Another year of lorAI, six years of KInIT

Most days, we focus on what comes next. Recently, we came together again to reflect on our six years journey.  This event gave us a chance to pause and see how far we have come. We also looked back on another year of lorAI and the progress we have made along the way.

When KInIT was founded in 2020, it brought together 24 professionals who believed that world-class, independent AI research could have a strong home in Slovakia. Today, more than 110 team members are part of the institute.

That change reflects six years of everyday work of people who have created what KInIT is today. This event was a special opportunity to step out of the daily rhythm and see the bigger picture.

Our team is not the only thing to have changed. KInIT has secured more than €33 million in funding through national and international research projects. KInIT would not be where it is today without the support of our partners who believe in our mission and help us create a place for independent AI research in Slovakia.

Over the same period, KInIT researchers have published 131 scientific papers. Of these, 51% appeared at top-ranked international conferences or in leading journals. Each paper represents months or even years of work that often happens far from public view.

Building KInIT also means opening the door for people at the beginning of their careers. Through our civic association BrAIn, donations have helped create opportunities for students and early-career professionals at KInIT. Since 2024, 40 people have received this support.

Alongside our research, a wider community has formed around KInIT. Over the past year, we have taken our work to conferences and events in Slovakia and abroad. These meetings gave us space to share what we are working on and learn from others.

One of the most important projects that KInIT was part of is lorAI. The Horizon Europe project is helping us become a European Centre of Excellence in Low Resource AI.

Low Resource AI focuses on building reliable and efficient AI systems even when data, labels or computing power are limited. This matters especially for smaller countries and for languages such as Slovak, which are often overlooked by mainstream technologies.

Just as importantly, lorAI helps us create an environment where talent can develop and where research can have a stronger impact in practice. This year’s gathering reminded us that such a transformation does not happen in one big leap. It takes shape gradually as each year builds on the one before it.

Numbers make the progress easier to see, but they are only part of our story. Behind them are people who have made each step possible.

Today, the idea that brought us together in 2020 is no longer only a vision. With lorAI, we are building on what has already been achieved and creating more space for excellent AI research to thrive in Slovakia and connect with the world.