The Presidential Palace hosted a landmark summit unveiling Cyprus's new national Artificial Intelligence and supercomputing infrastructure. Backed by a strategic NVIDIA alliance, the initiative delivers elite computing power directly to local start-ups, universities, and industries.

The development of new national Artificial Intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure was at the centre of an event titled “Artificial Intelligence: New National Infrastructure and Opportunities for Research & Innovation”, held at the Presidential Palace on Friday. The event showcased the initiatives being promoted by the Republic of Cyprus to strengthen the country’s research, innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, as well as its strategic collaboration with NVIDIA, a global technology pioneer and one of the world’s leading technology companies. Opening remarks were delivered by Deputy Minister to the President Irene Piki and Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Polic, Nicodemos Damianou. The keynote address was given by Giannis Iosifakis, Global Vice President of Sales and Business Development for High-Performance Computing (HPC) Infrastructure at NVIDIA.

In her remarks, Piki stated that the government is promoting a new productive model for the Cypriot economy, based on knowledge, innovation, and the development of high-value-added products and services with a strong export orientation. She noted that Cyprus is investing in the creation of the necessary technological infrastructure while leveraging the country’s highly skilled scientific and professional workforce. The objective, she explained, is to transition towards a knowledge-based economy through targeted investments that create new opportunities for research, innovation and sustainable economic growth, while helping address the complex challenges of the modern era. Piki underlined that NVIDIA’s presence adds particular significance to the initiative, noting that the first contact with the company took place approximately one year ago during the President of the Republic’s visit to the United States. As she explained, the relationship developed rapidly through mutual trust and transparency, ultimately leading to today’s partnership, which strengthens Cyprus’ prospects in artificial intelligence and advanced technologies.

On his part, Damianou stressed that Artificial Intelligence is already transforming economies and societies worldwide and that Cyprus must position itself early within this new reality. As he explained, the country does not seek to compete with larger economies in terms of the scale of AI investments, but rather to strategically leverage its comparative advantages. “The challenge for Cyprus is not to compete with major economies in billion-euro investments, but to use Artificial Intelligence strategically to solve real-world problems and create new added value for both the economy and society,” he noted.

The Deputy Minister added that the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy is in its final stages of preparation and will serve as the country’s roadmap for the coming years, aiming to strengthen competitiveness, modernise the public sector and support the development of a robust innovation ecosystem. At the same time, he highlighted that the new infrastructure being developed through AI Factory Cyprus will provide researchers, universities, start-ups and organisations with access to computational resources that were previously difficult to obtain, accelerating knowledge production and the development of new applications. Particular emphasis was also placed on human capital, with Damianou noting that attracting and utilising talent, including that of members of the Cypriot diaspora, will be a critical factor in the success of the country’s AI strategy.

In his keynote speech, Giannis Iosifakis described NVIDIA’s collaboration with Cyprus as a clear example of how a small country can move quickly and decisively in a field evolving at unprecedented speed. According to Iosifakis, Cyprus has managed within a short period to move from planning to implementation on initiatives that many countries are still discussing, attributing this progress to the close cooperation between government, research organisations and technology partners. “The machine that can be leveraged through this partnership is just the beginning. The real question is what we will do with it,” he said, stressing that the true value of the new infrastructure will emerge from the applications, research and innovation developed on top of it.

Iosifakis also highlighted that Cyprus’ integration into NVIDIA’s ecosystem provides access not only to local infrastructure but also to a global network of expertise, partnerships and advanced computing resources. He further revealed that Cypriot start-ups have already expressed interest in using the new facilities, demonstrating that the initiative is designed not only for academia but also for the wider economy and business community. Concluding his remarks, he encouraged researchers, universities and businesses to actively take advantage of the opportunities being created.

Source: CNA (ΚΥΠΕ)