Gate aims at the creation of the “Large Data for a Smart Society” in Bulgaria, which focuses on improving the scientific achievements and sustainable growth of big data through an attractive research environment, modern infrastructure supporting open innovations and a vibrant ecosystem to support research and innovation tailored to the needs of society.GATE will be a fully autonomous institute, created as a joint initiative between Sofia University — the most prestigious educational and scientific center in Bulgaria. Chalmers University of Technology — a leading European institution with extensive experience in research, education and innovation in the field of big data, and Chalmers Industrial Technology — a leader in innovation management, university-industry cooperation, as well as in technology transfer.GATE is an initiative that fully exploits the opportunities created by the rapid development of the innovation ecosystem and the big data market in Bulgaria, the technological boost in the field of artificial intelligence in Sweden and the EU, and global research and development efforts in the field of big data. The CoA will provide economic and social benefits by training data professionals and promoting closer cooperation between academia, government and industry, thus helping Bulgarian organisations and industry in different sectors to be competitive. As the only large data CoP established in Eastern Europe, GATE will play a strategic role in disseminating best practices and innovative models in the countries listed in the widening countries of Horizon 2020. The activities of GATE are consistent with the IPIS, in which Big Data and their systems are the basis for innovation and are a priority of the thematic area Informatics and ICT. The IfS also gives priority to Smart Cities. According to ISS, the fastest growing technology is data-based services.