Prague is not only an amazing historical city with a wealth of monuments, excellent gastronomy, cordial residents, and a wide range of events. It is also a modern and innovative science hub. Prague excels in many fields, such as artificial intelligence and robotics, biomedicine, low-carbon technologies, data technologies and selected creative industries, providing ideal opportunities for holding conventions and conferences with the matching topics.
In the 31st edition of Innovative Prague, you will learn what Prague scientists and innovators are currently working on and how their discoveries help move medicine, technology and other fields forward.
Czech Republic on the way to AI excellence
Until recently, we have not had a comprehensive record of ongoing local research and activities in the field of AI, but this is now changing. The Czech National AI Platform presented the first comprehensive map of Czech AI at the Prague Planetarium, a unique database of all key players from all over the country. Already at its launch, it contained almost 500 subjects and 70 case studies – 300 of them in Prague – and thus provides an overview of the entire Czech AI ecosystem.
Another significant change is the implementation of the AI Act, which was approved at the European Union level in 2024. It was prepared by the Ministry of Industry and Trade during 2025 and approved by the government. Uniform legislative rules for the safe application of AI should enter into force in August 2026.
Financial support has been also allocated to support startups and new AI projects. As part of the TWIST subsidy programme, a call to support the development of artificial intelligence was announced at the end of last year, and up to CZK 800 million was distributed among 48 projects. Among the Prague entities receiving the support are such companies as Rossum Czech Republic, Safetica and Machine Learning Prague. In addition, support for the Prague-based European Centre for Digital Innovation in the Field of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning at CTU (EDIH CTU) has been extended for another three years in the Digital Hub programme. The evaluation of the project thus confirmed its long-term contribution for Europe.
Stars of the Czech AI scene – personalities and projects that achieved major success in various areas of AI and those who have contributed most to its development have been awarded again in six categories of the AI Awards. The Award for Long-Term Contribution went to Professor Hynek Heřmanský, holder of many world awards for his work in the key discipline of AI: speech recognition. Department of Social Work of the Faculty of Arts, Charles University was acknowledged for the greatest positive social impact. AI for Children initiative was awarded for education introducing an artificial intelligence curriculum for primary and secondary schools.
Where AI helps
Artificial intelligence in medicine can overcome the human eye in a matter of seconds. Developers from Neurona Lab, with the help of neurologists from the Motol Hospital, have created software that should recognize the presence of Alzheimer’s disease faster and more accurately. At the same time, they are already working on a tool that will determine the side effects of biological treatment faster and also detect brain microhemorrhage.
In the field of medicine, apart from doctors, AI saves time also for technicians. The package of AI solutions of the international MDR certification from the Czech startup Carebot greatly simplifies the analysis of X-ray images. Carebot has thus expanded its scope from the detection of pulmonary pathologies to a total of seven radiological applications.
Groundbreaking projects in Prague are changing the world of nanodiamonds, plasma, but also space exploration
“Quantum” nanodiamonds will be produced faster, cheaper and better in the Czech Republic. This is mainly due to the Pressure and Temperature Qubits (PTQ) method. An international team of scientists led by Petr Cígler from the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences has succeeded to speed up the production process by more than a thousand times and introduce a new method to redece it to just four minutes.
Mathematics was linked with physics by the mathematical analyst Eduard Feireisl, who as part of his research, developed a completely new mathematical model of a compressible fluid. This allows for a more realistic description of the behavior of gases such as atmospheric air. In addition to more accurate predictions of extreme meteorological phenomena, the compressible fluid model can also be used in the study of plasma, in the field of fusion reactor development or in astrophysics.
Czech methods and devices are causing a stir abroad as well. From the Academy of Sciences, the SELINA instrument travels to NASA! SELINA is a compact dust particle accelerator that was developed at the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences and should help scientists overseas with understanding the impact of cosmic collisions better.
Another international success that Czech science has marked is the victory in the Dream Chemistry Award competition. Dr. Vít Svoboda from the Institute of Physical Chemistry of UCT Prague impressed the jury with his new way of computing and techniques for creating ultrafast quantum computers and became the first Czech to win this prestigious competition.
Where is Czech medicine heading?
A scientific team from the Institute of Experimental Medicine of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic led by biologist Helena Fulková decided to fight against time. As part of the experiment, they succeeded to reverse DNA damage that occurs in older eggs, which could develop onto genetic disorders or completely stop the eggs’ development.
The Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry (IOCB) of the Czech Academy of Sciences continues its`research in the fight against cancer. Many American investors are interested in the biotechnology company Taveren Therapeutics, which IOCB co-founded and which focuses on cancer treatment. The founder of the company and the pioneer of the original method of treatment is Dr. Zuzana Kečkéšová, who has been researching factors preventing the deposition of cancer cells in human tissues for years.
Determining the exact spatial arrangement of an RNA molecule has been one of the most complex challenges of molecular biology. The Institute of Biotechnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences has developed a platform focused on deciphering so-called 3D RNA code. In the field of molecular genetics, the result of cooperation between two workplaces of the Czech Academy of Sciences: the Institute of Molecular Genetics and the Institute of Biophysics under the leadership of Lukáš Čermák and Hana Polášek-Sedláčková is the discovery of a “safety switch” that acts as a protective mechanism for DNA in cells and prevents DNA damage.
In sepsis, a blood infection that spreads unstoppably and where every minute can mean the difference between life and death, it is crucial to identify its trigger as early as possible. The Czech company DIANA Biotechnologies is developing PCR tests to identify the most common causes of sepsis, and pilot testing has indicated that it has been successful. The new tests from Diana can detect almost twice the number of sepsis agents compared to the competition.
Data from fun and games
At CTU, researchers have been working on children’s learning and have developed a way to collect data on children’s talents and decision-making abilities in an entertaining way. In the interactive game, children have conversations with strange animals in an unfamiliar environment and move only according to their instincts.
Would you like to learn more interesting facts on innovation? Browse through the previous three issues of Innovative Prague: