With DataHub Europe, Schwarz Digits and Deutsche Bahn AG want to create a platform that brings together, processes and curates information from industry and the media. This high-quality data will then be made available to industry partners to train AI models in a secure infrastructure. The goal is to quickly, securely and beneficially integrate company-specific AI solutions as “real tools” in a variety of business applications.

Support from the Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport

On the occasion of the announcement of the founding at the German government's Digital Summit 2024 in Frankfurt am Main, Dr. Volker Wissing, Federal Minister for Digital and Transport, said: “DataHub Europe will close a crucial gap in the EU by providing high-quality data for training AI. German companies and stakeholders have once again proven that we can combine innovation and implementation. An exciting ecosystem and a much-needed data platform are emerging here that will take the training of AI models for our industry to the next level. I hope that this cooperation will bear fruit and that many more partners will follow this example and join in order to actively shape Europe's digital future.”

Digital sovereignty is the overarching goal.

Data partners from industry and media companies, including Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and DvH Medien (Wirtschaftswoche and Handelsblatt), will provide their data. Clearly defined rules and mechanisms will ensure that this sensitive data is used only for the intended purpose. “AI made in Europe” should not only stand for technological excellence, but also for the sovereignty of partners over their data. The goal is the certainty that even sensitive data is treated securely and confidentially. The platform and AI partners Aleph Alpha, STACKIT, the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) and the Technical University of Darmstadt / hessian.AI are to enable the training of the models and ensure that AI applications can be developed and implemented on the sovereign platform. Companies, the public sector and scientific institutions can use the value creation potential of this transparent data platform without having to accept restrictions on data protection or sovereignty over their data. Legal requirements, such as the GDPR, the EU AI Act and copyright law, are complied with. In this way, DataHub Europe promotes the right of self-determination of rights holders and makes an important contribution to strengthening digital sovereignty in Germany and Europe.

No data leaves the European legal area

Christian Müller, Co-CEO of Schwarz Digits, the IT and digital division of the Schwarz Group, explains: “At Schwarz Digits, we already use AI in many areas of the company. For example, we use AI to optimize supply chains, for automated product descriptions and to relieve the burden on our administrative staff. It is essential that we store, manage and process our data securely and in compliance with data protection regulations. That's why we've developed our own cloud, STACKIT, which we also offer to other companies and public-sector organizations. The data centers are located in Germany, and the data never leaves the European judicial area. With DataHub Europe, we are using this high level of data sovereignty to build a European data platform for AI value creation together with Deutsche Bahn. DataHub Europe connects rights holders, technology companies and customers to advance the development of sovereign AI solutions in line with the European AI strategy.”

Strengthening Europe's competitiveness and productivity

DataHub Europe is thus positioning itself as a fundamental player in European AI, coordinating the collaboration of its own platform, AI and data partners with customers from business, science and the public sector. DataHub Europe is thus intended to serve as a catalyst for the development of sovereign, powerful and trustworthy AI applications in the European language area. The initiators and partners of DataHub Europe want to make a significant contribution to strengthening Europe's competitiveness and productivity.

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