AI Innovation Lab: Your neutral partner for getting started with AI.
A project of CyberForum in the AI Alliance Baden-Württemberg. We identify AI potential, develop use cases and strategies, and provide support during implementation.
Your companion for well-founded and practical AI projects.
Many organizations today face similar challenges: The potential of AI is clear, but there is a lack of guidance on which use cases really make sense, how to realistically evaluate data, and how to set up projects in such a way that they remain viable and economical.
This is exactly where we come in. We identify suitable use cases for your departments, assess risks and feasibility, and work with you to develop an approach that fits your structures and resources.
About the AI Innovation Lab
The AI Innovation Lab is a service offered by CyberForum within the AI Alliance Baden-Württemberg. We combine the strength of a large regional IT and high-tech network with a state-wide pool of experienced AI experts from industry and research. As a neutral partner, we help companies get viable AI projects off the ground and find suitable implementation partners from our verified network.
- Assessing AI potential: Identifying opportunities and prioritizing use cases.
- Targeted use of expertise: Select suitable AI experts and providers from our network.
- Prepare implementation: Define requirements and set up projects in a practical manner.
Our services along your AI roadmap
Free initial consultation
Start with a no-obligation consultation: We clarify where your company stands when it comes to AI and which steps make sense now.
AI strategy & governance
We work with you to develop an individual AI strategy and establish guidelines for the responsible, legally compliant use of AI, from the roadmap to the governance structure.
Startup cooperations & venture clienting
Take advantage of our startup ecosystem: our CyberLab Accelerator at CyberForum gives you access to a large network of innovative startups in IT, AI and smart production. We support collaborations through venture clienting, sponsoring and joint innovation formats.
Funding advice
We will show you suitable funding programs for your AI projects and support you in preparing your applications.
Development of AI use cases
We work with you to develop concrete AI concepts: from identifying suitable areas of application and evaluating the economic benefits to conceptual development as a basis for successful projects and tenders.
Matching & dating service
We provide you with suitable implementation partners from our network, independently and neutrally, tailored precisely to your needs.
Training and awareness programs
We prepare your team for AI with practical and individually designed training courses, workshops, and awareness programs for specialists and managers.
We accompany you in 3 steps to your AI entry
Step 1: Develop AI use cases & define requirements
From idea to viable AI use cases
Many companies recognize the potential of AI but don't know where to start. Often, they lack a sound assessment of which processes are really suitable for AI, what the data situation looks like, or what benefits are realistically achievable in economic terms. We help you select the right use cases from a wide range of possibilities: technically feasible, professionally meaningful, and clearly prioritized.
Together, we analyze your processes, check data quality and technical requirements, and evaluate costs, benefits, and risks. This creates a reliable basis for decision-making, enabling you to plan and successfully implement AI projects in a targeted manner.
Specify use cases and formulate requirements
Based on the prioritized use cases, we work with you to develop a clear functional and technical target vision. This includes functional requirements, data sources, interfaces, infrastructure, quality criteria, and regulatory aspects such as data protection and auditability.
We summarize the results in a structured requirements specification that serves as the basis for quotations, implementation partners, and internal decision-making processes. This turns an idea into a clearly definable project that is feasible, comparable, and realistically plannable.
- Strategic goal setting and prioritization
- Feasibility and risk analysis
- Roadmap development with clear measures and time frame
Step 2: Matching with suitable implementation partners
Find the right experts for your AI project
The success of an AI project depends on finding the right implementation partner. Many companies lose time because they are unable to compare providers, evaluate unsuitable solutions, or assess offers. As a neutral partner, we support you in quickly and reliably finding the right experts—independently, provider-neutral, and based on your specific requirements.
We work with you to assess which type of partner is best suited: research institution, specialized startup, software provider, system integrator, or development team. This ensures that the expertise, technology, and approach are a good fit for your project.
Support and guidance during the selection process
Based on your requirements, we obtain suitable offers for you, organize introductory meetings, moderate joint discussions, and support you in evaluating the options. We compare procedures, technical architecture, effort, cost structures, and economic viability—always with your goals in mind.
This allows you to start a project with a high degree of certainty that it is both technically and economically viable.
Step 3: Train employees and managers
Involve employees early on and build AI skills in a targeted manner
Training is a key component of any AI implementation and should run parallel to the projects from the outset. Many companies experience uncertainty in specialist areas, a lack of knowledge about the opportunities and limitations of AI, or unanswered questions about responsibility and regulatory requirements such as the EU AI Act.
We develop customized programs for executives, departments, technical teams, and all employees. These programs instill confidence in working with AI, reduce fears, strengthen the productive use of AI tools, and create a common understanding of what AI can and cannot do. As a result, parallel to the project work, an organization emerges that uses AI responsibly and confidently.
Customized training courses ranging from AI literacy to technical deep dives
All training courses are individually tailored so that your organization develops exactly the skills necessary for sustainable AI use.
Managers receive guidance on strategy, governance, and relevant requirements. Departments learn how AI supports specific tasks, what data they need, and how to identify realistic use cases.
Technical teams build expertise in machine learning, MLOps, data pipelines, secure model deployment, prompt engineering, and RAG systems, working with tools such as HuggingFace, OpenAI, and LangChain.
We offer AI literacy programs for all employees, promoting the safe and productive use of AI tools and setting realistic expectations.
- Strategic goal setting and prioritization
- Feasibility and risk analysis
- Roadmap development with clear measures and time frame
Find inspiration and solutions for your industry
Strengthening competitiveness: AI for industrial SMEs
Learn how medium-sized industrial companies are using AI to improve quality, shorten throughput times, stabilize processes, and tap into new potential. Discover practical use cases, customer examples, and content specifically for those responsible for production, planning, and innovation.
Using AI safely: Guidance for regulated environments
For energy suppliers, healthcare providers, public administration, financial service providers, and other regulated sectors: Here you will find content on AI governance, risk and compliance requirements, the EU AI Act, auditability, documentation, and secure use cases.
Quality, planning, stability: AI for automotive and mobility
This page is aimed at suppliers, machine builders, engineering service providers, and OEM-related companies. Discover AI use cases for quality assurance, traceability, variant diversity, production planning, logistics, maintenance, and service—supplemented by case studies and practical insights.
What our customers say
As I walked out of the cell through the door towards freedom, I knew I had to leave my bitterness and hatred behind or I would remain a prisoner for life.
Those who give up freedom in order to gain security will end up losing both.
Freedom is like the sea: the individual waves are not very powerful, but the force of the surf is irresistible.
Our network of experts
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Knowledge, practical examples, and insights into AI
Marlies Schwarz: Let's work together to find out how AI can bring concrete benefits to your company.
- Customer Success Manager
- marlies.schwarz@cyberforum.de
- +49 721 602 897-664
An offer from CyberForum within the AI Alliance Baden-Württemberg – working together for the AI success of small and medium-sized enterprises.
