From Ohrid to Europe’s Supercomputers: Sefidanis in the ‘Vezilka’ AI Era
European high-performance computing is entering a new phase, and North Macedonia is becoming part of that story. Through the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking, Europe has built a network of eleven state-of-the-art supercomputers, including the pre-exascale systems LUMI in Finland and Leonardo in Italy and, most recently, JUPITER in Germany – Europe’s first exascale supercomputer designed to power cutting-edge simulations and AI at a scale of more than one exaflop. These machines are funded through a joint European budget of around €7 billion for the period 2021–2027 and are intended to serve science, industry and public institutions across the continent, with a growing network of AI Factories and AI Factory Antennas that give startups and SMEs direct access to this infrastructure. Wikipedia+2EuroHPC+2
The impact of these supercomputers is already visible in concrete sectors. In healthcare, for example, Finnish company Gosta Labs has used the LUMI supercomputer to train specialised language models that automatically generate high-quality patient records in multiple European languages. By relying on European infrastructure instead of closed, proprietary models, the company can combine strong data protection with energy-efficient AI that allows doctors and nurses to spend more time with patients instead of on administrative paperwork. HPC Portal
In climate science, the Barcelona Supercomputing Center is a key partner in the EU’s Destination Earth programme, which aims to build highly accurate digital twins of the entire Earth system. These models, powered by EuroHPC supercomputers, support climate adaptation policies by simulating extreme weather, sea-level rise and long-term climate scenarios. The same European infrastructure that enables these planetary-scale simulations is now being opened to researchers and innovators in candidate countries, including North Macedonia. Science|Business
For North Macedonia, the story of supercomputing began more than a decade ago. According to the national audit on artificial intelligence in the public sector, the first supercomputers in the country were installed in 2012 at the University of Information Science and Technology “St. Paul the Apostle” in Ohrid and at FINKI in Skopje. They were used for computational chemistry, physics, seismology, meteorology, geology, biomedicine and other data-intensive fields. At the same time, the report notes that newer generations of supercomputers have not been deployed nationally, and that the country needs modern AI-oriented infrastructure and specialised servers for machine learning and big data if it is to fully benefit from artificial intelligence. dzr.mk
It is precisely this gap that the new National Centre for Artificial Intelligence “Vezilka” is designed to address. Officially presented in October 2025 by the Ministry of Digital Transformation and FINKI, Vezilka is a landmark national project supported by Horizon Europe and the EuroHPC initiative, with a total value of around six million euros. It is conceived as a bridge between government, universities and the private sector and aims to build a responsible AI ecosystem in five priority domains: healthcare, energy, public administration, language and culture, and agriculture. Beyond technology, Vezilka is also a training and talent-development centre that will organise education programmes, hands-on projects and upskilling initiatives for thousands of citizens, startups and public servants. Рацин.мк+4mdt.gov.mk+4mdt.gov.mk+4
Strategically, Vezilka is not an isolated project. It is set up as an AI Factory Antenna connected to the Greek AI Factory “Pharos”, part of the broader EuroHPC network of AI infrastructure. Pharos focuses on healthcare, culture and language technologies, and sustainability – including energy, environment and climate – and provides a full stack of support, from access to data and supercomputing power to business innovation services. Through this link, Macedonian researchers, companies and institutions gain direct access to European AI-optimised supercomputers and to expertise for training and deploying advanced models in a secure European environment. westernbalkans-infohub.eu+3TheRecursive.com+3it.mk+3
As the Ministry of Digital Transformation has underlined in several public statements, Vezilka should become a central node in the country’s digital transformation: integrating Macedonian stakeholders into regional digital infrastructures and supercomputer capacities, supporting e-commerce and energy, and providing AI solutions for both the public sector and private enterprises. Coverage by the Western Balkans Info Hub and regional media frames Vezilka as a “capital” project for digital independence – one that positions North Macedonia as a regional centre for trustworthy, applied artificial intelligence rather than a passive consumer of imported technologies. Рацин.мк+3mdt.gov.mk+3westernbalkans-infohub.eu+3
