The ASAN Artificial Intelligence Platform (ASAN AI Hub) was officially inaugurated on December 2, 2025, under the initiative of the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of Azerbaijan, Azernews reports.

The platform aims to bring together researchers, government agencies, private sector actors, and individual users on a unified digital platform to promote artificial intelligence (AI) innovation in Azerbaijan. ASAN AI Hub will foster open innovation and serve as a bridge between government bodies, universities, and the private sector. Technological challenges will be openly posted on the platform, allowing students, academics, entrepreneurs, and civil society organisations to propose solutions and compete for prize funds.

Ulvi Mehdiyev, Chairman of the State Agency, highlighted the platform’s strategic importance for Azerbaijan’s AI ecosystem, noting that ASAN AI Hub was established following directives given by President Ilham Aliyev during the 80th anniversary of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences. The platform connects government services, business entities, research centres, and the startup ecosystem, playing a central role in the development of AI-based solutions.

Officials emphasised the platform’s significance for national digital transformation, economic development, and scientific capacity building. Sahib ?l?kb?rov, Deputy Minister of Economy, and Samir M?mm?dov, Deputy Minister of Digital Development and Transport, underscored ASAN AI Hub’s potential in these areas.

The event also featured a keynote by Steve Nouri, CEO and Co-founder of the global AI platform GenAI Works, who spoke on “Generative AI in 2025,” highlighting global trends, technological advances, and AI applications.

During the ceremony, memoranda of understanding were signed between ASAN AI Hub and Apolitical, Breakthrough Social Enterprise, and GenAI Works, reinforcing the centre’s integration into the international innovation ecosystem.

A panel discussion titled “Open Innovation in AI: A Bridge for Everyone” followed, moderated by Katherine Miller Weber, Director of Partnerships at Apolitical. Panellists included L?man ?brahimova, Head of ASAN AI Hub; Steve Nouri; Xaladdin Rzayev, Co-Director at Edinburgh Centre for Financial Innovation and Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh; and Fu Zhiyong, Associate Professor at Tsinghua University’s School of Information Arts and Design. The discussion focused on open innovation models, public-private collaboration, inclusivity, and responsible AI practices.