Future-proof Your AI Solution

Let your business be a force for good with AI labs in the Netherlands

The Netherlands has played a key role in advancing digital technologies for decades. Important contributions such as WiFi, Bluetooth and programming language Python originate from the country. It has also been a global leader in international peace, justice and security and today, the Netherlands is leveraging these skillsets to take the lead in human-centric AI.

In numerous AI labs, the Netherlands is developing AI that takes into account ethical, legal and social standards. And with new regulation of AI expected to be effective from 2024 in the EU, AI companies that are utilizing advanced Dutch capabilities will be better prepared for the future.

As the power of AI grows, so do the potential risks and opportunities of its applications. The Netherlands is as committed to containing these risks as it is committed to leveraging the technology for a better future. In sectors like life sciences & health, energy and agrifood, AI has the potential to advance solutions that dramatically improve lives and create positive impact for the planet.

To speed up AI adoption, the Netherlands is proactively facilitating cross-industry collaboration and pushing new AI solutions to the markets where they matter most. International companies like Abbott, Booking.com, Elekta, Qualcomm, DSM and Jetbrains, for example, have seized the opportunity to partner up with Dutch academic partners in AI labs across the Netherlands.

Coordinated AI initiatives

To maintain a leading position in AI development, Dutch research institutes, companies and public organizations joined forces and initiated the NL AI Coalition (NLAIC) in 2019. In NLAIC, research institutes and public and private organizations coordinate to accelerate AI adoption in the Netherlands through education and training. The NLAIC provides the required cornerstones for safe, ethical and legally sound AI development and data sharing, and facilitates innovation through cross-sector public-private collaboration, for which several real-life testing grounds have been created.

With more than 500 participants in the coalition, the main focus is to propel the adoption of AI in the most critical sectors in the Netherlands. To further increase its impact, the Coalition also developed the AiNed program, for which over 200 million euros has been allocated from the Dutch Growth Fund. This money is available for collaborative AI projects in the Netherlands, and primarily aimed at adoption of AI within SMEs.

Complementing the NLAIC is the closely related Innovation Center for Artificial Intelligence (ICAI). ICAI facilitates and coordinates activities between approximately 50 AI innovation labs across the Netherlands. All these labs have a foundation at a university, involvement of at least 5 PhD students and work for a private organization, for which innovative AI-based solutions are developed.

The coordination of NLAIC and ICAI helps to create synergies between the various initiatives and prevents identical projects from taking place in isolation. This synergy catalyzes knowledge development and forms a substantial foundation for accelerated innovation of AI applications across all sectors in the Netherlands.

AI for digital health

Healthcare is a sector under pressure in many countries because of heavy workloads and increasing public costs. AI technology can help alleviate the pressure put on human labor and enable more efficient and accurate diagnoses, which in turn improves and accelerates treatment. As a result, healthcare is the most well-represented sector in the ICAI lab pool.

An outstanding example is the ICAI lab ‘AI for Precision Health, Nutrition & Behaviour’ which has an interdisciplinary partner base. In the lab, twelve researchers develop new sensors, algorithms, chatbots and apps that provide personalized support in health and (eating) behavior, to help prevent diseases while enabling people to lead more productive and happy lives. In parallel, NLAIC project, ELSA lab Healthy Society and AI, develops a toolkit with protocols, guidelines and technology to ensure that AI healthcare innovations comply with ethical, legal and social standards.

Multiple labs focus on accelerating acceptance and adoption of AI applications in healthcare by creating standards and protocols for reliable and trustworthy AI. Examples are the Explainable AI for Health Lab and the HealthyAI lab. Find more healthcare-related AI innovation labs here.

AI for energy

The Netherlands is transitioning towards renewable energy sources, but supply is often fluctuating in nature. Fortunately, AI can help match supply and demand more effectively, for example the AI for energy grids lab focuses on developing methods and tools that use grid data to improve the efficiency, sustainability, and reliability of the grid.

Supporting the energy-related AI labs with guidelines for human-centric AI is the ELSA Lab for Citizens and Society in the Energy Transition, which is developing practical solutions to help developers create AI applications that assist in an energy system that is not only sustainable but also fair, ethical and reliable.

A large variety of AI labs

In addition to AI labs for healthcare and energy, there is a wide variety of labs working on subjects ranging from smart sensing predictive maintenance, robotics, mobility, fintech, retail environments, defense and crowd control. In consumer-facing applications, implementing ELSA guidelines and protocols is strongly advised and in some cases mandatory, which ensures the ethical, legal and social standards of the application.

Together, the AI initiatives catalyze innovation and applications which truly benefit people and the planet. Moreover, with the practical tools provided by the ELSA labs, ethical and legal boundaries are clear and relatively easy to comply with. For AI companies with high ambitions, there is no better place to accelerate their business than the Netherlands! Let’s discuss the best way for your business to tune in to the Dutch AI ecosystem!