Within this evolving landscape, Sefidanis has a specific and already proven role. In November 2020, local media reported that Prof. Anis Sefidanis brought the first commercially available NVIDIA® supercomputer of its class to North Macedonia, installed in his research centre for artificial intelligence in Ohrid. The system, equipped with four NVIDIA Tesla V100 Tensor Core GPUs connected via NVLink and delivering around 500 teraFLOPS of computing power, was described as the fastest AI-specialised workstation of its time and the first of its kind in the wider region. From the outset, Sefidanis opened this resource to researchers, scientists and creatives interested in experimenting with AI-based solutions. OhridPress+2OhridPress+2
Over the following years, this private supercomputing capacity became the technological backbone for several pioneering projects. The first Macedonian humanoid robot, Alshar – known to the public as a humanoid DJ and social robot – was developed using this NVIDIA supercomputer to train complex AI models for perception, movement and interaction. The same infrastructure was used to create “Ohrid Tales of the Future”, a visual narrative imagining the city in the twenty-seventh century generated entirely with artificial intelligence, as well as for advanced research in telemedicine and experiments in artificial general intelligence for humanoid platforms. These activities, described in interviews and feature articles, positioned Sefidanis as a bridge between frontier AI research, robotics and cultural innovation. Иновативност+3Res publica+3Иновативност+3
In November 2025, the Chamber of Commerce of North Macedonia formally recognised this technological capacity and track record by issuing an official certificate to “Sefidanis” Research and Development from Ohrid. The certificate confirms the company’s registration as an R&D entity, its export potential, and – crucially – its status as the country’s unique producer of three product categories: humanoid robots, smart monuments and telemedicine devices based on artificial intelligence. In statements for the media, the founder emphasised that this recognition is not only an honour, but also a practical tool that simplifies export procedures and customs classification, opening the door to new international partnerships “from Ohrid, through N99, to the world.” Портал ТВМ
Today, the role of Sefidanis naturally extends into the national AI ecosystem that Vezilka is building. Official communications from Vezilka stakeholders describe a consortium that brings together state institutions, FINKI as academic leader and selected industry partners. Public posts by the project partners note that Sefidanis Research & Development participates in Vezilka as part of the first national AI Factory Antenna in North Macedonia, which is financed by EuroHPC and Horizon Europe and directly connected to the Pharos AI Factory in Greece. In this configuration, Sefidanis contributes deep-tech know-how, its own NVIDIA supercomputing capabilities and a portfolio of high-impact applications – from humanoid robotics to smart cultural heritage and AI-enhanced telemedicine – that are ready to be scaled through European infrastructure. finki.ukim.mk+2Facebook+2
Seen through this lens, the conclusion of the Deutsche Welle Macedonian piece – that European supercomputers will help North Macedonia in healthcare, climate change and business – becomes very concrete. EuroHPC resources, accessed via Pharos and Vezilka, can accelerate medical image analysis, clinical decision support and secure processing of health data; they can support high-resolution climate and environmental simulations relevant to Lake Ohrid, energy systems and agriculture; and they can underpin advanced analytics and AI services for Macedonian companies that want to compete in European and global markets. What makes the Macedonian story distinctive is that this infrastructure is not arriving in a vacuum: it is landing in an ecosystem where pioneers like Sefidanis have already proved that world-class AI, robotics and deep-tech innovation can be built in Ohrid and scaled far beyond it.
As Europe’s supercomputers and AI Factories continue to expand, Sefidanis will remain focused on turning this unprecedented computational power into tangible innovations: humanoid robots that can work alongside people, smart monuments that bring cultural heritage to life, telemedicine devices that extend specialist care to remote communities, and new generations of AI systems that are designed, trained and deployed in line with European values. The convergence of national initiatives like Vezilka, European infrastructure through EuroHPC and the entrepreneurial drive of companies such as Sefidanis signals a new chapter in which Macedonian talent is not only connected to Europe’s digital future, but actively helping to shape it.
References / Sources
Deutsche Welle (Macedonian service), “Македонија: Европските суперкомпјутери ќе ни помагаат во здравството, климатските промени и бизнисот”, article as referenced by the user (original publication date not visible in the cached copy at the time of writing).
