Today Peter Sarlin, co-founder and CEO of Silo AI, Europe’s leading private AI lab, announced a substantial donation to strengthen AI research in Finland, funding 13 professorships across Finnish universities and the ELLIS Institute, under the auspices of Sarlin’s Foundation PS.

Sarlin established Foundation PS to strengthen Europe’s AI research ecosystem and competitiveness. By funding professorships and supporting world-class research, the foundation aims to drive innovation, attract top talent, and solidify Europe’s position as a global leader in AI. 

The established professorships aim to strengthen the AI research ecosystem in Finland and Europe. I spoke to Sarlin to find out more. 

In July 2024 Silo AI’s $665 million acquisition by US-based AMD was the largest AI company acquisition in Europe‘s history. 

Sarlin, who holds a PhD in machine learning, also serves as Professor of Practice at Aalto University, specialising in machine learning and artificial intelligence. 

Sarlin detailed: 

“During the summer, I decided that I wanted to do something and give back. There’s nothing inherently exceptional in that. It’s what entrepreneurs do. I’ve been involved in AI in research, academia, and industrial settings. But I wondered how I could have the biggest impact.”

He established the PS Foundation in autumn and decided that ensuring that world-class AI professors could be provided with an environment to grow and succeed could have the greatest impact.

“Usually, it’s a challenging environment at universities as it’s difficult to compete with larger technology companies that have access significantly more to compute power competing in terms of research activities. But that’s not entirely true in Finland. This made it possible to tap into open-source large language models with the University of Turku and Silo previously.”

Sarlin stresses the importance of academic research to advance Europe’s competitiveness in AI, and believes that the Professorships will attract further talent to the institutions involved: 

“That’s usually how research happens. Talented professors attract other talented researchers and funding and so forth. Then, during the autumn, there was discussion and dialogue about setting up Europe’s second Ellis Institute.”

Sarlin asserts: 

“To retain the highly skilled talent attracted to AI hubs like Turku and Helsinki, it’s crucial to foster a vibrant ecosystem of world-class R&D initiatives. This ensures that postdocs, PhD students, and graduates find exciting opportunities to contribute to cutting-edge research and development within the region.”

ELLIS, the European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems, is a pan-European network established in 2018 to advance fundamental AI research, drive technical innovation, and ensure Europe’s leadership in this critical field. It built a network of research sites with 41 Units and 1 Associate Unit spread across 17 countries, fostering a collaborative environment for top researchers. 

The professorships will establish permanent positions at various institutions and have an ELLIS affiliation.

According to Sarlin, the academic job market is inherently global, but traditionally lacks roles with job security: 

“Academic positions, particularly PhD studentships and postdoctoral fellowships, are short-term jobs.

This necessitates a constant global search for the next career step, highlighting the importance of world-class research and industry initiatives to retain top talent and maximise the benefits of this global mobility. These professionships will help attract and retain talent in Finland.”

Universities to benefit from the Professorships: 

• Aalto University
• Hanken School of Economics
• National Defence University
• Tampere University
• University of Eastern Finland
• University of Helsinki
• University of Lapland
• University of Jyväskylä
• University of Oulu
• University of the Arts Helsinki
• University of Turku
• University of Vaasa
• Åbo Akademi University

These professorships will operate under the PS Fellow title an are to be filled with persons who are internationally academically meritorious, measured by scientific impact (e.g. H-Index) and private and/or public sector impact, experience and track record. 

Foundation PS intends to support the network by supporting and promoting their research in AI (e.g. grants, scholarships, and other direct support) and by organising conferences, events and training related to AI (e.g. an annual conference and other seminars).

Sarlin shared: 

“My donation is intended to foster and grow an attractive environment for world-class AI expertise and breakthroughs across multiple disciplines. Together, we can accelerate Finland’s and Europe’s competitiveness on the global AI stage.”

A vibrant AI ecosystem: Foundation PS, ELLIS Institute and LUMI AI 

In tandem with the donation, the ELLIS Institute is officially initiating its activities in Finland with funding from the Finnish government totaling €40 million. 

Together, these efforts provide a good basis to grow Finland into a leading hub for AI research and development, with the ultimate aim at forming a backbone of Europe’s long-term AI strategy. 

Finland was recently awarded Europe’s largest AI factory initiative, an ambitious undertaking supported by the European Commission with a total budget of ~€600 million. 

The country already hosts LUMI, Europe’s most powerful supercomputer and a critical resource for AI research, with a unique compute quota reserved for Finnish research initiatives. 

“Peter Sarlin’s donation is an invaluable contribution to strengthening Finland’s critical AI expertise. This donation helps us advance our research and also provides excellent support for our education in a field that is of utmost importance to Aalto University. We plan to use Peter Sarlin’s donation to support a new professorship in the field of AI,” says Aalto University President Ilkka Niemelä.

“Investment in AI research paves the way for significant breakthroughs in AI applications as well. Peter Sarlin’s visionary donation for AI research strengthens the high-quality and ambitious AI research conducted at the University of Helsinki. The donation will be allocated to establishing a new AI professorship,” says University of Helsinki President Sari Lindblom. 

Lead image: Foundation PS.