Fastweb + Vodafone and the Italian Institute for Artificial Intelligence (AI4I) sign MoU

• Fastweb + Vodafone and the Italian Institute for Artificial Intelligence (“AI4I”) have signed a three-year agreement for the development and dissemination of Artificial Intelligence solutions for companies operating particularly in the advanced manufacturing, automotive, and robotics and automation systems sectors.
• Agreement to drive industrial transformation and technological sovereignty in AI through the development of solutions for businesses.

Milan, Turin, Italy – Fastweb + Vodafone and the Italian Institute for Artificial Intelligence (“AI4I”) have signed a three-year agreement for the development and dissemination of Artificial Intelligence solutions for companies operating particularly in the advanced manufacturing, automotive, and robotics and automation systems sectors.

The memorandum of understanding aims to strengthen the technological capacity of the national industrial and business system, facilitating access to high-performance computing infrastructure and solutions based on the use of Artificial Intelligence.

Fastweb + Vodafone and AI4I, each within their respective domains, will make their High Performance Computing infrastructures, AI platforms, and the support of highly specialized personnel available to the research community, businesses, and stakeholders involved in innovation projects.

The two entities will work together to design and develop artificial intelligence solutions based on specific market needs, either through direct development in AI4I's research labs, by establishing a joint path, or by leveraging solutions from entities already part of the "SUK - System User Knowledge" initiative, AI4I's platform to facilitate the connection between supply and demand for AI-based products and services.

At the heart of the partnership is AI4I's Foundry, a latest-generation High Performance Computing and AI infrastructure designed to support the research and development activities of the Institute and its partners, up to the production and provision of actual industrial services based on artificial intelligence. The Foundry offers advanced computing capabilities both for dedicated AI solutions and as a general-purpose HPC platform, representing a strategic asset in AI4I's portfolio available to Italian companies looking to innovate and scale their applications.

Companies will also be offered the opportunity to use AI4I's infrastructures for research and experimentation and to move to the operational development phase of AI solutions for the market by leveraging the advanced computing infrastructures and high-performance cloud solutions provided by the FastwebAI Factory supercomputer from Fastweb + Vodafone.

Finally, the Memorandum of Understanding stipulates that Fastweb + Vodafone and AI4I may participate in co-funded research and development projects at the national and European levels and may define a joint Open Innovation program to accelerate the adoption of AI in the Italian industrial supply chain.

"We are the first telecommunications company in Italy to sign an agreement of this kind with the AI4I foundation, and we have the ambition to bring Italy to the heart of European technological development. The MoU we sign today is another piece in our strategy to help bridge the technology gap in AI by building a strong ecosystem capable of uniting research, industry, and advanced technology," said Walter Renna, CEO of Fastweb + Vodafone. "The goal is to position Italy as one of the most advanced hubs in Europe for applied research and the digital transformation of the manufacturing sector."

"This agreement is another concrete step in building a national infrastructure for artificial intelligence applied to industry. The collaboration with Fastweb + Vodafone allows us to integrate scientific expertise, infrastructural capabilities, and proximity to businesses, creating the conditions to transform research into scalable industrial solutions. It is in this integration of research, advanced computing, and the market that the country's technological sovereignty is at stake today," said Fabio Pammolli, President of the Italian Institute for Artificial Intelligence (AI4I).