Bridging the gap between research and industry: AIoD is merging its two gateways into one gateway to European AI

The AI-on-Demand (AIoD) platform is evolving. The platform currently has two gateways,
one for the research side and one for the industry side, but soon, these sides will unite
into a single gateway to European AI. This marks a significant turning point in AIoD’s
story, and we are excited to take this next step together with the community.

The mission of AIoD

To truly foster European excellence in AI innovation and adoption, bridging the gap
between research-driven innovation and real-world applications is essential.
Europe is home to incredible talent, yet we need ways to make it both visible and
effectively applied. The mission of AIoD is to “unite European AI research, industry, and
public sector through a single platform – enabling collaboration, shared innovation,
trusted tools, and pan-European visibility.”
This update directly supports the mission. By bringing researchers, innovators, and
companies into one collaborative space, we aim to help them connect more easily, work
together more effectively, and accelerate innovation.

What does this mean in practice?

The new single gateway will give users access to all key components of the previous two
sides. Users will no longer need to navigate between two separate sides of the
platform depending on their needs: all our AI tools, services, and opportunities to
connect with AI experts and enthusiasts will now be conveniently available in one place.
Whether it is the Business Navigator from the industry side, the Community from the
research side, or something else the user is looking for, they will find it there.
Until now, our communication activities have also been divided between researchfocused and industry-focused content. For example, these articles have largely focused
on the research side of the platform. As the two gateways merge, our communication
channels and activities will also come together to reflect this new phase of AIoD. We will
highlight both research and industry perspectives, bringing our audience a broader and
more versatile look into the European AI landscape.

A closer look at AIoD’s value for different user profiles

The European AI ecosystem is a diverse set of players with varying needs, goals, and
levels of maturity. Similarly, AIoD is built for many different user groups, such as SMEs,
startups, individual researchers, and EU initiatives, to name a few. Below is a brief
overview of how the platform creates value for some of its core user groups.

• SMEs and startups get AI tools, services, and expertise to support their business
  development as well as EU-wide visibility and potential partners and customers –
  a full pipeline from concept to commercialization.
• Researchers get over half a million AI assets, a wide range of AI tools, and a
  community for sharing insights, publishing research, and finding connections and
  collaboration opportunities across Europe.
• EU initiatives (e.g., EDIHs, AI Factories, TEFs, and other EU projects) get AI
  services to complement their own offerings, opportunities to collaborate with
  other EU initiatives and their SME ecosystems, and EU-wide visibility.
• Public sector entities (e.g., government organizations, universities, and research
  centers) get AI expertise and tools to support their digitalization efforts, EU-wide
  visibility, and AI tools, datasets, and collaboration opportunities for their
  researchers.

Join us on this exciting journey toward a more connected and trustworthy European AI
ecosystem. Together, we are shaping the future of AI in Europe!

Article written by Emma Lehtinen (Aalto University CKIR)