Clean energy and AI talent: Zhelyazkov convinces Meta to invest in Bulgaria

Bulgaria continues its active efforts to attract large-scale investments from tech giant Meta. After Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov met with representatives of the American company in July, Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov has now done the same. During his visit to the US, he held talks with Joel Kaplan, President of Global Affairs."

Bulgaria is a strategic destination for high-tech investments in energy and artificial intelligence," Prime Minister Zhelyazkov said during the meeting, according to the government press service.

The meeting with Joel Kaplan is part of Bulgaria's efforts to position itself on the emerging and extremely attractive AI map. Europe is ambitious to stimulate the development of artificial intelligence, and member states are provided with various tools to attract investors and move forward with the construction of AI gigafactories.

Bulgaria has already been selected to host one of the six artificial intelligence factories in the EU – BRAIN++. However, these are smaller than the so-called gigafactories, which are the primary focus of interest for technology giants.

In this regard, the prime minister presented Bulgaria's competitive advantages, highlighting the unique combination of access to clean energy, highly skilled ICT personnel, and a strategic geographical location. Special attention was paid to the area around the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant, which offers proximity to clean energy sources, excellent optical connectivity, and the water resources of the Danube River for cooling purposes.

Our ambition is, instead of being a mere exporter of electricity, to harness its generation from all sources, including the energy balancing opportunities we have for the construction of data centers," the prime minister said after the meeting.

This vision represents a fundamental change in Bulgaria's approach to using its energy resources to create added value.

Innovative ecosystem and AI potential

Bulgaria is trying to position itself as a developing regional center for artificial intelligence in Southeast Europe. The BRAIN++ artificial intelligence factory, with an investment of €90 million in Sofia Tech Park, is the latest example of this. In addition, the INSAIT Institute of Computer Science is active here, attracting the attention of the global scientific community with its developments in the field of artificial intelligence.

Among its innovative assets are the Discoverer supercomputer and the development of its own large language model (BgGPT). In addition, the country has over 80,000 ICT specialists and a significant number of graduates each year.

Zhelyazkov's current meeting follows talks between Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov and Meta representatives in Washington two months ago. At that time, he highlighted the competitive advantages of the area around the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant and the opportunities for implementing potential projects in the digital economy.

The need for an uninterrupted supply of large amounts of stable, secure, and affordable energy is key to building an AI gigafactory.

Translated with DeepL.