University-driven AI innovation
As research hubs, universities have a key role to play in innovation, serving as springboards for tech-based start-ups, including in particular business models around the rapidly growing field of AI. The newly formed AICE.NRW center supports AI start-ups through its targeted education services at universities in North Rhine-Westphalia, providing specific training courses and continuing education that enable start-up consultants to give tailored advice.
From idea to viable innovation
“Many researchers who are highly knowledgeable about AI find it challenging to translate their ideas into a viable business model. This is where AICE.NRW comes in, helping NRW-based start-up coaches give solid advice on navigating the process from preparatory research to start-up launch. We are highly pleased at the launch of this state center of expertise and networking platform for AI-specific start-up consulting, which comes as the fruit of an already very close collaborative AI research relationship between TU Dortmund University and the University of Bonn,” says Sandra Speer, Head of the Transfer Center enaCom at the University of Bonn.
Dr. Ronald Kriedel, General Manager of the Center for Entrepreneurship & Transfer (CET) at TU Dortmund University emphasizes: “AICE.NRW is the answer to fragmentation in AI transfer. This means we are doing away with the model of offering isolated assistance here and there in favor of establishing a statewide operating system for AI start-up support. This system is specifically designed to enable existing consulting services at over 30 universities to provide field-specific advice on highly complex projects. By orchestrating knowledge and pooling access to infrastructure, we are turning North Rhine-Westphalia into a pacemaker for European AI innovation.”
Enhancing AI start-up consulting
The first project phase is devoted to conducting a comprehensive analysis of the higher education landscape in NRW with regard to AI, identifying potential and challenges to derive action recommendations for supporting AI start-ups. The analysis findings will be utilized to design services tailored to the needs of universities and entrepreneurs in NRW. Start-up firms require tailored advice and support because the challenges they face differ depending on the business model category they fall into: AI deep techs (AI developers), AI-enabled start-ups (AI as a core value proposition) and AI users (AI as a tool), reflecting varying levels of AI use intensity and maturity. Start-up coaches thus receive targeted continuing education and training, including train-the-trainer seminars, to become advice experts.
Pooling AI infrastructure
AICE.NRW utilizes existing university infrastructures, integrating these into existing federal and state-level AI framework structures like AI-Nation, start-up hub STARTPLATZ, KI.NRW and AI Village. The center draws on the reliable start-up consulting expertise at TU Dortmund University and the University of Bonn, but also on AI insights gained from the latest research, such as the work conducted at the Lamarr Institute for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. The institute is one of Germany’s five AI centers of expertise and is led by the University of Bonn, TU Dortmund University, the Fraunhofer Institute for Intelligent Analysis and Information Systems IAIS in Sankt Augustin and the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML in Dortmund.
AICE.NRW is to become a statewide service point for universities in terms of AI consulting and support. Its work will help deep-tech and AI start-ups more effectively realize their potential throughout the process from technology validation to market entry, thus enabling a new generation of successful AI businesses. The center brings together university stakeholders, businesses and players in the start-up ecosystem, stimulating dialogue on the future of AI.
About the Start-up Fokuszentren.NRW grant program
The state of North Rhine-Westphalia launched the Start-up Fokuszentren.NRW funding initiative in 2024 to promote the creation of specialized centers that provide targeted advice to entrepreneurs and support them in developing marketable solutions. The aim is to increase the quality and number of start-ups originating from the state’s universities.
Two additional centers are being funded alongside the AICE.NRW focus center: Female Academic Entrepreneurs NRW (FACE.NRW) dedicated to supporting women in academia who are interested in starting their own business, and Climate Innovation.NRW, which supports start-ups with business models that promote climate neutrality.
