Bulgaria Launches BgGPT 3.0, a Sovereign AI Platform
Bulgaria has unveiled BgGPT 3.0, a new generation national Bulgarian language model developed by the Institute for Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Technology (INSAIT) at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski.” The launch positions Bulgaria among a small number of countries with publicly built sovereign AI systems, offering free access to citizens, and institutions.
Strategic Importance and National Sovereignty
INSAIT founder Prof. Martin Vechev emphasized the strategic importance of developing a national, sovereign artificial intelligence to ensure independence from foreign countries, suppliers, and sources. He likened this challenge to energy independence, highlighting its critical role in the modern world.
BgGPT 3.0: New Capabilities and Accessibility
BgGPT 3.0 is freely available to all Bulgarian users through a public chat platform at bggpt.ai. The new version offers significant upgrades over its predecessors, including voice and image recognition, document processing, and integrated internet search. Mobile applications for iOS and Android are also available for free download.
Demonstrated Functionality and Performance
During a presentation, researchers demonstrated BgGPT 3.0’s capabilities by using its voice recognition feature and successfully identifying a location from a photograph taken through a window – correctly identifying Sofia as the city. The model also demonstrated the ability to solve tasks from the 12th-grade matriculation exam.
Improved Performance and Model Sizes
Compared to previous versions, BgGPT 3.0 exhibits improved instruction-following, handles more complex tasks, and supports conversations up to 20 times longer, allowing it to process larger volumes of text. INSAIT is also releasing the models behind BgGPT 3.0 in three sizes – 4B, 12B, and 27B – to cater to diverse business needs and hardware requirements.
Implementation in Public Institutions
BgGPT 3.0 has already been implemented in key public institutions, including the National Revenue Agency and the National Audit Office.
Bilingual Capabilities
Whereas developed specifically for the Bulgarian language, BgGPT 3.0 also performs well in English.