Pioneering AI Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Europe for a Sustainable Future
The ELIAS Alliance, together with its 8 established nodes across 5 countries, aims to solidify European leadership in AI-driven innovation and scientific advancement. The ELIAS nodes are strategically designed to recognise and amplify locally developed AI and science-based innovations, while acting as integral parts of the ELIAS Alliance—a pan-European network fostering AI entrepreneurship. This initiative closely collaborates with ELLIS, the European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems, to build a robust foundation for sustainable, European-centred AI advancement.
As part of the ELIAS Alliance, each node serves as a bridge between academia and industry, enhancing academic education focused on open-source foundation model development. This network dedicates itself to creating European value through AI innovation and aims to embed value-creation literacy within academic curricula. Additionally, the nodes support researchers in their entrepreneurial ventures and facilitate contributions to the development of open-source foundation models.
To support this mission, ELIAS will introduce a European MSc Graduation Project Programme and host an annual Sciencepreneur Meeting. These initiatives strengthen access to entrepreneurial resources, promote knowledge exchange, and establish European thought leadership in AI value creation. Through these efforts, ELIAS commits to fostering a vibrant ecosystem of talent and innovation that champions AI “made in Europe”.
Nodes
Countries
European Leadership in Innovation with AI and Science
ELIAS NODES
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Barcelona, Spain
Cambridge, United Kingdom
Copenhagen, Denmark
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
The ELIAS Node Amsterdam acts as a key initiator and facilitator of impactful AI-preneurial collaborations, establishing itself as a vital local touchpoint of the ELIAS Alliance. It aims to serve as a dynamic catalyst for AI-preneurial innovation, driving collaborative efforts that inspire fresh new ideas and innovative solutions.
Vision
The UvA has a well-established ecosystem for entrepreneurship and technology transfer, which provides support for early-stage and (venture-)funded startups, as well as for public-private partnerships with more established companies. For anyone running a startup, avoiding distractions is absolutely critical. The ELIAS Node Amsterdam should therefore offer concrete value whilst minimising overhead associated with engagement. The ELIAS Node is also envisioned to offer programmes, funding, and sciencepreneurial training which could equip researchers in its “valorisation” mission.
Organisations involved:
Team
Head(s): Jan-Willem van de Meent is an Associate Professor at the University of Amsterdam. He is also an Assistant Professor (on leave) at Northeastern University.
Coordinator(s): Adela Pranindiati is a Project Leader at the University of Amsterdam. She is also the ELLIS unit Amsterdam Coordinator.
Barcelona, Spain
The ELIAS Node Barcelona serves as a strategic hub for driving knowledge transfer in Catalonia and beyond. It creates opportunities for collaborations across Europe, bolsters local initiatives, and enables the adoption of new practices from other nodes, thereby enhancing the overall impact.
Vision
The vision of the ELIAS Node Barcelona is to establish Catalonia as an innovation hub in AI in Southern Europe. Through collaboration with other nodes in the ELIAS Alliance, we aim to share and adopt best practices in knowledge transfer, entrepreneurship, and innovation. The node will help unify the AI ecosystem in Catalonia and strengthen the interaction between scientific actors and the business sector, generating significant socio-economic impact. By internationalising our valorisation programme and sharing experiences with other nodes, we aspire to drive the development of AI-based startups and position the region as a leader in research and innovation in Europe.
Team
Head(s): Dimosthenis Karatzas, PhD, is the Associate Director of the Computer Vision Centre (Barcelona). He is also the co-director of the ELLIS Unit Barcelona and leads the RDI-IA Network. He has founded two spin-off companies.
Coordinator(s): Sergi Besonias is the coordinator of the RDI-IA Network, which involves AI innovation research in Catalonia. He has experience in the field of Venture Building and the entrepreneurial world.
Cambridge, United Kingdom
The ELIAS Node Cambridge connects Cambridge’s world-class innovation ecosystem with the frontiers of AI, driving innovation in AI that serves science, citizens, and society. By collaborating across the Cambridge ecosystem, the node convenes networks across the academic, startup, and VC communities.
