Valencia hosts key AI event to launch AI-on-Demand Platform and boost European innovation
Valencia has become the epicentre of innovation in artificial intelligence (AI) with the celebration of the event “AI-on-Demand: Empowering AI Research & Innovation.” Organised by the European project AI4Europe and ITI, a private technology centre specialising in ICT, it brought together more than 100 professionals, researchers, and representatives of startups and SMEs from the European AI ecosystem.
This international event launched the second version of the AI-on-Demand platform, funded by the European Commission. The objective of the event was to demonstrate how the platform and AI can help researchers and companies boost their research and businesses. Through presentations, interactive sessions, and collaborative panels, attendees learned about potential use cases for the Platform, as well as the key role of European Digital Innovation Hubs (eDIHs).
Daniel Sáez, Director of Strategic Intelligence at ITI and President of Gaia-X Spain, welcomed the event alongside Barry O’Sullivan, project coordinator, and Evangelia Markidou, Project Officer at the European Commission. “We are working to make Europe the continent of AI, and to do that, we have to start with research. The platform is the result of great collaborative work, but now we need to get researchers and the European AI ecosystem to use it as a single, common space that provides them with the necessary tools for research,“ said Evangelia Markidou.
Daniel Sáez emphasised at the opening: “As a technology centre specialised in Data and AI, we have been working for many years from a dual perspective: on the one hand, close contact with the regional and national ecosystem, offering knowledge and tools that allow companies to first experiment and then adopt these technologies, and on the other hand, our strong international positioning, thanks to which we have established alliances with the main players in these fields. This is what made us a key partner for AI4Europe, and by bringing this event to Valencia and launching the platform, we want to reaffirm our commitment to it.”
The AI-on-Demand Platform seeks to meet the needs of both the research and business sectors by facilitating access to tools, services, and resources that drive the development and adoption of Artificial Intelligence in Europe. This digital infrastructure is based on the results of two main projects: AI4Europe, which is more research-focused, and DeployAI, which focuses on connecting with businesses, SMEs, and the public sector.
“At ITI, we focus on ensuring that our participation in European projects like AI4Europe has a real impact on the business and research environment in our region. As part of the team leading the project’s engagement, I believe it’s essential not only to focus on technological development, but also to ensure that the AI-on-Demand Platform is truly utilised and useful for researchers and businesses. Ultimately, these types of events open the door to new connections and strategic collaborations,” said Liliana Beltrán, Data Innovation Ecosystems Specialist at ITI.
Representatives from the ALCHIMIA, DATAMITE, and HIVEMIND projects, three European initiatives committed to innovation, participated in the event, exploring synergies with the Platform. Jordi Arjona, coordinator of the Distributed Systems Group at ITI, explained the DATAMITE project, of which ITI is the coordinator, and how it can interact with the AIoD platform. DATAMITE provides an open-source technology stack aimed at helping companies improve their data management by offering governance, quality, and data sharing tools. Its mission is not only to facilitate companies’ sharing and monetization of their data, but also to help them ensure that this data is of high quality. DATAMITE is not a service that will be published as such in the AIoD; rather, it allows companies to publish their data on this platform in a simple and semi-automated manner, “DATAMITE is an enabler for AI-on-Demand, making it easier for organizations to feed the platform with their datasets, increasing its visibility and enhancing its value,” said Jordi Arjona.
Within the European digitalization strategy, the European Digital Innovation Hubs are a key element that complements the launch of the platform. eDIHs are essential in promoting the adoption of advances in technologies such as AI by companies, especially SMEs and startups. Oscar Valle, Director of the Innovation Ecosystems Area, presented InnDIH, a strategic project for the digitalization of the Valencian business community. He shared a panel with Barry O’Sullivan, representing ENTIRE, the Irish eDIH, and with Claudia Balletbò, from DIH4CAT and the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre (BSC), who spoke about her AI Factory, which offers access to state-of-the-art AI computing infrastructure, advanced training programs, and support for startups, SMEs, and more. InnDIH is the regional connection for this AI Factory.
Coordinated by ITI, InnDIH has been recognized by the European Commission as a European Digital Innovation Hub (eDIH), with the support of the Ministry of Industry and Tourism and the Generalitat Valenciana, through the Department of Innovation, Industry, Trade and Tourism.
This ecosystem, made up of 31 partners, works together to bring digital technologies to businesses and public administrations, with a special focus on AI and Big Data. Since its launch in January 2023 and until March 2025, it has served 311 companies, providing a total of 412 services, 47% of which have been related to AI. In addition, more than €2 million in additional funding has been channelled to participating companies.
As project coordinator, Oscar Valle highlighted the importance of connecting EDIHs with European initiatives such as the AI-on-Demand platform, which drive the adoption of AI, since “companies and SMEs are demanding these technologies, but they need expert advice to determine the most suitable solution for their business and, above all, to test it before investing. Therefore, eDIHs like InnDIH are essential because they allow companies to test these technologies for free and verify their benefits before making an investment.“
Finally, the focus was on future challenges. Europe has great potential in terms of AI-related researchers and work, but the truly important thing is being able to connect all that potential to make Europe the continent of AI.
Author: Santiago David Gálvez Settier
