Typical Prague AI firm is young, self-sufficient, and export oriented, shows our new comprehensive study

The vision of our association aims to turn Prague into a European centre of artificial intelligence. To achieve this goal, however, we lacked a comprehensive analysis of the private sector, which plays a crucial role in Prague’s AI ecosystem. Therefore, we decided to map the local AI company landscape, get to know the relevant players and gain insight into the size of the local market and its mechanics. The result of our work is the first ever study of its kind, which we decided to publish in a comprehensive form that is accessible to industry professionals, journalists and the public alike, titled Mapping of the Prague AI company scene.

The report can be browsed below or downloaded as a PDF.

A typical Prague AI company? Young, self-sufficient and export-oriented

The first part of the report summarizes main results of a survey we conducted from January to June 2021 among 130 companies. We worked with a representative sample that included small, medium and large Czech product and consulting companies operating in Prague as well as foreign entities with research and development capabilities in Prague.

We were interested in what technologies Prague AI companies use to develop products and services, how these companies are funded, what sectors and countries their products serve, and how they recruit employees for their technical teams. Yet the survey also included an opinion question about what could be the key to making Prague a European leader in AI.

Not just numbers but also experiences, interviews and a review of major developments of 2021

On over 50 pages readers will also find articles, interviews and overviews that complement and expand on the themes emerging from our data collection. Industry members of prg.ai such as Avast, DataSentics, Resistant AI and Rossum have contributed articles to the study on topics ranging from the importance of data and AI strategy for customers, to tips for successfully adopting AI solutions for business and building a world-class product powered by machine learning. This mosaic of thought-provoking and inspirational information was illustrated by companies such as Ataccama, Deepnote and Semantic Visions, which have helped raise Prague’s profile on the world stage in 2021.

We devoted an entire special section to the status of women in science and across the private sector — according to the World Economic Forum 2020 report, women make up only 26 percent of the data and AI workforce, while the prg.ai survey showed that their share in Prague-based companies is even lower. Throughout the report, we therefore introduce a promising female scientist, an accomplished developer, and startup director, as well as the experience of inclusive employers.

The study is rounded off with an overview of the main achievements and successes Prague saw in 2021, focusing specifically on educational and research institutions which play an indispensable role in the development of the local innovation ecosystem.