Vision
The node will act as a hub for AI sciencepreneurship in Cambridge. Its underpinning vision is to leverage Europe’s strengths in academic research, particularly in AI and machine learning, to create innovative solutions that address global challenges while upholding European values of privacy, ethics, and responsible innovation. It wants to foster a collaborative ecosystem where academia, industry, and government work together to translate cutting-edge research into practical applications. The node will provide an interface for researchers and students to connect with sources of advice and support to develop and scale their ideas.
Organisations involved:
Team
Head(s): Professor Neil Lawrence is DeepMind Professor of Machine Learning at the University of Cambridge and Senior AI Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute. He sits on the boards of the AISTATS foundation, ELLIS, and the Scientific Advisory Council of arXiv. His research focus is on challenges of deploying AI in the real world.
Jessica Montgomery is the Director of ai@cam, a new University of Cambridge strategic mission to develop AI technologies that serve science, citizens, and society. She leads research and policy programmes tackling the real-world challenges associated with developing and deploying AI for societal benefit.
Copenhagen, Denmark
The ELIAS Node Copenhagen brings together partners with complementary competencies essential for integrating computer science into relevant solutions and achievements. This node plays a central role in a dynamic ecosystem focused on AI, fostering innovation and collaboration among stakeholders.
Vision
The partners in the ELIAS Node Copenhagen share the vision to strengthen each other to provide more and better activities to researchers and students within computer science, LLM, and foundation models with the purpose to ensure entrepreneurial behaviour and solutions, startup companies, and to advance the maturity of the startup landscape. The node will coordinate the competences and resources to create the necessary synergies. This includes access to HPC resources found at local, national, and European levels.
Organisations involved:
Team
Head(s): Mikkel Hippe has a background in Computer Science from UCPH. He has built several companies, most notably Tradeshift, which has grown into a global enterprise.
Coordinator(s): Anders Pall Skött is the head of Business and Innovation at Computer Science, UCPH. He has a long track record in bringing together partners with complementary knowledge to turn research in computer science into solutions and entrepreneurship.
Munich, Germany
Potsdam, Germany
Tübingen, Germany
Zurich, Switzerland
Munich, Germany
ELLIS Munich, a key member since 2020, aims to bridge research and industry by fostering collaborations, internships, and spin-offs. As an ELIAS Node, it leverages Munich’s growing AI ecosystem, creating an end-to-end process linking stakeholders. The goal is to strengthen connections and advance AI innovation, driving European leadership in the field.
Vision
The node’s vision is to establish ELLIS Munich as an ELIAS Node that connects research and industry, leveraging Munich’s rapidly expanding AI ecosystem engaged in open-source foundation models. We focus on building an integrated, end-to-end process that links all stakeholders—from research collaboration to scaling spin-offs in accelerators. The node is envisioned as a pivotal hub for entrepreneurship and open-source foundation models. Our coordinating role will bridge academia, startups, and industry, connecting scientists with experts and organisations that can advance their projects.
Organisations involved:
Team
Head(s): Fabian Theis is the Head of the Computational Health Centre, Director of the Institute for Computational Biology at Helmholtz Munich.
Daniel Cremers is Professor of Computer Vision and Artificial Intelligence at the Technical University of Munich.
Björn Ommer is Professor of Computer Vision and Learning at LMU Munich.
Coordinator(s): Emma van Holthe (Helmholtz Munich) and Arielle Helmick (Technical University Munich), coordinators of ELLIS Munich, will also administer the ELIAS Munich Node.
Potsdam, Germany
The HPI Engine dedicates itself to fostering innovation based on digital technologies. As an established ELIAS Node, it supports students, researchers, and startups in developing technological solutions with societal impact through hands-on mentorship, educational programmes, and collaboration across the European ecosystem.
Vision
The vision for the node is to become one of Europe’s leading ecosystems for entrepreneurs that drive AI and tech innovation, bridging the gap between academia, startups, and industry. The node aims to foster an environment where research excellence translates into impactful, real-world applications, empowering entrepreneurs and innovators to tackle societal challenges such as climate change and healthcare through digital technologies. By connecting the best minds from different fields and sectors, the node’s objective is the commercialisation of technologies, creating sustainable businesses and strengthening Europe’s position as a global leader in AI-driven innovation.
