Iran grants over $115 mln to local AI research as trying to catch up with global progress

Iran’s sovereign wealth fund has earmarked $115 million in loans and grants to universities and research centers working on artificial intelligence (AI) projects in the country.

News ID: 5821

Date: 20 January 2025 - 11:19

TABNAK, Jan 20: The allocation was finalized on Sunday as part of a memorandum of understanding signed between the National Development Fund of Iran (NDFI) and the Iranian Ministry of Science, Research and Technology (MSRT).

As part of the agreement, the NDFI will grant some 12.5 trillion rials (over $15.6 million) to AI projects in universities and private research centers to help commercialize those projects.

Another $100 million will be provided to AI projects in Iran in the form of loans, the Fund said, adding that the MSRT will supervise the implementation of the projects and how the funding is used.

It said that the allocation would also make the NDFI exempt from tax liabilities it has been notified of in the past couple of years.

The NDFI is independent of the government's budget and is responsible for transforming nearly a third of Iran’s petroleum export revenues into productive investments for future generations.

Iran’s science minister Hossein Simayi Sarraf said the funding is necessary to ensure Iranian universities and research centers can catch up with the global progress in AI.

“AI has spread everywhere and this is undeniable. Major countries of the world have made huge investments in AI and we will also increase investment in this field,” he said.

Iran has introduced major projects in recent months to help AI’s expansion in government institutions and private companies.

Telecoms minister Sattar Hashemi said earlier week that the country wants to enter into a partnership with global AI powers like South Korea to boost the infrastructure and to transfer the technology and equipment needed to implement AI projects in Iran.