34 Years of independence: How Slovenia is powering Europe’s future with AI, Blockchain, and Industry 5.0
Introduction
I wrote this article on June 25th, 2025 — Statehood day of the Republic of Slovenia, marking the 34th anniversary of Slovenia’s independence. Today is not only a day to honor our history but also a moment to reflect on the future we are building together. Slovenia is rapidly becoming a story of digital sovereignty, of breakthrough achievements in artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, Web4.0, virtual worlds and quantum computing. Slovenia is proving that a small nation can play a pivotal role in shaping the digital future of Europe. This article explores how Slovenia is transforming itself into Europe’s rising star in AI, blockchain, and Industry 5.0 innovation, and why the future belongs to those who master the convergence of key technologies – AI, blockchain, IoT, big data, quantum computing, and virtual worlds—as the foundation of Industry 5.0.
Slovenia: Europe’s rising star in AI, Blockchain, and Industry 5.0 innovation
In the race to lead the next era of technological transformation, Europe must to position itself as a global contender in artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain technologies, and the broader digital ecosystem driving Industry 5.0. At the center of this movement stands Slovenia, smart and powerful nation delivering substantial impacts in AI, blockchain, and the rapidly emerging Web4.0 and virtual worlds space.
Slovenia’s recent technological breakthroughs demonstrate that success in the digital economy is not determined by geographic size but by vision, expertise, and the ability to innovate collaboratively at the European level. However, it is becoming increasingly urgent that Slovenian policymakers fully recognize and actively support this momentum, ensuring that the nation’s technological potential is realized as a cornerstone of Europe’s future.
A new chapter in AI leadership
Slovenia achieved a significant milestone in the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking Call for Proposals, securing the opportunity to develop a next-generation high-performance supercomputer integrated with an AI Factory. This achievement placed Slovenia first among all applicants in Europe, highlighting the country’s advanced technical capabilities in designing AI-powered supercomputing infrastructures.
Supercomputer and AI Factory will become a strategic enabler for AI-driven research and development, facilitating:
• Drug discovery and advanced healthcare solutions.Climate modeling to combat environmental challenges.
• Materials science and clean energy research.
• Industrial optimization, supply chain simulation, and smart manufacturing.
The critical convergence: AI alone is not enough
It is critical to understand that AI cannot stand alone as a transformative force. Its true potential is realized only when integrated with a broader technological stack that includes:
• Blockchain infrastructure and services – the trust and verification layer.
• IoT (Internet of Things) – connecting physical and digital worlds in real-time.
• Big Data analytics – feeding AI models with rich, dynamic data streams.
• Quantum Computing – providing exponential computation capabilities for specific tasks.
• Web4.0 and Virtual Worlds – enabling immersive, interactive environments where AI, humans, and machines collaborate.
This convergence forms the backbone of Industry 5.0, which prioritizes human-centric, sustainable, and resilient systems, moving beyond automation to collaboration between humans and intelligent systems.
Blockchain Leadership: Slovenia at the heart of Europe’s digital trust Infrastructure
From national pioneer to European pillar
Slovenia’s leadership in blockchain began in 2019 with the creation of SI-Chain, Europe’s first national distributed ledger technology (DLT) test infrastructure, powered by HashNET, a highly scalable, energy-efficient blockchain protocol co-designed in Slovenia. Today, SI-Chain is no longer just a national initiative. It is being scaled to the EU level within the framework of the IPCEI CIS project, under the 8ra initiative, making Slovenia a central player in the emerging European Blockchain-as-a-Service ecosystem.
IPCEI CIS: Slovenia at the center of Europe’s digital Infrastructure
The 8ra initiative, part of the Important Project of Common European Interest on Cloud Infrastructure and Services (IPCEI CIS), brings together Europe’s leading technology providers to build a sovereign digital infrastructure. Slovenian company HashNET is working alongside major European giants such as Engineering Group (Italy), Deutsche Telekom (Germany), SAP (Germany), and over 120 EU companies. Together, we are developing “Eurocloud”, the largest open-source infrastructure project in the Digital Europe program, designed to deliver scalable, interoperable, and sovereign cloud, blockchain, and AI services across the EU.
