AI Summit Budapest: focus on domestic and international challenges of artificial intelligence

MTI/Soós Lajos

The presentation highlighted that the European Union lags behind the United States and China in innovation, especially in critical AI technologies. Key obstacles include weak financing, overregulation, high energy prices, and the lack of cloud and data sovereignty. Europe’s gap is also evident in the number of AI foundation models developed.

Domestically, the minister underlined that increasing the digital intensity of small and medium-sized enterprises remains essential, as corporate AI adoption is still low. To support this, the government is launching two new capital programs to finance Hungarian AI startups, primarily targeting research, development, and innovation activities. In addition, Hungary’s AI strategy has been updated, built on three pillars: AI for society, AI for technology, and AI for business.