As part of the third round of the AI innovation competition, the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Economics, Labor and Tourism is funding 36 particularly ambitious and innovative individual company AI projects in medium-sized companies with a total of 7.5 million euros. This was announced by Minister of Economic Affairs Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut on July 22, 2021. The measure is part of the state government’s “AI Action Program for SMEs”. Four companies from the Ulm innovation region are also funded.
“In order for Baden-Württemberg to assert itself as a global innovation and business location in the future, we have to focus on key technologies such as artificial intelligence. In medium-sized businesses in particular, we need even more ‘AI made in BW’. With our AI innovation competition Baden-Württemberg 2021, we therefore support SMEs in bringing their innovative AI products and services to market maturity as quickly and successfully as possible”, said Hoffmeister-Kraut.
This year the focus was on strengthening innovative strength and speed, especially in small companies. “That is why we have made the funding conditions particularly start-up-friendly,” emphasized the minister. The selected projects can support 26 start-ups with a total of 5.1 million euros in the development of their AI products and services. As stipulated in the coalition agreement, the gigantic potential for added value is to be exploited through completely new business models and digital platforms, products and services, as well as the cross-industry commercialization of AI in the country.
This year the focus was on strengthening innovative strength and speed, especially in small companies. “That is why we have made the funding conditions particularly start-up-friendly,” emphasized the minister. The selected projects can support 26 start-ups with a total of 5.1 million euros in the development of their AI products and services. As stipulated in the coalition agreement, the gigantic potential for added value is to be exploited through completely new business models and digital platforms, products and services, as well as the cross-industry commercialization of AI in the country.
Different AI topics are covered in the funded projects, such as optimized resource management, intelligent automation, data analysis and robotics. The products and services to be developed can in turn be used in a wide variety of industries. In addition to the future of industry, the projects will also expand the handling of private shoe purchases, leisure activities and the maintenance of solar systems.
The following companies from Ulm are funded:
ADLATUS Robotics GmbH (Ulm) with the AI project “AFaSeRo – AI Enabled Facility Service Robots – Turning Data Into Business”: The autonomous cleaning robots will be expanded to include the AI modules Predictive Maintenance, Recommendation Engine and Remote Assistance.
immersight GmbH (Ulm) with the AI project “KISS”: AI-based support for the collaborative renovation of SHK systems. With AI, a 3D workroom is created that grants permanent access to the construction site and helps to troubleshoot problems through learned solutions.
Matchory GmbH (Ulm) with the KI project “KIMAT Intelligent KI-based supplier search”: Continuous improvement of the entire system to enable companies to make sustainable and conscious decisions when looking for suppliers.
predori GmbH (Ulm) with the AI project “Guided Assessment”: Development of AI for patent research, which works out the relevant textual content of patent reports for the user.
Additional Information
The focus of the AI innovation competition Baden-Württemberg 2021, which was advertised from March 5 to May 10, 2021, was specifically aimed at small companies and start-ups in Baden-Württemberg. However, consortium partners with up to 250 employees have also been approved. The funding is aimed at large-volume projects with eligible costs of 40,000 to 1,000,000 euros for the individual companies supported. The projects should be completed by December 31, 2022. The call aroused great interest among companies: project applications from 52 companies were received.
The competition is part of the package of measures “AI Action Program for SMEs”. The aim of this is to support AI value creation and AI application in medium-sized companies across all industries. The BW AI innovation competition is part of this action program. Other measures in the action program include the “KI Champions BW” competition, the establishment of the KI innovation park and the regional KI labs.
You can find more information on the “AI Action Program for SMEs” at: https://www.wirtschaft-digital-bw.de/ki-made-in-bw/ki-made-in-bw