European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking – “European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking” (overview of budget and objectives, 2021–2027) and “Our Supercomputers” (technical profiles of JUPITER, LUMI, Leonardo and other EuroHPC systems, accessed December 9, 2025). Wikipedia+1
Innovation News Network – “EuroHPC JU: Driving Europe’s digital future”, 9 December 2025 (interview with the Executive Director of EuroHPC JU on the role of supercomputing, AI Factories and AI Factory Antennas in Europe’s digital transformation). Innovation News Network
HPC in Europe Portal – “Improving the efficiency of healthcare client encounters with the LUMI supercomputer”, success story of Gosta Labs using EuroHPC LUMI for healthcare language models (accessed December 9, 2025). HPC Portal
Barcelona Supercomputing Center / Science|Business – “BSC plays a significant role in the new EU’s challenge to combat climate change: A virtual replica of the Earth”, 24 January 2023 (DestinE digital twins of the Earth and EuroHPC’s role in providing supercomputing resources). Science|Business
State Audit Office of North Macedonia – “Можност за употреба на вештачка интелигенција во јавниот сектор” (final IT audit report), 2025; sections on the first supercomputers installed in 2012 at UIST “St. Paul the Apostle” and FINKI and on the need for new AI-oriented infrastructure (pp. 26–27). dzr.mk
Ministry of Digital Transformation of North Macedonia – “Andonovski: North Macedonia is to establish a National Centre for Artificial Intelligence – ‘Vezilka’ project begins”, 14 October 2025 (English and Macedonian versions); “Digitalization is the new energy of governance”, 29 October 2025; “The Ministry of Digital Transformation is the leader of the process of harmonisation with the Reform Agenda”, 10 November 2025. mdt.gov.mk+3mdt.gov.mk+3mdt.gov.mk+3
FINKI – “ФИНКИ со поддршка на МДТ и Владата доби европско финансирање за проектот ‘Везилка’” and “Везилка – Центар за вештачка интелигенција” (project description, sectors of application, and connection to Pharos AI Factory in Greece), 14–15 October 2025. ukim.edu.mk+1
Western Balkans Info Hub – “North Macedonia Launches ‘Vezilka’, First National Centre for Artificial Intelligence”, 20 November 2025; “Integrating the Western Balkans into Europe’s AI and science ecosystem”, early December 2025; newsletter on Artificial Intelligence highlighting Vezilka and related initiatives. westernbalkans-infohub.eu+2westernbalkans-infohub.eu+2
IT.mk – “ВЕЗИЛКА: од македонски LLM до паметно земјоделство – како националната AI Factory Antenna ќе ја трансформира Македонија”, October 2025 (analysis of Vezilka’s goals, positioning and role as AI Factory Antenna). it.mk
Racin.mk / Bloomberg Adria – “‘Везилка’, домашен проект за вештачка интелигенција за дигитална независност”, 5 December 2025 (positioning Vezilka as a “capital” project for digital transformation and digital independence). Рацин.мк
OhridPress – “Охриѓанецот Анис Сефиданис го донесе првиот комерцијално достапен суперкомпјутер NVIDIA® во Македонија”, 3 November 2020 (report on the import and installation of the first NVIDIA AI supercomputer of its class in North Macedonia). OhridPress+1
Inovativnost.mk – “Каков е Охрид од 27 век? Открива професорот Анис Сефиданис”, 24 September 2022 (AI-generated visual novel “Ohrid Tales of the Future” created on the Sefidanis supercomputer). Иновативност
ResPublica – “Анис Сефиданис: Првиот хуманоиден робот во Македонија живее во Охрид”, 8 August 2024 (interview on the development of humanoid robot Alshar and the role of the NVIDIA supercomputer in the project). Res publica
Maski Magazin / Faktor – “Не е од Харвард, од Охрид е: светски портали пишуваат за охриѓанецот кој создава роботи и ја дефинира иднината на светот”, 2023 (profile of Prof. Anis Sefidanis, highlighting the NVIDIA supercomputer and projects in AGI, humanoid robots and telemedicine). Машки Магазин
TVM – “„Сефиданис” сертифициран како единствен производител на хуманоидни роботи, паметни споменици и телемедицински уреди”, 13 November 2025 (certificate of the Chamber of Commerce of North Macedonia recognising Sefidanis as unique national producer in these categories). Портал ТВМ
