SAP Spain has joined the Centre of Innovation for Data tech and Artificial Intelligence (CIDAI) as the latest member of this public-private partnership for transferring data and artificial intelligence technology solutions to society and business.
The agreement was signed by Félix Monedero, SAP Spain’s CEO, and Xavier López, the Eurecat technology centre’s Chief Operating and Corporate Officer and representing CIDAI, in a ceremony held today at Eurecat’s headquarters. It was also attended by Daniel Marco, the Director General for Innovation and the Digital Economy in the Government of Catalonia and chair of CIDAI, and Joan Mas, Director of CIDAI and Digital Technologies at Eurecat.
“SAP’s membership of the CIDAI bolsters the joint commitment of the Government, technology centres, universities and the ICT sector to this centre as a flagship initiative to promote the uptake of artificial intelligence in Catalonia,” commented Daniel Marco. “An international leader such as SAP adds capabilities to the digital ecosystem associated with the Artificial Intelligence Strategy of Catalonia, Catalonia.AI.”
“Artificial intelligence will fast-track and expand human potential,” noted Félix Monedero. “SAP is committed to promoting open ecosystems which enable us to reimagine business processes by naturally building in artificial intelligence to shift towards innovative, efficient and sustainable solutions. The alliance with CIDAI is an example of this commitment which will be crucial in bringing a distinctive approach to artificial intelligence and sustainability to the market.”
The purpose of the CIDAI “is to furnish a venue where cutting-edge stakeholders can learn at firsthand about the state of the art and innovative artificial intelligence applications geared, for example, towards streamlining industrial processes, generating new tools for disease treatment, redefining value chains across a range of industries and enhancing the user experience,” said Xavier López.
“The CIDAI is based on achieving a return and impact anchored in constant dialogue with small and medium-sized enterprises and large companies and organisations in order to prioritise and promote the most relevant initiatives and technologies,” pointed out Joan Mas.
“Other CIDAI values are excellence, neutrality and ethical principles involving activities and projects led by experts in the field, continuous technology watch, implementing European best practices and user-friendliness with a view to inspiring, demonstrating and making the state of the art more accessible to businesses and institutions by coordinating players from all over the country.”
Generating, validating and transferring reliable, high added-value artificial intelligence technologies
CIDAI’s overarching objective is generating, validating and transferring high added-value, reliable artificial intelligence technologies to unlock innovation in the country’s strategic sectors including public services and the third sector. It also seeks to pinpoint innovative technological solutions drawn from leading artificial intelligence research to share them with businesses and institutions.
Another of CIDAI’s goals is to empower the Catalan artificial intelligence ecosystem as an international leader by building a connected, active and vibrant community involving the vast majority of stakeholders. It additionally envisages fast-tracking the uptake of reliable artificial intelligence in business and society with projects that showcase its benefits and dismantle existing barriers.
CIDAI comes under the Catalan Government’s Catalonia.AI strategy and is coordinated by the Eurecat technology centre. It is made up of the Catalan Government’s Ministry of the Vice-Presidency and Digital Policies and Territory, Barcelona City Council, the BSC, CVC, i2CAT, IDEAI-UPC and Eurecat centres and NTT DATA, Microsoft, the SDG Group and SAP.
