Norway is building a "national powerhouse" for artificial intelligence with the aim of improving the quality and capacity for research, education and innovation in the field. Several comms and IT companies are partnering with it: Telenor, NTNU and SINTEF are inviting other Norwegian businesses to partner on the new Norwegian Open AI Lab. Additional partners will include DNB, DNV GL, Equinor, and the Kongsberg Group.
While the Norwegian Open AI Lab will develop solutions specific to the partners' industries, it will also consider opportunities where Norway can take positions internationally. Having a strong position on artificial intelligence is central to ensuring that Norway is able and prepared to compete in the global market, it says.
The Norwegian Open AI Lab is an expansion of the Telenor-NTNU AI-Lab in Trondheim. This initiative builds further on the work already carried out there in artificial intelligence/machine learning and big data. Telenor, NTNU and SINTEF announced the launch of a common initiative to support entrepreneurship and the development of Norwegian competence in the field of artificial intelligence in 2016. Together with central research institutions nationally and globally, the centre will work to develop itself to become recognised laboratory for AI research and development.
In addition to supporting research on artificial intelligence and big data, the Norwegian Open AI Lab will develop new technologies and services within these fields. Partners in the lab will contribute with funding, competence and data, and will therefore strengthen cooperation across industry sectors. Common to all of the current partnering companies is their established contribution of resources to NTNU to support the university's AI and big data research.
