• The AI Alliance Aachen (AAA) has now been ceremoniously founded in the White Hall of Aachen Town Hall.
• The alliance was initiated by the city's Department of Economics, Science, Digital City and Europe. With its foundation, the AAA is pursuing the clear goal of ensuring that Aachen is perceived as the top address for excellent AI expertise and pioneering technologies.
• The AI Alliance Aachen sees itself as an active platform for exchange, development and implementation. It is open to other stakeholders who would like to contribute their commitment and expertise in the field of artificial intelligence and help shape the next stage of development for the location.

The AI Alliance Aachen (AAA) was ceremoniously founded in the White Hall of Aachen City Hall on May 20. The alliance was initiated by the city's Department of Economics, Science, Digital City and Europe in order to establish the region as a driving force in the international AI competition and actively shape the digital transformation. With its foundation, the AAA is pursuing the clear goal of ensuring that Aachen is perceived as the top address for excellent AI expertise and pioneering technologies.

"With the AI Alliance Aachen, we are sending out a clear signal: Aachen wants to and will play a key role in the European AI landscape. Only by working closely together can we expand the appeal of our region and provide real impetus for technological breakthroughs," emphasized Thomas Hissel, Aachen City Councilor for Housing, Social Affairs and Economy.

Numerous representatives from science, business and administration came together for the founding event. "What makes our location special," explained Lord Mayor Sibylle Keupen, "is the direct exchange between research and practice. Start-ups and spin-offs emerge from RWTH and FH, companies take up new findings and test them directly in real application scenarios. The AI Alliance Aachen stands for precisely this exchange. I am therefore delighted that today we are taking an important step together towards structured, sustainable development in the field of artificial intelligence."

Innovation and growth

"AI is the key to innovation and growth, and in order to guarantee this, RWTH Aachen University with its outstanding AI Center is practising the interdisciplinarity that is absolutely necessary for this," says Professor Ulrich Rüdiger, Rector of RWTH Aachen University. It would be fatal to merely consume AI, "we must be at the forefront of this revolutionary development. The AI Alliance Aachen is a further step in this direction," says the Rector.

Professor Holger Hoos is one of the two directors of the AI Center at RWTH alongside Professor Sebastian Trimpe and he sees good opportunities to establish AI research in the region: "In and around Aachen, we have the best conditions to play a leading role in the key technology of AI -- with a focus on safe, reliable and sustainable AI. In this way, we can significantly advance the transformation "from coal to AI", which is important for all of us."

Computer thinks like a brain

As initial projects show, AI is already being developed and applied in Aachen. A computer thinks like a brain - lightning-fast, energy-efficient and capable of learning. This is precisely what the NeuroSys future cluster coordinated by RWTH Aachen University is working on, developing innovative, brain-inspired chips for European AI hardware. And with "MachineGPT", aiXbrain GmbH is showing how machines can become partners through AI: They independently report their condition, detect problems at an early stage and provide precise maintenance recommendations. Two of many examples of how AI is becoming a reality in Aachen.

The AI Alliance Aachen sees itself as an active platform for exchange, development and implementation: research institutions, companies and administration work together on innovative solutions, new fields of application and the strategic visibility of the region at national, European and international level.

The alliance is open to other stakeholders who would like to contribute their commitment and expertise in the field of artificial intelligence and help shape the next stage of the location's development.

In addition to the City of Aachen, RWTH Aachen, FH Aachen, Forschungszentrum Jülich and the digitalHUB, a strong network of companies and institutions is also involved in the start-up process: AMO GmbH, INFORM GmbH, Grün Software Group GmbH, Bauer + Kirch GmbH, Black Semiconductor GmbH, REGINA e.V., EXAPT Systemtechnik GmbH, AGIT Aachener Gesellschaft für Innovation und Technologietransfer mbH and aiXbrain GmbH.