Dutch knowledge institutions receive millions in funding to bring AI technology to society
The newly formed TTT.AI alliance, which includes Amsterdam universities, will apply knowledge from pioneering AI research and fund startups to bring innovations to market.
Giving AI innovations a flying start
A large group of Dutch universities and research centres, including Amsterdam’s Centrum Wiskunde en Informatica (CWI), the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and VU Amsterdam, has been awarded €8 million to boost the application and marketing of innovations in AI.
The TTT.AI alliance will receive the grant under the Thematic Technology Transfer (TTT) programme by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), a national government agency that supports entrepreneurs and organisations with information, funding and contacts.
Supported by fund manager LUMO Labs, TTT.AI will aim to bring AI innovations to society faster by using knowledge gained from AI research and providing funding to promising startups. The primary themes for innovations are healthcare, security and human-centered AI.
“This AI consortium will enable us to take more of the AI initiatives developed by our knowledge institutions to market and out into society,” said Peter Westerhuijs, the consortium’s project leader and a business developer at Innovation Exchange Amsterdam (IXA-UvA).
“The cooperation between consortium members and the extensive scope the consortium has to grant early-stage funding will put us in an even better position to make optimal use of everyone’s strengths.”
Increasing the impact of AI
The consortium is one of a number of initiatives launched nationally and regionally aimed at increasing the impact of AI.
Considered one of the most AI-ready cities in the world, Amsterdam is proving to be an effective living lab for AI solutions. Its expertise and innovations in the field are driven by a long tradition of collaboration between universities, hospitals, business and public organisations.
One of the biggest initiatives backed by this strong ecosystem is the AI Technology for People programme that is helping the city design and deploy ethical AI technology in healthcare, business innovation and citizen support.