The first edition of the SofIA Program concludes with the development of four technological solutions.

SofIA, the business acceleration program that places startups with innovative companies on contact , celebrated the closing of its first edition in mid-December at the University of Navarra's campus in Madrid. 

The high school of Science of data and Artificial Intelligence (DATAI) and the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation of the University of Navarra, Innovation Factory, promote the Program. 

In its first edition, the participating companies were AXA Seguros, BBVA AI Factory, Carrefour and Laboratorios Cinfa, with challenges related to claims prevention, customer empowerment in the management of their finances, improvement of the shopping experience or efficient production.  

To propose artificial intelligence-based solutions to these challenges, a pitch with specialized startups was held in June 2022. The chosen startups were Dedomena, IA Solver, EarthPulse and Whitebox. From then on, and during the following six months, they worked at contact directly with the companies, and with the support of the University of Navarra, which provided the appropriate management and training through Innovation Factory, the entrepreneurship and innovation unit of the academic center. Now, after the closing, they have delivered the four technological developments, based on artificial intelligence, which will be applied immediately by the corporations.


At the closing of this first edition, Jesús López Fidalgo, Director of DATAI, stressed that "one of the main objectives of a high school of research is the transfer to society and industry. In addition, the training in a topic as current as the science of the data and artificial intelligence must also be part of its hallmarks. The transfer has multiple ramifications, from the application of the research to the industrial development , to the knowledge dissemination of science. One way to contribute to society is this DATAI initiative to promote the creation of startups in this sector in which there are so many expectations. We are proud to have counted with these four great companies that have given support to so many other startups selected to carry out the proposed challenges". Iván Cordón as director of Innovation and José María González Gullón, director of training of DATAI, have contributed to the success of this first edition of SofIA.

For his part, Ricardo Pérez Merino, Director of development in Innovation Factory, added that "SofIA has tried to facilitate the training of the start ups in the most internship possible way, through the direct partnership with the Departments involved in the companies. We have also tried to provide small training "pills" from a perspective that would be as useful as possible to the start ups in the program."

DATAI is the research center, innovation and training in data and artificial intelligence of the University of Navarra, which promotes a collaborative and interdisciplinary work for the transfer of scientific knowledge in the form of solutions that society needs, transforming the value chain of companies to be more competitive.