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 32nd edition of Prague Innovative, you will learn about the latest technological and space discoveries of Prague scientists, plans to build a European AI gigafactory and investments that will support the Czech innovation ecosystem.
Prague to become home to unique scientific instruments
Research in the field of extremely low temperatures has gained a huge boost in Prague. Through the joint efforts of the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of Charles University and the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, a helium liquefaction device unparalleled in the country was launched in Troja. The device works highly efficiently, as it allows researchers to capture evaporated helium from previous experiments and recycle it directly for future use. This opens the way for laboratories to new cryogenic experiments, advanced research on materials and quantum turbulence research.
Another pan-European rarity is also heading to Prague. For the first time, the European Commission’s JRC Joint Research Centre (JRC) is moving its surface research equipment (SSLS) to an EU member state. Prague won the tender for the transfer of the device, and the laboratory is thus moving to the Institute of Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. Thanks to this, the Czech Republic is one step closer to the world in the field of nuclear safety and research on material surfaces.
Ongoing efforts to create AI gigafactories could help get Prague closer to the world-class research. One of the planned five centres should have a part of its facilities in Jíloviště near Prague. Former government envoy Jan Kavalírek, now the first-ever joint AI ambassador for the CEE region, has been tasked with negotiating the implementation of this huge project in Brussels. In addition, the European Commission has reportedly already provisionally agreed to divide one of the gigafactories between the Czech Republic and Poland. This ambitious plan marks another step for Prague to join the elite in the field of AI development.
Prague’s breakthrough discoveries enrich the world of science and technology
Researchers from the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of Charles University and the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic have achieved another success in space. They were the first in the world to discover „lightning“ on Mars! The teams have also been involved in various space projects for a long time and are currently developing state-of-the-art instruments for the newly planned M-MATISSE mission. If approved, a pair of new probes will go to Mars in 2037, which will take lightning detection and research into the atmosphere, ionosphere or magnetosphere of Mars to a whole new level.
The Prague-based Agnostix company has also achieved a major leading position. It came to the market with the Defender tool, which is currently the only tool in the Czech Republic that monitors and detects the risks of chatbots and voicebots. It uses analysers to detect leaks of sensitive data, monitor unethical or even illegal behaviour, and automatically classify malicious activities.
What is Prague’s overall position in the global technology competition? An in-depth analysis conducted by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic and UNICO was designed to find out how the Czech Republic is doing compared to global technology trends, in which fields it excels and where, on the contrary, it has reserves. The analysis based on a comparison of patent data has shown that the Czech Republic is definitely not lagging behind the rest of the world. In areas such as semiconductors or environmental and control technologies, it is even among the absolute top.
New organizations to help with science development, new investments to be available
In addition to new ideas and inventions, new organizations are also emerging in the Czech technology ecosystem. An example is Constriq, officially the first spin-off project of the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the Czech Technical University and the sixth overall for the entire university. A company focused on the digitization of buildings will significantly facilitate not only the preparation of reconstructions, but also pre-demolition audits.
The Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, which boasts a completely new joint-stock company, is not far behind. It thus comes up with a new way of connecting the world of cutting-edge science and research with private investors. The goal is not only one-off financial support for projects, but and above all further long-term development of projects, including those of a commercial nature. Right at the initial stage, the company will support ten highly promising projects with a sum of CZK 30 million, with a potential to succeed on the global market.
The Czech Republic has also been successful in attracting foreign investments for high-quality innovative projects. This is confirmed by CzechInvest’s results for 2025, when it successfully brokered 25 projects with a total value of CZK 26.4 billion. Investors are also responding to tools such as targeted investment incentives, and in the long term, financial support is being increasingly directed to technologically demanding areas of production with a strong emphasis on process automation.
In order to obtain financial support, it is crucial for the Czech Republic to gain a position among global competitors, which was also achieved last year in the ERC Synergy grants competition. A total of 66 teams and 239 scientists will share €684 million over the next six years. Grants thus go for two projects in Prague:
- Research in genetics (Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic): Leoš Valášek and Julius Lukeš will participate in the study of a specific genetic disorder that is responsible for up to 11% of all human genetic diseases.
- Politics and Conflicts (Institute of International Relations and Oriental Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences): Clément Steuer and Jane Zouplna and their colleagues from Brussels will take a closer look at the interactions between political parties and social conflicts in the Middle East and North African countries.
Last but not least, among the grant recipients Jana Roithová, y Czech who launched her research career in Prague and has been working at Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands for a long time. This year, there will be no shortage of beneficial scientific projects by Czech experts either.
Would you like to learn more interesting facts on innovation? Browse through the previous three issues of Innovative Prague: