Serbia identified AI as a strategic priority with the adoption of its first National AI Strategy in 2019, becoming the first country in Southeast Europe to do so.12 Additionally, Serbia introduced AI education into school curriculums, ensuring that future generations acquire the digital skills necessary for long-term national growth.13 The Serbian AI ecosystem includes corporate, start- up and public sectors: –The corporate sector engages in international collaborations. –The start-up sector has seen rapid growth, with over 150 AI-driven start-ups located in science and technology parks in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Niš and Čačak serving as innovation hubs.14 –The government is investing €70 million to expand these parks, supporting innovation, entrepreneurship and technological advancement.15 –In 2023 alone, business entity growth reached 18% and 3,000 new start-up jobs were projected.16 The Innovation Fund has financed 565 innovative projects and supported the creation of four venture capital funds. Between 2018 and 2023, Serbia recorded over $700 million in exit value across its start-ups.17 As of 2024, Serbia is home to approximately 800 start-ups, with more than 300 founded in the last two years. The Startup Scanner 2024 shows over 6,000 employees (nearly double the number from 2022), while the Startup Genome estimates that the ecosystem is worth almost $1 billion, with a 6% annual growth rate.18 Serbian AI start-ups FIGURE 3 Of the 600 start-ups in Serbia, more than 25% use AI as their core technology, and around one-third use data science. Energy Recycling Computer vision, sensors Serbia has positioned itself as a cost-efficient and business-friendly destination by offering tax incentives, regulatory sandboxes for AI experimentation and a streamlined visa process for international talent. According to Oxford Insights, Serbia ranks highest in Southeast Europe on the Government AI Readiness Index and benefits from customs-free access to a market of almost 3 billion people through free trade agreements (FTAs) with China, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, South Korea and others.19Public-sector AI initiatives focus on applications in healthcare, smart cities, natural language processing, real-time data-driven decision-making and deep computer vision.20 Serbia has also embedded AI into primary and secondary school curriculums, and over 130 students are enrolled in AI-focused multidisciplinary postgraduate programmes.21 The digital transformation is further reinforced by investment in infrastructure, including the National Data Center and the Institute for Artificial Intelligence Research and Development of Serbia (IVI).22 Serbia has embedded AI into primary and secondary school curriculums, and over 130 students are enrolled in AI-focused multidisciplinary postgraduate programmes. Pathways to Bioeconomy and Bioconvergence 10

Pathways to Bioeconomy and Bioconvergence Perspectives from Serbia and Israel 2025