AI4EU

Target audience

SMEs, start-ups, companies, industries, scientists, funding organisations and citizens in general from the 28 member countries of the European Union, to facilitate collaboration between all European stakeholders in Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Project objective

To establish the first European-level on-demand artificial intelligence platform and ecosystem aimed at reducing barriers to innovation, promoting technology transfer and catalysing the growth of start-ups and SMEs. The platform will provide services, expertise, algorithms, components, modules, data and access to funding.

To this end, it will promote four main services:

• Providing accurate information to all users;
• Facilitating and promoting collaboration between all AI stakeholders to develop new products/services and create jobs and growth through AI;
• Making high-quality, active resources and relevant AI documents available;
• Experimenting with artificial intelligence tools to prototype ideas and applications

Project description

Artificial intelligence is a disruptive technology of our time, with expected impacts comparable to those of electricity or printing. Currently, innovation resources are dominated by technology giants in North America and China. To ensure European independence and leadership, we must invest wisely by pooling, connecting and opening up our AI resources. AI4EU will efficiently build a comprehensive European on-demand AI platform to reduce barriers to innovation, promote technology transfer and catalyse the growth of start-ups and SMEs across all sectors through open calls and other actions.

The platform will act as a broker, developer and one-stop shop providing and showcasing services, expertise, algorithms, software frameworks, development tools, components, modules, data, computing resources, prototyping capabilities and access to funding. Training will enable different user communities (engineers, civic leaders, etc.) to acquire skills and certifications. The AI4EU platform will establish a global benchmark, interoperable with existing AI components and data (for example, the Acumos open-source framework and the QWT search engine) and platforms. It will mobilise the entire European AI ecosystem and already brings together 80 partners in 21 countries, including researchers, innovators and related talent. Eight industry-driven AI pilots will demonstrate the platform's value as an innovation tool.

To improve the platform, research will be conducted in five key interconnected scientific areas related to the use of platform technologies, and the results will be implemented. The pilots and research will demonstrate how AI4EU can stimulate scientific discovery and technological innovation.

The AI4EU Ethics Observatory will be established to ensure respect for human-centred AI values and European regulations. Sustainability will be ensured through the creation of the AI4EU Foundation. The results will feed into a new and comprehensive strategic research and innovation agenda.

AI4EU project activities

• Creating and supporting a large European ecosystem spanning all 28 countries to facilitate collaboration between all European AI stakeholders (scientists, entrepreneurs, SMEs, industries, funding organisations, citizens...);
• Designing a European on-demand AI platform to support this ecosystem and share AI resources produced in European projects, including high-level services, AI research and innovation expertise, AI components and datasets, high-performance computing resources and access to seed funding for innovative projects through the platform; click here to learn more
• Implementing industry-led pilots through the AI4EU platform, demonstrating the platform's capabilities to enable real-world applications and foster innovation; click here to learn more
• Conducting research activities in five key interconnected scientific areas (explainable AI, physical AI, verifiable AI, collaborative AI, integrative AI), arising from the application of AI in real-world scenarios; click here to learn more
• Funding SMEs and start-ups that benefit from the AI resources available on the platform (a €3 million cascading funding scheme) to address AI challenges and promote new AI-based solutions;
• Creating a European ethics observatory to ensure that European AI projects comply with high ethical, legal and socioeconomic standards; click here to learn more
• Producing a comprehensive European strategic research and innovation agenda
• Establishing an AI4EU Foundation to ensure the transfer of the platform to a sustainable structure that supports the European AI community in the long term.

The AI4EU platform will bring together AI stakeholders and AI resources in one dedicated place, overcoming fragmentation and accelerating AI-driven innovation (research, products and solutions). The AI4EU platform will act as a one-stop shop for anyone seeking AI knowledge, technology, services, software and experts. AI4EU will drive the European AI market by providing a critical mass of resources, community network effects and rapid development and growth.

Project funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 programme under Leadership in Enabling and Industrial Technologies – Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).