Ecosystem Radar

Bulgaria lands EU AI factory project with Sofia Tech Park and INSAIT

Sofia Tech Park and INSAIT have been selected for a €90 million project that will establish Bulgaria’s AI factory, BRAIN++, in Sofia. The announcement places Bulgaria among six newly approved EU AI factory hosts under EuroHPC JU.

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FTS Insights official • The signal here is infrastructural. Bulgaria is moving beyond participation in EU programs to hosting strategic AI capacity that can be used by startups, SMEs, researchers and public bodies. For French Tech Sofia, the relevant angle is the European positioning: Bulgaria appears in the same selection wave as France and Germany, which strengthens Sofia’s visibility in the next layer of the continent’s AI compute map.

Key Takeaways
  • BRAIN++ is a major Bulgarian AI infrastructure project with EU backing.
  • The Sofia plan links hardware capacity with services for real users.
  • INSAIT’s role suggests a research-to-application model, not only raw compute.
  • If delivered as announced, the project could deepen Bulgaria’s regional AI position.
Why this matters
  • Bulgaria gains a host role in EU AI infrastructure, not just a user role.
  • The project combines compute, services, data access and training in one platform.
  • Startups and SMEs are named beneficiaries, giving the project a business relevance beyond research.
  • France is in the same approval cohort, which sharpens the European comparison point.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

March 12, 2025

Sofia Tech Park and INSAIT are selected for €90 million EU project: Bulgaria will be home to one of six new EU AI factories

Read coverage on Bulgarian State / government

Article Summary

The Bulgarian Ministry of Innovation and Growth says Bulgaria will host one of six new EU AI factories, alongside Austria, France, Germany, Poland and Slovenia. The project was approved under the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking and is framed as part of the EU’s broader AI infrastructure buildout.

According to the announcement, the Bulgarian factory BRAIN++ will be located in Sofia Tech Park and will begin construction in 2026. It is designed around two components: Discoverer++, a new AI-optimized supercomputer, and a service center intended to support governmental, educational and private organizations and companies.

The source also says INSAIT will contribute to generative models in areas including earth observation, robotics and large language models. Beyond compute, BRAIN++ is expected to include cloud-based environments for SMEs, access to datasets and training programs, with listed application areas ranging from healthcare and agriculture to logistics and urban planning.

Key Highlights

  • Bulgaria was selected to host one of six new EU AI factories.
  • BRAIN++ will be located at Sofia Tech Park and is due to start construction in 2026.
  • The project budget is €90 million, with 50% national funding committed from 2026.
  • Discoverer++ is planned as a new supercomputer optimized for AI workloads.
  • The project includes cloud access, datasets and training for SMEs, researchers and other users.

Takeaway

This is a meaningful European infrastructure signal for Bulgaria: not simply more AI policy language, but a concrete compute and services project anchored in Sofia. The next question is execution from 2026 onward.

Read the full coverage on Bulgarian State / government(en)

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