Aleph Alpha and the Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence (Ipai) Conduct Cutting-edge AI Research
As a German company in the field of explainable AI, Aleph Alpha will play an important role in the development of AI applications in the future and Ipai (Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence) will become Europe's most relevant platform for applied AI. The AI Park will bring together expertise, resources and innovations from the German AI landscape. As co-initiator of Ipai, the Dieter Schwarz Foundation is particularly keen to use this AI ecosystem to secure Germany's digital sovereignty in one of the key technologies of the future.
"With Ipai, we have gained a strong partner with a clear commitment to trustworthy and explainable AI," says Jonas Andrulis, founder and CEO of Aleph Alpha. "Combining our resources and expertise will put us in a unique position to shape the development of AI in Europe in a self-determined and sovereign way. Our partnership with Ipai reinforces our shared goal of developing AI in line with ethical principles that promote the well-being of society." Aleph Alpha is a German AI company founded in 2019 with the mission to research and develop AI enabling technology for a new era of strong AI. The team of international scientists, engineers and innovators researches, develops and implements transformative AI such as large-scale AI language and multimodal models and operates the fastest European commercial AI data center.
Aleph Alpha announced the successful completion of its Series B financing round in the fourth quarter of 2023. The company will receive more than USD 500 million in funding from a consortium of seven new investors as well as existing investors from previous rounds. The consortium is led by Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence (Ipai), Bosch Ventures and the Schwarz Group companies. Other new investors include Berlin-based Christ and Company Consulting, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and SAP as well as Burda Principal Investments.
"The active further development of generative AI will be decisive for Europe's technological sovereignty. That's why we at Bosch are opening up fields of application and playing a key role in shaping this future technology together with Aleph Alpha," says Tanja Rückert, Chief Digital Officer at Robert Bosch and former SAP executive. However, the path to effective implementation is not as easy as it may seem. It requires a solid foundation in the areas of data and analysis. It also requires qualified employees who are able to manage this data and gain valuable insights from it. Data and analytics - these are therefore the real challenges and opportunities. AI skills are becoming increasingly important and unstructured data is becoming a more sought-after resource than ever before.
"Generative AI is not just a technology or a business trend. It represents a profound shift in the way humans and machines interact," explains Mary Mesaglio, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner. "The question is no longer what machines can do for us, but what machines can be for us."