Sberbank Backs AI Talent: $11M Investment Fuels Russia’s “Top-IT” and “Top-AI” Education Push
Russia is cultivating a new generation of tech leaders. Sberbank is committing 1 billion rubles ($11 million) to train future developers in cutting-edge digital technologies.
Opening Access to Advanced Knowledge
Sberbank has announced a major investment in the future of Russian education — not just a financial commitment, but a strategic partnership to build the country’s next wave of highly qualified specialists. The programs are being implemented under the grant competition of Russia’s Ministry of Digital Development and the Analytical Center under the Government of the Russian Federation.
The initiative covers six top Russian universities: the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), Higher School of Economics (HSE), ITMO University, Innopolis University, and Ural Federal University (UrFU). In total, 14 educational programs will launch in September 2025, enrolling 2,200 students who will gain access to advanced knowledge and hands-on training.
Sberbank is offering more than funding. It has provided expert and methodological support, trained 230 instructors from 26 universities, and developed a competency-role model that underpins the programs. The bank also organized a series of working sessions with the Ministry of Digital Development, universities, and leading IT companies to align educational standards with real industry needs.
Sber’s Decade-Long AI Bet
With more than a decade of investment in digitalization and AI, Sberbank has become one of Russia’s largest private backers of artificial intelligence. In 2023, during a meeting of the supervisory board of the “Russia — Land of Opportunity” initiative, CEO Herman Gref revealed the scale: “Every year we invest about $1 billion in AI technologies and get back around $3 billion annually from AI.”
At that same meeting, a lighthearted exchange underscored the pace of AI development. President Vladimir Putin asked whether AI might replace Gref as Sberbank’s chief one day. Gref replied he hoped it wouldn’t happen in his lifetime — “but we’re headed that way.”
Today, AI is already making credit decisions for 99.9% of consumer loans, according to First Deputy Chairman Alexander Vedyakhin.
Bridging Academia and Industry
While “Top-IT” and “Top-AI” are initially aimed at the domestic market, their potential for export is real. One precedent is AI360, developed in partnership with Yandex, which has shown that Russian education initiatives can find international demand.
The programs also reflect a broader global trend: closer collaboration between academia and business. In the U.S., Google’s ties with Stanford have long been part of Silicon Valley’s innovation pipeline. In China, educational initiatives backed by Alibaba and ByteDance form part of the national tech strategy. Russia’s latest projects are moving in the same direction, tailored to its own realities.
Long term, the programs could expand enrollment, strengthen international partnerships, and deliver systemic results — improving the quality of IT talent and boosting the competitiveness of Russian tech firms.
Thinking One Step Ahead
Over the past five years, Russia has made noticeable progress in IT education. AI360, launched in 2024 by Yandex and universities including ITMO, MIPT, HSE, and Innopolis, became the foundation for “Top-AI.”
The “Top-IT” track builds on MIPT’s Higher School of Software Engineering program, developed with Yandex and MTS. MIPT Rector Dmitry Livanov stresses that basic IT programs are no longer enough: “The tech world needs people who can not only apply ready-made solutions but create new ones from scratch, at the intersection of sciences. That’s exactly the kind of engineers we train at MIPT — people who think one step ahead, understand how complex systems work, and can set the direction for future development.”
“Top-IT” and “Top-AI” represent a strategic alliance between the state and the private sector, united to secure Russia’s technological future. Starting in 2025, thousands of students will access advanced knowledge and, in the coming years, enter the workforce as fully trained specialists.
