The first explanation of the Government after Digi was chosen to develop the AI platform of 196 million euros, given that it is a telecommunications company. “It is important to stay in Romania”
“An important part of the SAFE money, as in the case of other programs, is important to remain in Romania”, said Mihai Jurca, the head of the Chancellery of the interim Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan. He told the HotNews audience that it was not the Government, but SRI that chose Digi for the creation of an LLM-type artificial intelligence platform.
- LLM is the technical language equivalent of products made by OpenAI (ChatGPT), Anthropic (Claude) and Google (Gemini).
- Romania has several other large companies in the area of software and cyber security. Bitdefender is a global leader in cyber security. UiPath works with advanced AI.
The contract for the “integrated LLM-type platform” of 196 million euros was signed between Digi and SRI, the head of the Prime Minister's Chancellery confirmed. The government did not initially specify this, in the statement on its website: that the beneficiary is the Romanian Intelligence Service.
Asked by HotNews, the spokeswoman for the Government, Ioana Ene Dogioiu, confirmed at noon on Wednesday that it is about the SRI.
On Wednesday evening, Jurca, the one who leads the institution that coordinates the SAFE program, detailed that not only is SRI the contractor, but SRI is the one who decided the selection of Digi. Because “the mode of selection is the attribute of the contracting authority”. Jurca's main argument was that of the money staying at home.
Jurca: “In the data and telecom industry in Romania, Digi is the biggest player”
“An important part of the SAFE money, as in the case of other programs, is important to stay in Romania. As a telecommunications and high-speed data operator, DIGI has the most extensive and complex infrastructure in Romania. In the data and telecom industry in Romania, it is the biggest player and is one of the increasingly relevant players at the European level. We advocated that most of the SAFE money stay in Romania, and in this program 100% localization is achieved”, said Mihai Jurca.
The official stated that “SRI proposed the platform”. Asked what it means that this project will have “dual use”, as well as when the platform will become operational and what services it will provide, Mihai Jurca stated that he does not have technical details and that these questions should be addressed to the SRI.
“Action for the security of Europe”
The government announced, on Tuesday, in a press release about the state of SAFE implementation, that a contract was concluded with Digi for “the development of an integrated LLM platform for cyber security for a value of 196,000,000 Euros”, which will be carried out “entirely in Romania”.
Through the instrument called “Action for the Security of Europe”, or SAFE, Romania benefits from an allocation of 16.68 billion euros for the acquisition of military or dual-use equipment, as well as for dual infrastructure.
These are 45-year loans, with an interest rate of 3%, lower than the conditions on the free market, and with a grace period of 10 years – that is, we will make the first repayments only from 2036.
In a reaction on Wednesday afternoon, Digi Romania said that “the agreement has a total value of up to 196 million euros” and “comprises both hardware and software components and takes place in stages over a period of 4 years”.
“DIGI Romania signed with the Romanian Information Service a framework agreement for the development of a data center and integrated platforms for the evaluation of LLM-type artificial intelligence models, specialized in the field of cyber security, a project carried out through the SAFE/Readiness 2030 program. DIGI met the applicable requirements in the public procurement process carried out according to the legal provisions in force”, the telecommunications company said on Wednesday.
