An exhibition dedicated to the future of technologies and artificial intelligence meets in Bulgaria’s capital Sofia inventors, researchers and entrepreneurs from start-up companies with heads of the world’s leading tech-giants who are ready to invest millions in promising technological solutions. Fifteen thousand visitors from 120 countries are expected to visit this year’s edition of the Webit Festival which will be held on May 14 and 15 in front of the National Palace of Culture in Sofia. The interest in the exhibition has increased with 50% as compared to last year, the organizers of Webit Festival announced. They are preparing for Europe’s biggest and most serious event dedicated to the technologies of the future. US billionaire Marc Cuban who is one of the wealthiest businessmen in the USA will also visit Sofia, which is a true sensation. Dirk Hoke, CEO of Airbus Defense and Space will also attend the 14^th edition of Webit Festival. Over 500 foreign investors who own hundreds of billions of Euros will visit Bulgaria during the Webit Festival. These are large companies and family businesses which invest their own money and are looking for business ideas. Besides, over 450 lecturers from all parts of the globe will attend the event as well. They will meet the audience at 6 parallel stages in Sofia, the organizer of Webit Festival Plamen Rusev told Radio Bulgaria.

This year’s edition of Webit Festival mainly accentuates on innovation in the field of artificial intelligence and the so-called 5G network which is the next generation technological platform in terms of speed and coverage. Thanks to the 5G technology we will be able to see self-driving automobiles on our motorways in the future and it will help mankind make the next technological step. We will not only talk about the new technologies during the festival but also make demonstrations. Well, visitors will not be able to fly the Hoverbikes displayed in front of the National Palace of Culture, but they will be able to watch them fly, Plamen Rusev says and adds:

A new-generation robot has arrived for the Webit Festival in Sofia. It is the so-called robot for emotional connection and its name is Harmony. It was invented in Brazil, but currently the robot is developed in the Silicon Valley in San Francisco. The robot looks like a woman. It can hold conversations, has artificial intelligence and some specific skills. That is why it is called robot-companion. The exhibition also presents some innovations invented by Bulgarians. This country has strong traditions in robotics. Some exceptional developments in this field were made in Beroe factory in the 1970’s and the 1980’s.This was a period of big entrepreneurs. For instance a Bulgarian citizen now has a factory in the USA which is the world’s only producer of robots which clear land mines. The only robot which discovers and clears these mines was invented by a Bulgarian and this person made his developments back in the socialist period which makes us proud. Currently, we are witnessing a revival of this kind of entrepreneurship in Bulgaria. Some interesting start-up companies appeared and we will show some of them. Companies manufacturing drones also appeared. One of the companies developed a drone which can carry a load of up to 350 kilograms and flies autonomously, which is unique. What this drone will be used for is another story, but the fact that it was invented in Bulgaria is very promising. Some companies are specialized in the healthcare field and I believe that healthcare is the first thing we must change, because it influences the quality of our lives.

The real success of the Webit Festival in Sofia is hidden in the fact that over 65% of the participants at the exhibition receive investments worth hundreds of millions of Euros within 6 months after the end of the festival’s programme. This statistics shows that Sofia is about to be permanently remembered by the foreign guests as “Europe’s digital capital”, as it was described by the specialized foreign media release.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov