CARNET Hosts its Second CARNET Ecosystem Day at CASA SEAT
CARNET, the center for automotive research and innovation based in Barcelona, celebrated its second CARNET Ecosystem Day on the 22nd of May at CASA SEAT. This event marked a significant milestone in the consolidation of CARNET’s ecosystem, bringing together key players in the automotive and urban mobility sectors to explore collaboration opportunities and showcase innovative AI-based solutions.
The event was attended by CARNET’s founding members (SEAT S.A., Volkswagen Group Innovation, and Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)), industrial partners, and start-ups within the South European ecosystem developing AI-based solutions with potential use cases in automotive and urban mobility. The batch of start-ups were carefully selected and invited to showcase their solutions poised to shape the future of mobility marked by dynamic changes influenced by digitalisation and advancements in AI.
Kicking off the event, Dr. Monika Bachofner, from Volkswagen Group Innovation, delivered insights on open innovation approaches, highlighting Volkswagen Group Innovation’s commitment to fostering innovation and building strong partnerships with start-ups.
Next up, our guest Dr. Kathrin Wilkens delivered a keynote on generative AI and its implications in the automotive sector. The presentation gave the invitees a snapshot of how the use of the AI can allow the industry to create new user experiences and forecast future customer expectations. As she mentioned, “it’s not about the technology itself, it’s about how it will improve user experience, and how it will change customers’ lives”.
Throughout the morning, start-ups previously identified by CARNET’s scouting team had the opportunity to unveil their solutions and engage with the most important actors from the present ecosystem. Among the 15 invited start-ups, there were 9 highlighted companies that had the chance to deliver a 5-minute pitch to the audience.
“The CARNET Ecosystem Day serves as a platform for collaboration, knowledge sharing, and exploration of new technologies that will shape the future of automotive and urban mobility. After it’s second successful edition, it is becoming a well-stablished occasion to foster networking within the industry” said Cristina Juárez, CIO at CARNET. “We are thrilled to see the enthusiasm and engagement from our partners and start-ups, and we look forward to further strengthening their collaboration efforts in the future.”
The main objective of this event is to bring together CARNET’s innovation ecosystem. Also, this event served as a platform for different stakeholders to share their challenges and needs, as well as exchanging experiences. The participants had an opportunity to get to know others actors of the ecosystem, its characteristics and different cooperation possibilities within it.
Through these events, CARNET seeks to boost innovation and collaboration within the automotive and mobility field, which will facilitate cooperation in the future and improve the sense of community between involved parties.
