.lv
Tel. 67047704, 67047834, 67047893