AXA, BBVA, Carrefour and Cinfa launch their new innovation programme for startups with the University of Barcelona

high school The data Science of and Artificial Intelligence (DATAI) of the University of Navarra has presented SofIA, a business acceleration programme that seeks startups capable of developing technological solutions for innovative companies in sectors such as finance, pharmaceuticals, insurance and distribution. 

AXA Seguros, BBVA AI Factory, Carrefour and Laboratorios Cinfa are the companies participating in this first edition of the programme and have presented their challenges in the application of artificial intelligence: the prevention of claims, the empowerment of the customer in the management of their finances, the improvement of the shopping experience or efficient production.

Interested startups can send their proposals to the University of Navarra until the end of June. On the 27th of the same month, a pitch will be held to select the most competitive in each of the challenges. From then on, they will have the following six months to provide a solution, in which they will be accompanied by the University of Navarra, which will provide the appropriate management and training by the Innovation Factory, the entrepreneurship and innovation unit of the academic centre. Accenture, Amazon Web Services and Tableau will provide the necessary work tools.

Iván Cordón, from the University of Navarra, stressed that "we are living in a historic moment in which artificial intelligence will transform companies and society. Those companies that do not use data as a strategic asset will disappear. SofIA aims to become a forum for reference letter where startups and companies can work on disruptive solutions based on data".

SofIA is looking for startups capable of extracting knowledge from data to develop customised solutions that are easy to apply in the market. For Francisco Maturana, CEO of BBVA AI Factory, "participating in this programme is a good opportunity to meet startups that provide us with their vision on how to improve the personalisation of the customer experience with banking services". The financial institution's challenge is to provide its customers with the tools they need to self-manage their finances. data To do this, "we use AI models to propose personalised actions to improve their financial health", said Jesús Renero, manager of the company's science discipline , during his speech.

In the field of insurance for companies, specifically for industries, it is necessary to use data existing in the network to identify different patterns that allow the exclusion of certain risks in the case of fire. AXA Seguros wants to promote, therefore, the development of an artificial intelligencemodel to identify the cause of a fire damage claim in the field of business insurance and its impact. Nieves Malagón, Director of AXA Opensurance, believes that "innovation at AXA must help us to protect people, to protect what is important to them and, of course, to do so in a sustainable way. The data can help us to build efficient and scalable solutions. However, the important thing is not the data itself, but how we use it intelligently and integrate it into every interaction with the customer so that it really has a transformative power.  

For the retail and consumer goods sector, the voice of the consumer is of great importance in the process of improvement and innovation: comments at the checkout, information from the contact centre, suggestions on the web, texts, images, audios... It is necessary to process these data to extract value from the different sources of information available at Carrefour. According to its Data director , David Villarino, "at Carrefour we are working to improve the customer's purchasing process by personalising communications and listening skills. The voice of the consumer is of great importance in our processes of improvement and innovation, which is why we are looking forward to the project that we share with the University of Navarra. We are convinced that the work of the startup that embarks on our challenge will decisively help us to improve the experience of our customers, goal which is the most important thing for us". 

Production efficiency in the field of healthcare also plays an important role at SofIA. Laboratorios Cinfa seeks to match its production to the needs of patients so that all people, especially those suffering from serious or chronic diseases, always have access to their medicines. Julio Sánchez, manager Innovation at Laboratorios Cinfa, considers that "in the current global context, and especially in the healthcare sector, it is more necessary than ever to have a demand prediction tool to adjust production plans to the circumstances that may arise in the market and thus ensure that our medicines are available to patients at availability ".

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.