This positions Slovenia at the heart of Europe’s blockchain-powered digital future, providing the foundational trust layer for:
• Digital identities
• Supply chain traceability
• Cross-border services
• Sustainable digital public services
Blockchain as a strategic enabler
The expanded SI-Chain within IPCEI CIS will underpin critical European services, including:
• Digital diplomas and credentials
• Digital product passports
• Trusted registries for industries like healthcare, energy, and finance
• Secure and transparent procurement processes
The projected economic impact exceeds €250 billion in annual savings, through optimized digital processes, reduced fraud, and faster cross-border transactions.
Web4.0 and Virtual Worlds: The Next Frontier for Industry 5.0
Virtual worlds as enablers of a human-centric economy and industry
Web4.0 marks the next evolution of the internet—a shift from 2D digital experiences to immersive, interoperable 3D virtual environments where people, AI, IoT, and machines collaborate in real time.
These virtual environments enable:
• Digital twins of cities, factories, supply chains, and energy grids.
• Collaborative spaces for AI training, testing, and real-world deployment.
• Simulations of economic, environmental, and industrial systems for better decision-making.
• Enhanced human-machine interaction in education, manufacturing, and healthcare.
Slovenia’s opportunity in Web4.0
With its strong foundation in blockchain (SI-Chain), AI supercomputing, and participation in the IPCEI CIS 8ra initiative, Slovenia is uniquely positioned to extend its leadership into virtual worlds and Industry 5.0 applications.
This creates enormous potential for:
• Sustainable manufacturing models powered by digital twins and Industrial Metaverse.
• Resilient supply chains using real-time simulation and predictive AI.
• AI-powered smart cities and industry integrated with blockchain-based trust mechanisms.
A blueprint for Europe – and Slovenia’s own future
Slovenia’s alignment of AI, blockchain, supercomputing, IoT, Web4.0, and quantum computing is a blueprint for the digital future of Europe.
Why Slovenia is uniquely positioned:
• Agile governance (if appropriately mobilized) combined with strong technological capability.
• A track record of delivering EU-scale infrastructure projects like SI-Chain, now scaling via IPCEI CIS 8ra initiative.
• Strategic partnerships with Europe’s biggest technology players.
• Compliance and alignment with EU’s core values—digital sovereignty, sustainability, privacy, and security.
The urgent need: Political alignment and support
Despite these extraordinary technological achievements, Slovenian politics must step up. This is no longer just about AI – it’s about orchestrating the entire stack of emerging technologies. Without comprehensive national strategies and concrete actions, Slovenia risks becoming a digital colony for foreign tech ecosystems rather than a sovereign digital leader.
The future depends on:
• Strong public-private cooperation.
• Incentives for Web4.0, blockchain, and Industry 5.0 developments.
• National support programs aligned with Digital Europe and IPCEI CIS strategies.
• Legislative frameworks that enable rapid deployment of AI, blockchain, IoT, and quantum-based services.
Slovenia at the center of Europe’s digital revolution
Slovenia has proven itself as Europe’s rising star in AI, blockchain, and Industry 5.0 innovation. The AI-powered supercomputing infrastructure empowers Europe’s AI sovereignty. The scaling of SI-Chain within the IPCEI CIS framework and the 8ra initiative places Slovenia at the core of Europe’s blockchain-as-a-service ecosystem, alongside titans like Engineering Group, SAP and Deutsche Telekom. Participation in the development of 8ra – European cloud infrastructure and services, the largest open-source infrastructure project in Digital Europe program, cements Slovenia’s role as an architect of Europe’s digital future. Expansion into Web4.0 and virtual worlds further elevates Slovenia’s potential in Industry 5.0, where AI, blockchain, IoT, and quantum computing converge into human-centric, sustainable systems.
AI alone is not enough. The future belongs to nations that master the convergence of AI, blockchain, IoT, Big Data, Quantum Computing, and Web4.0. Slovenia has the technology, the talent, and the partnerships. Now it needs the political understanding, support, courage and vision to seize this historic opportunity.
Slovenske Konjice, Slovenia, 25.6.2025
Tedej Slapnik
CEO
Industry 5.0 Institute
