AI REGIO supports European manufacturing SMEs

The AI REGIO Innovation Action addresses policy, technology and business barriers to support creation and sustainable growth of AI-focused Digital Innovation Hubs (AI DIHs) to support European manufacturing SMEs in their digital transformation.

• • The digital transformation demo-case of the ESM Pilot has successfully launched the project AI REGIO, funded by Horizon 2020.
  • AI REGIO will support AI-driven digital transformation of European manufacturing SMEs, by scaling up and coordinating different regional smart specialisation strategies.
  • 36 partners from 13 Vanguard Regions are involved in the partnership, among which 8 SMEs. 
  • 17 AI-experiments will be developed within the project to demonstrate specific AI applications in manufacturing companies.
  • The project has a total value of 8M€ and 160K€ will be distributed to SMEs outside the consortium through two waves of open calls that will be launched in 2021 and 2022

Learn more about the project here. Or please visit the AI REGIO website. 

Policy level

Better coordination of regional smart specialisation strategies by involving regional authorities and fostering closer cooperation across European regions, EU and non-EU countries, to ensure innovation can scale.

Technology level

Enhancing knowledge transfer across the network of DIHs by integrating Data4AI Open Source Platforms with a DIH Innovation Collaboration platform and with an AI4Manufacturing Toolkit, for a total of 64 assets.

Business level

Upgrade the offering of DIHs by AI-driven applications by conducting more than 30 SME-driven and DIH-driven experiments (including Open Calls’ ones) on AI-applications for SMEs under a common framework for ethical-social-business impact measurement, assessment and benchmarking.

Regional manufacturing DIHs

• East Netherlands: DIH Boost
• Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes: DIH POLYTRONICS 
• Lombardy: DIH AFIL – Lombardy Intelligent Factory Association
• Catalonia: DIH ACCIÓ – Agency for Business Competitiveness

• South Netherlands: DIH High Tech Software Cluster
• Tampere: DIH TRINITY
• Norte: iManNorte Hub
• Emilia-Romagna: ASTER-DIH

• Baden-Württemberg: DIH FZI – Research Centre for Information Technology
• Navarra: IRIS – European Digital Innovation Hub Navarra
• Eastern Slovenia: DIH University of Maribor
• Friuli-Venezia Giulia: DIH Industry Platform 4 FVG
• Basque Country: Basque Digital Innovation Hub

AI REGIO is part of the European Commission’s I4MS initiative (ICT Innovation for Manufacturing SMEs), which fosters the integration of digital innovations by manufacturing SMEs in Europe.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement N. 952003.

Download: Flyer AI Regio