Axians, the ICT brand of VINCI Energies, officially opened the Innovation Hub in the heart of Ulm’s Old Town on September 22, 2026. With this move, the corporate group is investing in Ulm and the surrounding region. The new hub on Schweinemarkt is intended to serve as a space for innovation, a meeting place, and a digital lab all at once. With this step, Axians aims to establish a place where innovation is not only conceived but also shaped collaboratively. As a platform for business, academia, education, and public institutions, the hub is designed to strengthen regional networking and bring future digital topics to life for diverse target groups.

An attractive venue for workshops, hackathons, guided tours, and much more

The Innovation Hub is designed to foster exchange between companies, educational institutions, young talent, and public stakeholders. Here, Axians brings together its expertise in the areas of AI, cybersecurity, business applications & data analytics, networks and infrastructure, and digital workspace. At the same time, the hub is intended to become an attractive venue for workshops, hackathons, guided tours, and strategic collaboration among teams, customers, partners, and educational and networking stakeholders from the region.

Through its close ties to the Digitalschmiede—VINCI Energies’ Digital Lab in Frankfurt—and the Group’s international ecosystem, the Hub connects regional needs with international project experience and is set to be developed into a platform for collaboration, knowledge transfer, and scalable digital solutions. The goal of the new Axians Innovation Space is to create synergies between regional and international projects.

The opening brought together representatives of forward-thinking institutions from the city and region, as well as Axians customers and employees. During an interactive guided tour through various stations, guests gained insights into how digitalization is implemented in practice. Using concrete use cases from government agencies and businesses as examples, Axians demonstrated how individual customer solutions are developed through a combination of technical expertise, interactive methods, and targeted use of technology.

Part of the AI and Smart City Strategy

The Innovation Hub concept is embedded in the City of Ulm’s digital strategy. Ulm aims to be among the most dynamic and startup-friendly regions in Germany and intends to leverage digitalization to improve quality of life and sustainability for the city’s residents. The Axians Innovation Hub serves as a complementary component of this development, creating a space for businesses and educational institutions where digitalization, networking, and technological innovation can be put into practical use.

Axians already operates a modern facility at Hörvelsinger Weg 21, where it employs more than 400 people. With the Innovation Hub in the Fischerviertel, Axians’ presence in Ulm now takes on a new, visible dimension in the heart of the city.

A Platform for Exchange, Collaboration, and Innovation

The Innovation Hub will be available to Axians’ own employees as well as to partner companies and startups. The new facilities will offer guided programs for various target groups: Axians provides trainees, students, and high school students from the region with easy access to digital expertise and innovations.

Burim Mirakaj, CEO of VINCI Energies DACH & CEE ICT, says: “As a growing, nationally and internationally leading ICT service provider, Ulm has played a very important role for us for many years as a location, workplace, and hub for innovation. We have one of our largest locations in Germany and Europe here. Here, we secure and invest in technology- and future-oriented jobs. Here, we create innovations every day—from software and AI agents to digital workspaces and cybersecurity. With the opening of the Axians Innovation Hub, we are now expanding our presence to include our own digital lab for connected work for our employees, customers, partners, and educational institutions. The Innovation Hub underscores our commitment to visibly strengthening digital progress, regional ties, and a culture of presence. We are thus sending a clear signal to the Ulm/Neu-Ulm region as well as to our entire location strategy in the DACH & CEE region. “

“With the Axians Innovation Hub, we’re providing additional space for the expertise of our Ulm location in the areas of business applications and artificial intelligence to flourish, and we’re linking it with the know-how of our international Axians DACH & CEE network under the overall leadership of Burim Mirakaj. In this way, we are creating a creative work environment where digital talent is nurtured, skilled professionals are further developed, and innovative solutions for businesses, municipalities, and public sector clients are created,” says Daniel Riss, Managing Director of IT Solutions at Axians Germany.

Location Initiative in the DACH and CEE Regions

The Innovation Hub is part of a targeted location initiative by Axians aimed at creating modern workplaces in its DACH and CEE regions. Back in July, the new Möglingen Campus opened to further develop the telecommunications infrastructure division. In addition, a second large OneAxians location has recently been established in Cologne, bringing all Axians divisions in the region together under one roof.

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