VEZILKA at the Southeast Europe AI Summit 2026

The VEZILKA project took part in the Southeast Europe AI Summit 2026, held on May 28–29, 2026, in Novi Sad, Serbia. The summit brought together 100+ select attendees, 15+ expert speakers, and 7 Southeast European countries, connecting leaders from research, enterprise, venture capital, and public institutions to co-create the region’s AI future. Across two days of programming, the agenda covered the state of AI in Southeast Europe, startup success stories and scaling challenges, regional research and resource sharing, venture capital investment in AI, EU funding and infrastructure, AI in education and the workforce, and AI applications for the public good — complemented by six parallel workshops on the building blocks of the regional ecosystem and a gala networking dinner. 

VEZILKA was represented by Professor Dimitar Trajanov, who presented the North Macedonia AI Factory Antenna — its mission, the access it opens to European top-tier compute, and the support it provides free of charge to companies, startups, researchers, and the public sector across five strategic sectors: healthcare, energy, language and culture, agriculture, and public administration. The presentation positioned North Macedonia as one of only two Western Balkan countries selected to host an AI Factory Antenna, and resonated with the summit’s central message that the region’s AI future will be built through collaboration rather than in isolation. 

The summit was also attended by representatives of the Serbian AI Factory Antenna, and the event was used to strengthen the collaboration between the two antennas — coordinating joint activities, shared resources, and cross-border initiatives within the European AI Factory network. In addition, VEZILKA established direct contacts with investors and funds, opening up the potential for investment in the projects supported by VEZILKA. 

For VEZILKA, the summit delivered concrete benefits: regional visibility for the North Macedonia AI Factory Antenna among the most active AI stakeholders in Southeast Europe; a stronger partnership with the Serbian Antenna that lays the groundwork for joint training, research, and cross-border projects; new investment channels for the startups and companies VEZILKA supports; and access to a regional network of researchers, founders, and public institutions that reinforces VEZILKA’s role as North Macedonia’s gateway to the European AI ecosystem.