Why it matters:
Recent outages exposed the risks of depending on foreign cloud and processing services. The initiative aims to help local AI companies grow without infrastructure bottlenecks.
The government emphasizes that long‑term operation of the platform will be handed over to private companies, signaling a shift toward market‑driven development.
The big picture:
Iran is attempting to accelerate its AI capabilities amid global competition and domestic pressure to modernize digital infrastructure. By creating a national AI platform and supporting knowledge‑based companies, the government is positioning AI as a strategic pillar of economic and technological resilience.
What he's saying:
Afshin explained that the government has been supporting knowledge‑based companies working in AI through targeted calls for proposals in three priority sectors: energy, water, and emergency response.
He noted that the evaluation process has concluded, and companies meeting the required technical standards have been approved.
Afshin also highlighted a new national AI infrastructure platform developed by the Infrastructure Directorate. The system is designed to ensure that AI companies can continue operations even during disruptions, an issue that recently affected firms relying on processing resources outside the country.
According to Afshin, the government’s role is limited to launching, standardizing, and prototyping the platform before transferring it to the private sector. “Our artificial intelligence platform functions like an operating system, similar to Linux or Windows, allowing users to build and run their own applications,” he said.
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