Organisations involved:
Team
Head(s): The ELIAS node is led by Frank Pawlitschek, an experienced founder and director of the HPI Engine. With extensive experience in sustainable technology and entrepreneurship, Frank guides students and researchers in transforming innovative ideas into impactful startups.
Coordinator(s): Gregor von Dulong is an engineer who is passionate about startups and has expertise in product development.
Tübingen, Germany
The ELIAS Node Tübingen brings together a critical mass of researchers and entrepreneurs to actively engage in pioneering original ideas for thought leadership on value creation and how innovation can reliably contribute to a healthy planet, empowering institutions and individuals to rethink civilisation and economic innovation in sustainable ways.
Vision
Building on Tübingen’s thriving ecosystem, the ELIAS Node Tübingen will foster value creation literacy in academia and education through interdisciplinary courses, it will start a new innovation track for PhD and MSc thesis projects and build a local community on open-source foundation model research as a key component of AI-preneurship. It aims to collaborate with other ELIAS nodes on societal projects, especially in integrating AI into education. The objective of the ELIAS Node Tübingen is to build a future of AI “made in Europe,” combining academic excellence with entrepreneurial vision across a network of incubators and startups to drive value creation through AI.
Organisations involved:
Team
Head(s): Matthias Bethge is a professor at the University of Tübingen and the director of the Tübingen AI Centre as well as an ELLIS Fellow. He leads the Entrepreneurship and Tech Transfer initiatives within the ELIAS project, focusing on advancing the application of AI research to real-world problems.
Wieland Brendel is a team lead at the Tübingen AI Centre and an ELLIS Fellow. He joined the Max-Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems as an independent Group Leader and co-founded a machine learning startup focused on visual quality control.
Coordinator(s): Nina Peters is a coordinator at the Tübingen AI Centre. She administers the ELIAS Alliance as well as the ELIAS Node Tübingen.
Zurich, Switzerland
The ELIAS Node Zurich serves as the ETH AI Center’s entrepreneurship hub, actively supporting AI ventures through various stages of development. It offers programmes that assist entrepreneurs in refining AI solutions, connecting with industry partners, and bringing innovations to market. The node aims to foster a thriving ecosystem for AI-preneurship.
Vision
At the Node, the ETH AI Centre’s entrepreneurship hub, the vision is to lead the way in creating trustworthy, accessible, and inclusive AI systems that benefit society. The node stands for the belief that AI has the potential to transform industries, address global challenges, and improve lives, but only if it is developed responsibly, transparently, and ethically. We are committed to building AI that enhances human potential while upholding values of fairness, accountability, and trust.
Organisations involved:
Team
Head(s): Dr. Ann-Lauriene Schumacher, a former nanoscientist turned tech entrepreneur with leadership experience. She pioneered Germany’s first ICO and now drives AI startup growth at the ETH AI Centre. Co-lead will be Arnout Devos, who is also the respective ELLIS Unit Coordinator.
Coordinator(s): Isabelle Siegrist, a Forbes 30 under 30 alumna, invests in diverse teams, researches AI in VC, and teaches entrepreneurship at various universities in Switzerland.
News and Updates
Alliance News: Advancing European AI and Sustainability
Discover the latest from the ELIAS Alliance as we lead AI innovation across Europe. This section highlights news on projects, collaborations, and events from our ELIAS Nodes, all focused on creating impactful, sustainable AI. Stay tuned for updates on groundbreaking research, open-source initiatives, and our commitment to fostering “AI made in Europe”.
News
Opportunities
Events
ELIAS Nodes have been presented to the public during the Falling Walls Event in Berlin, Germany
Press Release: ELIAS Alliance Launch ELIAS Nodes have been presented to the public during the Falling Walls Event in Berlin, Germany Berlin, Germany - November 8, 2024 Inspiring a new generation of AI&Science value creators The ELIAS Alliance for European Leadership in Innovation with AI...
ELIAS-ELLIS-VISMAC Winter School 2025
The scientific program will run from 9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday, featuring lectures by ELLIS Fellows and prominent researchers from academia and industry. The lectures will cover topics such as large-scale foundation models, self-supervised and multi-modal representation learning, multi-modal...