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AI-on-Demand platform expands to accelerate European AI innovation across research and industry

Aalto University’s Center for Knowledge and Innovation Research (CKIR) is proud to contribute to the next phase of Europe’s trusted AI infrastructure AI-on-Demand through the DeployAI project
AI-on-Demand
Europe’s AI future is becoming reality.

The AI-on-Demand Platform (AIoD) has significantly expanded to include new services for research and industry within a unified digital infrastructure. As a single, trusted access point, the platform offers cutting-edge European AI tools, data, and services for research and industry. As a unified gateway, the AIoD connects previously fragmented resources across the European AI ecosystem, making them accessible, reusable, and tailored to user needs.

Building on earlier efforts to unify Europe’s AI landscape, the current expansion is being driven by the DeployAI initiative, which bridges the gap between research and business. It is a cornerstone of Europe’s strategy to accelerate AI innovation, enhance technological sovereignty, and position European values of trustworthiness, transparency, and responsibility at the heart of global AI development.

‘I’m pleased to see the AI-on-Demand Platform officially launches its next-generation infrastructure. This platform unites researchers, startups, and industry to advance AI that reflects European values. At Aalto we are committed to build trusted innovation ecosystems and the AIoD platform is a key step toward a more inclusive, sustainable, and sovereign digital future for Europe,’ says Ilkka Lakaniemi, Director of Center for Knowledge and Innovation Research (CKIR).

Connecting research and industry under one European vision 

The AIoD provides a dedicated dual-track system to meet the distinct needs of Europe’s research community and its industry players:

  • For research, the AIoD delivers a powerful, researcher-focused suite of datasets, tools, and other AI resources, driving forward trustworthy, cutting-edge AI research across Europe. It aggregates results from EU-funded AI projects, making them discoverable, reusable, and shareable, and so helps foster a European community of AI developers, scientists, and innovators.
  • For industry, the platform provides market-ready, enterprise-level AI tools and services as well as access to computing. It supports businesses, start-ups and SMEs, and public sector organisations in developing, training, and deploying AI applications efficiently and responsibly.

This strategic alignment ensures Europe’s AI ecosystem is not just competitive but also collaborative, fostering ecosystem building and cross-sector synergies and accelerating the time-to-impact for both scientific breakthroughs and industrial innovation.

Background and funding 

The AI-on-Demand Platform’s development and expansion is funded by the European Commission under the Digital Europe Programme, with current scaling and service integration led by the DeployAI project (€28M). Coordinated by Fraunhofer IAIS, DeployAI brings together 28 partners across 13 countries, including Aalto University, and runs from January 2024 to December 2027. The project’s mission is to scale up AI services, infrastructure, and ecosystem collaboration in alignment with Europe’s vision for trusted and inclusive digital transformation. 

Explore the platform: https://www.aiodp.eu

Further information

Center for Knowledge and Innovation Research (CKIR)

CKIR’s main research focus is on innovation ecosystems, ICT enabled service platforms and thus enabled new business dynamics.

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