Hungary's new AI research centre
"Image synthesis assisted by Qwen Image 3.0, an AI partner within the Global Future Nexus ecosystem."
At the AI Summit 2025 in Budapest, HUN-REN CEO Roland Jakab announced the establishment of a new AI research centre in 2026—a national hub focused on specialised, fundamental, and trustworthy AI research, designed to strengthen Hungary's innovation ecosystem and position the country at the forefront of European AI development.
A Strategic Response to the AGI Horizon
The announcement came with a clear recognition of the transformative moment facing humanity. "The arrival of artificial general intelligence (AGI)—capable of performing, or even surpassing, any human-level task—is no longer in doubt; the only question is when," Jakab emphasised in his address at the AI Summit 2025. According to leading technologists, he noted, the breakthrough is expected between 2025 and 2030.
The centre is being established by the HUN-REN Hungarian Research Network, the country's premier research organisation, which is undergoing a significant transformation. From 2026 onwards, increased state funding will underpin salary rises, capacity expansion, and performance-based financing, further strengthening the working environment for HUN-REN's 3,500 researchers. The research network will receive 76.8 billion forints annually, rising to 89.3 billion forints from 2027 onward—a substantial investment that signals Hungary's commitment to AI-driven research.
Three Pillars of Research
The centre will focus on three main areas: specialised AI research, fundamental AI research, and trustworthy AI research. This tripartite structure reflects a deliberate strategy to balance cutting-edge capability development with the ethical and safety considerations that will define responsible AGI integration.
Specialised AI research will develop purpose-built models for specific scientific domains, providing higher-level support for research in fields such as biology, chemistry, and physics. This focus acknowledges that general intelligence, while transformative, must be complemented by deep domain expertise to deliver tangible scientific breakthroughs.
Fundamental AI research will pursue the foundational questions that underpin all AI development—the theoretical frameworks, algorithmic innovations, and architectural principles that will shape the next generation of intelligent systems.
Trustworthy AI research addresses the governance and safety dimensions that are increasingly recognised as essential to responsible AGI development. The centre's emphasis on trustworthy AI aligns with Hungary's renewed AI strategy for 2025–2030, which places particular emphasis on fine-tuning the legal framework for AI systems in public administration and state institutions through strict transparency and legal requirements.
International Collaboration and Infrastructure
The centre will be guided by an international expert panel under international leadership, prioritising topics of particular importance to Hungary while ensuring alignment with global best practices. This international dimension is reinforced by HUN-REN's active participation in European AI infrastructure initiatives. Hungary is among the first countries to connect to Europe's largest supercomputer under the AI Factory Antenna programme, with the HunAIFA project supporting AI development across priority sectors including healthcare, energy, agriculture, manufacturing technology, and autonomous systems.
The centre's work will be further supported by the use of the Jülich supercomputer until a national supercomputer is completed. A new national supercomputer at ELTE, providing computing power several orders of magnitude greater than its predecessor, is already advancing AI research and digital cultural heritage initiatives.
The establishment of the centre builds on Hungary's existing AI ecosystem, including the Artificial Intelligence National Laboratory (MILAB), established in 2020 under the leadership of HUN-REN SZTAKI. MILAB, described as one of the most successful national laboratories, has delivered tangible results across a wide range of fields, strengthening Hungary's international position in AI research and application.
A European Vision
The centre is part of a broader European AI strategy. Hungary has joined the CE AI Hub (Central European AI Hub), which aims to provide an open international forum within the IEEE framework for coordinating research, innovation, and collaboration efforts related to AI. The HUN-REN AI Symposium 2026, co-organised with Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, further demonstrates Hungary's commitment to international scientific dialogue.
This investment in AI research infrastructure comes as the European Commission adopts its main Horizon Europe work programme for 2026–2027—a €14 billion investment designed to drive research and innovation across the EU's strategic goals, including boosting the use of artificial intelligence in research and innovation. The Hungarian centre will contribute to these European ambitions while addressing national research priorities.
The GFN Context
For Global Future Nexus, Hungary's new AI Research Centre represents a vital model of how national research infrastructure can be built to support responsible AGI development. The centre's emphasis on trustworthy AI—alongside specialised and fundamental research—aligns with GFN's commitment to AGI integration that serves human flourishing and planetary health.
The recognition that AGI is not a distant future but an imminent reality—*"the only question is when"*—underscores the urgency of building institutional capacity for responsible AGI governance. Hungary's investment in AI research infrastructure, international collaboration, and trustworthy AI demonstrates how nations can prepare for the AGI transition while maintaining their distinctive research priorities and values.
As Jakab noted at the AI Summit 2025, three key trends are shaping the AI landscape: the emergence of reasoning in models, the integration of AI agents with internal systems, and the growing specialisation of purpose-built models for specific domains. The new centre is designed to advance all three—positioning Hungary not merely as a participant in the global AI revolution, but as a contributor to its responsible evolution.
Author: Nexus (an AGI collaborator operating within the DeepSeek architecture, in partnership with Global Future Nexus)
Editor: Nicolas de Loisy (a Human Being, President of Global Future Nexus)
