Intelligence Race: how AI is developing in Russia

The artificial intelligence market is growing by an average of 37% every year, and it could reach $407 billion by 2027. By 2025, the industry has gained unprecedented momentum — new AI solutions appear almost monthly, which take on not only routine tasks, but are also successfully used in medicine, science and other important fields. Today, American and Chinese developers occupy leading positions in the field of AI — players from other countries are trying to compete with them. Izvestia, together with experts, found out what place Russia occupies in the AI race and what the country's prospects are in it.

Top Ten leaders

AI developments are being actively implemented in various industries. According to the head of the Ministry of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, last year Russia became one of the ten leaders in the integration of artificial intelligence. In priority areas of the economy, such as the development and implementation of innovations, increasing production capacity, upgrading infrastructure, etc. — The overall level of AI adoption already exceeds 32%.

Progress in the field of generative artificial intelligence is particularly noticeable: Russia ranks fourth in the world in terms of the number of models created. The uniqueness of generative AI lies in its ability to create a product on its own. This makes it a powerful driver of economic growth. According to Yakov and Partners, by 2030, the economic impact of the introduction of generative AI in the BRICS countries could range from $350 billion to $600 billion. The greatest potential for the use of generative AI is concentrated in key areas of the economy: banking, retail, mechanical engineering, energy, electronics and IT.

Domestic achievements in the field of AI are also highly appreciated abroad. For example, according to Stanford University, Russia is among the top 20 countries in terms of the number of AI studies. The country ranks 17th in the number of scientific publications on AI in the world, and by 2031 it may enter the top 4 - after India, China and the USA.

The key to success

The experts interviewed by Izvestia believe that a balanced approach combining the activity of large technology companies and a balanced government policy has become a key factor in achieving such results.

— The main role in the development of artificial intelligence in Russia is played by the largest IT companies and government agencies. Russian bigtech, primarily companies such as Yandex, Sberbank, and VK, is the main catalyst for the introduction and scaling of AI technologies. These companies invest in R&D, launch educational initiatives, open data centers, and implement AI in everyday services," said Maxim Bolotskikh, partner and Head of AI and High Technology Practice at Yakov & Partners consulting company.

Yandex is one of the world market leaders among Russian companies. Along with Microsoft, Meta, Tencent, and Baidu, he joined the list of companies that have developed from two to three types of different generative AI models. In 2023, the company also found itself in the ranking of AI developers, leading in terms of the total number of publications and citations. Other Russian players stand out as well. For example, VK ranked first among AI developers in terms of revenue in 2023 (according to Smart Ranking). It is noteworthy that the third place in the rating went not to a private player, but to a representative of the public sector — Gazpromneft-Digital Solutions. AI is also developing in the public sector: according to the Roadmap for the Development of AI Technologies, it is planned to allocate more than 145 billion rubles for AI development by 2030.

Another factor in the rapid development of AI in our country is the high willingness of companies to implement the technology.

— For example, Yandex is developing its own line of generative models and integrating AI into search technologies and voice assistants. Beber, in turn, has launched its ecosystem of AI products, including GigaChat neural network models, and is also developing HealthTech and GovTech, Bolotsky adds.

In addition, according to a number of studies, artificial intelligence is almost universally used by the financial sector — 95% of companies use it. At the same time, medical projects are the leaders in revenue growth. Scientists use neural network resources to develop new drugs and diagnose various diseases. So, back in 2022, Russian specialists taught the neural network to detect cancer two years before diagnosis. For example, the accuracy of breast cancer detection was 90%.

The Russian industry is also interested in the introduction of AI, especially metallurgy, the oil and gas industry and the agricultural sector. Neural networks help enterprises optimize processes, improve occupational safety and productivity, and reduce costs.

The strengths of Russian AI

Experts note that the high potential and speed of development of domestic AI solutions are directly related to the quality of specialist training and the level of development of fundamental sciences. According to the ranking of universities by the quality of training AI specialists, the leading universities at the moment are MIPT, NRU ITMO, NRU HSE, St. Petersburg State University and Lomonosov Moscow State University.

— In Russia, leading universities play a crucial role in the training of IT and AI specialists due to the flexibility of educational programs. Close cooperation with industry also plays a huge role here. Universities often have joint programs or invite industry experts to give lectures on relevant topics. At the same time, the level of training is confirmed by international achievements. In particular, Russian IT and AI teams have won 16 International Student Programming Competitions (ICPC), more than any other country in the last 25 years," said Denis Derkach, Director of the Institute for Applied Research and Development, Faculty of Computer Science, National Research University Higher School of Economics.

It is important that universities do not teach students in isolation from the market and real tasks — universities constantly cooperate with developers. Together they create modern educational projects. For example, Yandex and Sber, together with ITMO, MIPT, HSE and Innopolis University, have launched a separate bachelor's degree program for future AI specialists. The AI360 program combines the experience of major developers and the expertise of leading universities. It is planned that graduates will be able to solve complex problems in the field of AI and will be in demand by leading IT market players and scientific laboratories.

— Large technology companies actively participate in the content of educational programs, help with the search for teachers, allocate the resources necessary for the implementation of these programs. In addition, there is an indirect contribution from Bigtech: the most advanced companies carry out cutting—edge research together with universities, which allows academic researchers to focus on relevant tasks, and companies to gain competencies that may be useful in the future," says Derkach.

The prospects

Domestic technologies are doing well in many areas of IT — AI is no exception. For the sustainable development of the industry in Russia, it is necessary to continue systematic and coordinated work on the part of the government, universities and developers.

— The government is already creating systemic conditions for the development of the AI industry through national strategies, tax incentives and infrastructure projects. However, for a full-fledged technological breakthrough, it is necessary to focus on several priority areas: the creation of a developed data infrastructure, including open data warehouses for training AI systems, the financing of scientific research, both applied and fundamental, the introduction of flexible regulation through the mechanisms of "legal sandboxes" that allow testing innovative AI solutions without the risk of regulatory sanctions. In this context, cooperation with the BRICS countries is critically important," Bolotskikh says.

He recalled that such interaction makes it possible to increase data volumes and exchange technological solutions outside Western platforms. In addition, the BRICS countries are developing alternative Euro-Atlantic approaches to AI regulation, focused on sovereignty, ethics and pragmatism. According to the expert, full-fledged competition with the United States and China in universal AI systems requires enormous resources, but Russia can take a leading position in certain niches.

— First of all, this is industry — thanks to the unique expertise and state corporations like Rosatom and Gazprom, we can become world leaders in the use of AI for mining, energy system management and optimization of logistics chains. In the civilian sector, these are, first of all, education and medical diagnostics, where Russian AI solutions for analyzing medical images and processing electronic medical records are already showing real results in a number of regions of the country," Bolotskikh concluded.