IBM to Open a Cognitive Computing Center in Romania

Opening a cognitive computing center in Romania is on the list of upcoming activities of the American IT company –  IBM. The Ministry of Communications and Information Society has recently informed the public about the ongoing negotiations with IBM on setting up a specialized center for cognitive technology in Romania, as reported by Business Review. According to their statement, the Romanian government has already signed a memorandum of understanding with IBM.

Both the Ministry of Education and Research and the Ministry of Communications and Information Society have emphasized the importance of cognitive computing technology as a prosperous growth area for Romania. They have identified it as a high potential for the country to become a leader in the industry.

Cognitive computing center in Romania

The joint project of the government and IBM in Romania will result in an innovation center focused on research in natural language processing and machine learning. These are all technologies based on artificial intelligence and signal processing. The title of the new cognitive computing center in Romania is European and National Romanian Innovation Cognitive Hub (ENRICH).

Some of the main objectives of the ENRICH center is to contribute to the increase of R&D and the emergence of cognitive science experts in Romania. Government officials also hope that implementing this initiative will have a positive impact on entrepreneurship in the country. They are especially interested in supporting innovative businesses based on cognitive technology. The ENRICH center will aim to bring national capability in cognitive computing, machine learning, and data science to the next level.

IBM is the first company that joins the efforts of developing cognitive computing in Romania, being the world leader in cognitive computing, as it is backed by investments of over USD 1 billion in the Watson platform,” says Marius Bostan, the Minister of Communication, in a statement reported by Business Review.

IBM has invested over USD 1 billion to date in Watson, a technology platform that uses natural language processing and machine learning to reveal insights from large amounts of unstructured data. Apparently, Romanian ENRICH is on the way of becoming the second home of cognitive technology.

Video credit: IBM Watson